sharpening with a sharpening/grinding wheel

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fish2xs

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I would like to sharpen a bunch of knives for the kitchen, camping, etc. I would like to get a motorized device to do this but the home depot did not have what I thought would be ideal for this.

I would like to get them 'professionally' sharp, but they don't need to be 'surgical' sharp. I also don't want to spend an arm and a leg. Any suggestions? Anything to be aware of?

Thanks!
 
Any ''motorized'' device is IMO strictly for coarse grinding - as in pre forming a blade. It can also help to achieve a hollow grind but beware - heat build-up is critical and frequent quenchings are needed before heat level changes temper ... cooling if you will. Unless of course you are prepared to heat treat after that.

When it comes to forming an edge - then hand work is - again IMO - the only way to go. A good Arkensas stone - and patience will achieve much as long as angles kept consistent. A fine aluminum oxide stone can also be useful used with oil.

I also favor a real whetstone for the grinding - cooling is no problem because water there all time but the amount of material removed will be fairly slow.

There are many folks here who make knives and are way better informed than me so - this is just a quick 2c. :)
 
Depending on the shape they're in to begin with, and the type of steel, maybe consider a buffing wheel and some type of rouge?

You could get one to fit a standard pedestal grinder. Just be careful about the wheel grabbing the blade out of your hand.
 
www.wenproducts.com has a cordless knife sharpener which is probably what you're looking for.Other than that take the time and effort to learn how to sharpen by hand ,that's pretty easy also.
 
thanks guys.

I would not subject a valueable knife to a motorized grinding stone, and I know about keeping the heat down. But I saw a grinding wheel at a woodshop store I went to where they used it to sharpen straight-edge woodcarving tools.

I'm trying to find a happy medium between home depot crap and super high end sharpeners. thanks for the links so far - I'll look into them.

any other pointers?
thanks!
-phil
 
Get a 1X30 belt sander, harbor freight has them for something like $40 :D , and get a bunch of belts from www.trugrit.com. you can use the platen and put a normal edge on, or you can use the slack belt and put a convex edge on. This will be pretty quick with practice and has the potential to give you a very sharp edge.
More detailed info can be found in this thread at BFC:
http://www.bladeforums.com/forums/showthread.php?t=305482&highlight=1X30+sharpening

And a tutorial by Dan Koster, who makes kitchen knives and does a lot with khukuries also. He's pretty much gotten to be a sharpening guru:
http://www.kosterknives.com/sharpening1.htm


I use this method a fiar bit now that I have a good belt grinder. I'm partial to sharpening by hand with benchstones, and thats how I generally maintain my carry knives, since I keep them sharp and don't have to do much work beyond a touch up. As a part time knifemaker though I have to set a lot of edges for the first time, and the belt grinder method is about as fast and easy as it gets. Definitely worth having a beltsander/grinder of some sort around if you've got a lot of sharpening to do.
You will want to practice on junkers for awhile though, as you've got to learn to hold at the right angle, and not to over heat the edge and all that. One mistake can mark a knife up pretty bad.
 
If you don't have lots of experience with belt or wheel systems stay away from them. The most dangerous part of knife making comes when you use a buffing wheel. The knife is easily ripped from your hand and can come back at you with great violence. I've talked with more than one knifemaker that has had an unsharpend blade yanked from their hand and thrown against their belly. A couple of them even showed me their scar and recounted their trip to the hospital.

Get the Spyderco sharpener and the additonal diamond hones (http://www.bestknives.com/spyddiamtria.html) and take the time to do the job carefully. set the diamond hones and hone until you get a wire edge on the opposite side. Move across to the opposite hone and repeat. Take one or two strokes on the opposite side and then switch to the coarse hones. Repeat the same process as for the diamonds. Switch to the fine hones and repeat process again. You should have a very sharp edge within a very few minutes of effort. Look at the "sticky" at the top of the forum on sharpening for more information.
 
The only way to get that experience with buffers and grinders is to buy one and practice.
I will recommend against a buffer. They are the most dangerous tool in a knifemakers shop, and I personally won't even use one. Proper technique keeping your work below the center line of the wheel, and only using hard wheels will keep you safer, but I've read of too many shop accidents involving them to use one myself.
The 1X30 sander is very low powered and won't throw a knife at you though. You hold the blade edge down to keep it from grabbing the belt, and its a pretty simple operation. Holding the blade edge up could cause you trouble, but the main thing that would happen is a split belt slapping you. It doesn't have enough power, and the belts aren't sturdy enough to really rip one out of your hand (only talking of the small 1X30's here, you screw up on my 1.5 hp 2X72 grinder and it will let you know it!)
Its not for everyone, and more expense than I'd go to if I was just maintaining a carry knife or two. If you've got a lot of sharpening to do though,or damaged knives, the belt grinder method is about the best thing since sliced bread.
 
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