paper sharpening wheels - when your time is important to you
- Thread starter richard j
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My 15 micron wheel used to be a smooth one, but a while ago i made a few very narrow slots in it's surface myself.
I started experimenting with diamonds on Paper Wheels several years ago to be able to sharpen & polish ceramic knives to my liking, and later i found how well this combination worked on high (vanadium) carbide steel types also, especially on more polished edge types.
I started experimenting with diamonds on Paper Wheels several years ago to be able to sharpen & polish ceramic knives to my liking, and later i found how well this combination worked on high (vanadium) carbide steel types also, especially on more polished edge types.
Very interesting thread, thanks for sharing! If you don’t mind me asking, are you applying diamond compound (assuming the paste type found in syringes) directly to the paper wheels and just spreading it around or is there a curing/gluing process for it to adhere?
I’ve been experimenting with CBN emulsion on a felt belt grinder for steels with more vanadium, but have always been curious about paper wheels as they seem very effective. After seeing your posts, I think I might take the plunge and was wondering how you apply the diamond compound. Thank you!
M
MRpink
: I apply the diamond paste to the Wheel surface with a clean index finger, then cover the result with 