couple ?'s on the Harbor Freight 6" buffer I bought

C

cvcman

Joined
Aug 10, 2010
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ok I got it for 32.00
it came with 2 buffing wheels, a loose one and a stiched one..

1) they both seem to loose alot of strings, is this because they are new or because they are cheap ?

2) I used the stiched one to polish my edge after getting the burr with a hand stone, I used green compound, I still have small teeth in the edge, is green the correct compound to use for a mirror finish ??

3) would I still do better to buy the paper wheel it and put this on to ge a better edge ??

Thx
 
cvcman said:
ok I got it for 32.00
it came with 2 buffing wheels, a loose one and a stiched one..

1) they both seem to loose alot of strings, is this because they are new or because they are cheap ?

2) I used the stiched one to polish my edge after getting the burr with a hand stone, I used green compound, I still have small teeth in the edge, is green the correct compound to use for a mirror finish ??

3) would I still do better to buy the paper wheel it and put this on to ge a better edge ??

Thx
Click to expand...


Also how do you hold the arbor from turning when getting the nuts tight ??
 
I have played around with a buffing wheel experimenting (because it was cheap and I wanted to see what it did). It does not work out very well. Any way you cut it the buffing wheels are going to destroy your edge. They are all too soft. The problem is they wrap around the edge. Convex edges might not be as bad, but it will still wrap around the edge some. The slotted paper wheel will not wrap as it is much harder = makes for a nicer edge.

I tried the buffing wheel on my ESEE Izula II - 1095 steel and powder coated for corrosion protection. The buffing wheel works such a wide area it removes the paint from the blade.

Where I could see using a buffing wheel is to polish blades, not the edges. You need something a lot harder than the buffing wheels (no matter what quality buffing wheel it is, stitched or not, they're all too soft for the very fine contact area an edge requires).
 
First, throw the buffing wheels that came with the buffer away! (pure junk) Go ahead and get the paper wheels and just HAND tighten them on the buffer. Do not tighten with a wrench. They will tighten as the wheels turn on their own. If you tighten with a wrench, you can warp the washers and the paper wheels. The green compound is finer than the white that comes with the wheels. Use the white on the slotted wheel as per the instructions with the wheels. You can get a strop (leather or balsa) and use the green on it if you feel the need to go past what the paper wheel will give you. Be sure and grind a burr on the gritted wheel before using the slotted buffer wheel, and you will get a shaving sharp result on the wheels by them selves. Practice on some el cheapo knives to get the procedure down before starting on your good knives. I went to Goodwill and bought 16 knives for less than $17 to practice on. They are on my bench hair splitting sharp right now. I did use a leather strop on the better grade of cheap knives to see just how sharp I could get them. Lots of fun and was a learning experience. Good luck.
 
OHALLUM said:
First, throw the buffing wheels that came with the buffer away! (pure junk) Go ahead and get the paper wheels and just HAND tighten them on the buffer. Do not tighten with a wrench. They will tighten as the wheels turn on their own. If you tighten with a wrench, you can warp the washers and the paper wheels. The green compound is finer than the white that comes with the wheels. Use the white on the slotted wheel as per the instructions with the wheels. You can get a strop (leather or balsa) and use the green on it if you feel the need to go past what the paper wheel will give you. Be sure and grind a burr on the gritted wheel before using the slotted buffer wheel, and you will get a shaving sharp result on the wheels by them selves. Practice on some el cheapo knives to get the procedure down before starting on your good knives. I went to Goodwill and bought 16 knives for less than $17 to practice on. They are on my bench hair splitting sharp right now. I did use a leather strop on the better grade of cheap knives to see just how sharp I could get them. Lots of fun and was a learning experience. Good luck.
Click to expand...

thx guys ! I have a buddy that was a designer and knife builder for Camillus for years, he uses a belt sander and a buffer and the edges he gets are scary sharp for sure...So you think I can achive the same with the Razor Sharp wheels ?? I ordered them yesterday..

"hand tighten" the nuts only ???man that doesnt sound good....I thought the white compound was the finest ?? Shows how much I know

Also can I sharpen beautician shears on the wheels ??
 
can I sharpen beautician shears on the wheels ??
Click to expand...
Cheap big shears - oh heck, give it a try but I don't think it will turns out well.

Fancy Jshears (cobalt) - I wouldn't even try grinder/buffer on these high precision hair shears/instruments.
 
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bluntcut said:
Cheap big shears - oh heck, give it a try but I don't think it will turns out well.

Fancy Jshears (cobalt) - I wouldn't even try grinder/buffer on these high precision hair shears/instruments.
Click to expand...

yea these are 300.00 shears so I better back off...but...as far as folding, steak etc knives these wheels should do a great job I hope..I will mount them on my buffer when I get them.

So wax the grit wheel, raise the burr, rouge the finish wheel, polish the burr off,and it should be shaving sharp ?

How often do you need to regrit the wheel ?
 
cvcman said:
yea these are 300.00 shears so I better back off...but...as far as folding, steak etc knives these wheels should do a great job I hope..I will mount them on my buffer when I get them.

So wax the grit wheel, raise the burr, rouge the finish wheel, polish the burr off,and it should be shaving sharp ?

How often do you need to regrit the wheel ?
Click to expand...

It depends, When you see the bare paper underneath then its time. My wheels have sharpened at least 40 knives on them and still have plenty of life left in them.
 
The original grit should last for a long time. I have had mine for about 6 weeks now and the grit is still good, and I have used it quite a bit. I sharpened an old machete today that had a really blunt edge on it, and it would push cut paper when I finished. The grit wheel is just as good as when I first got it. Just remember to use the wax to keep the blades from getting too hot. It will look like there is very little grit actually grinding on the blade, but it is still grinding away. Below are some good videos on using the wheels.

http://stanfordoutdoors.homestead.com/installingwheels.wmv
http://stanfordoutdoors.homestead.com/reconditionkit2.wmv
http://stanfordoutdoors.homestead.com/moreknifesharpening.wmv
http://stanfordoutdoors.homestead.com/buffingknives.wmv
 
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