Hardest steel ever!

[FortyTwoBlades]

36 grit Cubitron II belts work a treat for heavy reprofiling work. I like to use the contact wheel on my belt grinder with a gentle pulsing action to take the cheeks off the edge and blend it into a nice convex. I start with the 36 grit Cubitron or 80 grit "Gator" Trizact belt depending on how much material I'm taking off, then a 200 grit cork belt loaded with emery compound followed by a gritless cork belt loaded with the same compound. Brings it right up to a mirror.

 

[ithinkverydeeply]

I'll be hiding from armed mobs for this but if I get a really hard axe I'll use a grinding wheel to rough it out and a flap wheel to get it almost to where I want it, then I'll finish it with a stone. If you use a grinder be VERY careful not to get it too hot.

Get the pitchforks!

 

[Square_peg]

It depends on what I'm sharpening and for who. When I'm sharpening trail tools (pulaskis, grub hoes, shovels) for the WTA it's all flap disc work with an angle grinder. I'm sharpening 40 tools in 4 hours and there's just no other way.

Sharpening for myself or friends I prefer to file because I get the best profile this way. If there's a ton of metal to remove I might use a belt grinder or pedestal grinder to hog off some of it. But I'm careful not to remove any material beyond where I'm going to file. When I'm done I don't want to see a single grinder mark on the axe.

In the end we all do what pleases us. No judgment.

 

[garry3]

It depends on what I'm sharpening and for who. When I'm sharpening trail tools (pulaskis, grub hoes, shovels) for the WTA it's all flap disc work with an angle grinder. I'm sharpening 40 tools in 4 hours and there's just no other way.

Sharpening for myself or friends I prefer to file because I get the best profile this way. If there's a ton of metal to remove I might use a belt grinder or pedestal grinder to hog off some of it. But I'm careful not to remove any material beyond where I'm going to file. When I'm done I don't want to see a single grinder mark on the axe.

In the end we all do what pleases us. No judgment.

Should I pick up what could be a fine old vintage tool and see it has been trashed on a bench grinder I immediately pass judgment and condemn them Hades.

 

[Fmont]

Just as with all the axes with a toe in absentia, a wheel or belt is only as useful as the person in operation or use thereof. And equally fraught with destructive power should skill and respect not be shown towards respective tools.

Which is simply a roundabout way of saying it's not the grinder to blame for all those mauled axes, but rather the dull operator on a misguided quest for sharp!

 

[Curt Hal]

Finally finished the Spear and Jackson after having taken some vacation time. In the end, I just used elbow grease and patience. Definitely the hardest steel I’ve ever worked with.