I hate the final sharpening - Is it just me?

Very generous, but no one was talking about all of that.

When a belt does breaks, all by itself, it could easily slap that blade into your chest sharpening like that.

In my 55 years, 40 as a craftsman I have never had a stitch and aim to keep it that way due to common sense.

I remember as a Boy Scout the first lesson they teach you about using a knife is to not cut toward yourself.

If a maker has a VFD they could spend a few extra buck and put a reverse switch on it and sharpen all day with the edge facing away from him
Well, the words sound right but I still think the reality of that chain of events is less likely than getting struck by lightening. In fact, you probably have a better chance of having your throat or wrists slit by the belt, itself.(Disclaimer: I haven't ran the numbers... more for effect)

That said, I'm not the tightest cap in the six-pack and definitely not suggesting folks to play the odds... lol. We come to our own conclusions by way of our own experience. I have also been injury free, having spent the majority of my career in machine shops and fabrication... though I'm not as incredibly old as you... lol... not far off.

I've had stitches twice. Both times, due to common idiots while bouncing at a bar. Oh yeah... and once more when I got neutered.... which may be why I have more fear when the knife is facing toward my man junk.
 
Last edited:
Well, the words sound right but I still think the reality of that chain of events is less likely than getting struck by lightening. In fact, you probably have a better chance of having your throat or wrists slit by the belt, itself.(Disclaimer: I haven't ran the numbers... more for effect)

You have never had a belt break and slap you in the face? I have and it is not uncommon on a 4 wheel grinder

IIRC you have a 2 wheel Grizzly so this technique of sharpening would not apply anyways.
 
I agree with Adam, about sharpening on the upper slack belt being more dangerous.

That said, I've never ran a grinder backwards.

Also, I have never broke a belt at dead slow. I have broken plenty while hogging with a 36grit X-weight belt. They can slap you silly. I really like the belt stop bar Travis put on the TW-90. If the belt breaks it can't come around and slap you. This is a simple feature I feel would be a good add to any grinder setup.

I think a better discussion would be why people don't back off the flat platen to use the vertical slack belt ... or make a dedicated slack belt tool arm with no platen at all.
 
I agree with Adam, about sharpening on the upper slack belt being more dangerous.

That said, I've never ran a grinder backwards.

Also, I have never broke a belt at dead slow. I have broken plenty while hogging with a 36grit X-weight belt. They can slap you silly. I really like the belt stop bar Travis put on the TW-90. If the belt breaks it can't come around and slap you. This is a simple feature I feel would be a good add to any grinder setup.

I think a better discussion would be why people don't back off the flat platen to use the vertical slack belt ... or make a dedicated slack belt tool arm with no platen at all.

Exactly what I did. I got sick of backing the platen up so I made a dedicated slack belt arm. It saves a lot of grief. :thumbsup:
 
Having had belt failing in 2 occasions, i didn't experience this whipping action. Not barely related to a buffer's hit potential.
Both time the belt snapped and loose grip on the wheels....pop-stop.
Maybe it is just because i don't (need/use) sharpen PM steels at crazy speed on my grinder.
Regardless i won't stand in the way if a sharpened edge is leading on the belt, and relay on the work rest for shielding my southern emisphere in actual blade grinding.
Pinching points are the main concerns for my own safety at the grinder; they could be nasty.
Sharp edges i'd like to handle on stones and/or wet belts moving as slow as the edge slides on the stones. It keeps the all the risks down both for me and for the edge.

Regarding the sharpening angle, i like it to be as acute as i can manage to control by hand (without scratching all the blade's finish), depending on the steel and the knife use, but i don't measure it, the main geometry should be below 20-25 ° included, but the actual apex will be wider. I try to keep the edge as thin as i can instead, as my target, and the blade as "flat" as possible on the stones.
 
My belt sharpening is done with this 1" attachment. It has got a piece of kydex foam as a cushion. And since I let the belt do the sharpening (i.e almost no force at all is necessary) I end up with a so so slight convex edge. I run the grinder in reverse and sharpen edge up and edge trailing.

The belts are 50x2000 which I cut in half. I run slow and I also have spray mist.

The funny looking tool rest is my reference for a correct sharpening angle. Also, I really enjoy the final sharpening. I've sharpened a lot of edges on belt grinders so I don't have to think about the motion anymore. It's all muscle memory.

I chose 1 inch as it allows for easier sharpening in recurves and other more tricky shapes.

RgXYXEg.jpg


thFGgrG.jpg
 
Last edited:
Natlek that really helped out thanks.
I tried sharpening the way AVigil AVigil described but I couldn't get a bur to form on the platen.

It is all about geometry. the platen is flat, as you grind each side you make a few passes on both sides with the goal of forming 2 sides of a triangle. If a burr is not forming it means the point of the triangle is not forming properly.

That usually is due to not holding the knife at the correct angle and varying it as you make the passes.

Guaranteed, if you hold the knife perpendicular to the floor and have the angle set on the platen and make equal passes on each side the top of the triangle will form and a burr will appear
 
I got a Wicked Edge system about 6 months ago. Previously I thought I was very good at free-handing a consistent angle, but in reality the final bevels were slightly convex. Having it held precisely makes two intersecting planes and a very sharp edge. That setup is expensive, but however you do it, I can see the importance of maintaining precise angles.
 
I love the sharpening aspect, it's what led me to making knives. I like to finish thin, so I go directly to diamonds (or SiC) to set the bevel then water stones or ceramic to finish. On a thick edged knife I set the bevel on a 120 grit first, then stones.
 
So what about bevel grinding? When making my bevels I only run the vfd at 45hz. Any faster and I can't do a single pass without burning the hell out of my fingers.
Should I switch to zirc belts?
Because you do not put enough pressure on belt .Instead of cutting ceramic grain rubbing on steel and only heat steel ! When you drill hole in steel if you not push enough ,drill will only rubbing steel not cutting and will overheat quickly .Same if you have chosen very fast speed on drill bit .. can t cut that fast and will start to overheat because instead of cutting it s start to rubbing in steel ...........ok ?
 
I actually like putting the final edge on a knife. I put on my maker's mark and then I run the un-handled blade through a Work Sharp sharpener to just get some of the steel out of the way. Not sharp enough to cut your fingers but beveled like a very dull knife. Next I clean up the electro-acid etched maker's mark and the beveled blade with a medium Scotch-Brite belt. The final edge I put on as the very last step. I use a Wicked Edge. I does seem to me that the very first sharpening never gets quite as sharp as the subsequent sharpenings. This may be me being delusional but it sure seems that way to me.
 
4ux3XSW72Ctq4Y1D7
4ux3XSW72Ctq4Y1D7
Sharpening used to be a struggle. I free hand on slack belts then on to paper wheels. I welded a jig to maintain proper angle. BOOOM DONE
 
Last edited:
Thanks all. I just sharpened one last night and I purposely got it "sharp" before I sharpened it. Used the same set up as I had before but it went much faster.

I am still going to try out a few of these other suggestions. Just couldn't bring myself to do it on this one sanded clean to 2500 :)
 
i use a wilmont lb1000 with a large tool rest. few times belt has broken, it falls on mounting bench. as soon as belt breaks, tension is gone, drive wheel just spins. i set edge with P220 3m ceramic or 240 norton norzon zirconia(tru-grit usually has in stock), low speed(less than 400fpm),wet. when sharp enough to cut copy paper, to the stone. most customers don't have 2x72, most don't even have a hardware store brand oilstone. fine crystolon till slices newspaper, then 750 or 1200 diamond to finish(shaves forearm without pulling, push cut newspaper with light pressure). i have small stone holder, so i can sharpen while watching the tv. link to the past that discussed this https://www.bladeforums.com/threads/final-sharpening.107949/
 
Last edited:
I converted my first grinder, a Pro-cut 2 wheel machine, driven with a 1.5 hp Lesson DC VS, into a wet spray machine. All our sharpening is done on this machine, as well as bevel
grinding after hardening. If you look closely you will see the Craftsman 6 x 48 inch belt machine that I welded the Pro-cut to, making it adjustable from almost horizontal to vertical I use a Bubble Jig to control sharpening angle. Being able to "leave the blade on the belt" for extended periods of time, in the cooling spray makes building a wet machine a worthwhile project. We use Kool Mist water based coolant in the 5 gallon plastic reservoir.

I sharpen edge up using cork belts as well as ceramics in 120 grit. I take the edge to 800 before moving to diamond plate 1000 grit, finishing with an ERU for stropping purposes.

Sharpening in an up edge position is no more dangerous than anything else one might do in the shop. It is all about thinking safety and making sure the space you work in is safe. I know people that can hurt themselves on blunted safety scissors.

The green Gator belt is on the machine for photo purposes. They do not take to water. :(


g42Kk_KpiBeZH5JWgAropEHxRJRY1u9Azndh6dJYUHVnS7nohX1TipkS6iP9-K-8ujbkSSEtmpqDkV9AMQMeYE4XvrzkUQKA4yBwqi1Ziasz4wNBjkhizeRnjCwaz6KMsdQUOUJ7xxdew1nVYr4ezFsQmJuR8uBf9jBRcflHOi9XL5cTP4hybnyX_eTV6ucDV4fnaoRsOkD5OLOrbCBJylKUHXIGoOBSUgPLd4KLTyKY0ZUVst2jyGO6bJ_8-Mdbhyjjndq4f7nqp1fi5_BlEfHq6w-PxqepY4-sMpMQah1WNC_Gs16hGyHAy_ckz3klz8U2hQOy6Jz6lNei1TSNdN6v4sKa4ewfHGYxR3HtlO8U71Ax0QVC-aDgi1a-n0xt3dMzj6xBdPLzfnpCrNW55kfYk-ZobmjTQfZ0zxcQkVZFd7W2-pvkgttI8hOxG__XVRopYxAFKX-LJsxxpSpKEYxi3ioSCZAH3ISVqFtRagWEOEpAaNUzYx9jnKtNh5HZhbI9LDnACCBASetvmw7mBoboT5ZID87iqhMW5Z8v-2KIhnxX9lbTZ7KC3nNuhveh-Eng7OIqOvOxbVlcar2hXMnrOVt0FbqhUvsfiIY=w515-h915-no
fi
XaBa8l2srTeCuRMITYLmghoAR5fiJDKuYvNI2Se_33hw_y3WYLpr8x2avicJKeyaUemWRn0oPmfTITtVz_NBcnlf5Ik9i4NcdtL9bfN0uxnGLWy5VVFLC97lsw9zuwxdSQsy-dyUv9iPY9ZB3G-9a8Dubx6Ocl8jtAwFi0pTNkwZriphRSI701UZm7Q-Dg8RPb3yas7lwEfZA2nC0qju3HX4Nx27lTz6O5xBhTlptOpaO8F0LVLuTZGxff0hwrwi6NaWGXmBQS9RCuJsi1OoG737YVs7x_mJGU8VOa9BKtBUIZWke0DaOKbD8fepNrgVCv16k3k6u_zVnRI1vddfEpFX7dWFin2XsiIZNQwh9zrqBE7yDtGZYmzClkwSupvrbOMMbowFqDpxXLD3vAt8mF5mrIdTyLuwdHp0jJbgr7_G0pU3p2koZBVZ5OfUeIGfdkWKhebMuEkTUyDyStNDLTu0wiVPjW_HxCaekMGofuvWvm8hVXnIYK9ipd3dvic_gNMJa8MPPMQRsjP6yB79sslxYCJY0F-plcKxNVdBJhkj-etKY9DlPsyTNb4Q75s8gzX3Bc_1FFmfZaX49ALhQE7VGsZNTiGPISJuwRI=w515-h915-no
. Th
 
I just did my first couple blades all ground post HT with a mist set up. It's a game changer to not have to constantly dip, or burn your finger when you just need 3 more seconds in a spot!

I got the unit from ebay for under 8 bucks with valve. I use Kool Mist as well in a used windshield washer fluid bottle.

You do need more than just a pancake style air compressor though to run it decently.
 
Back
Top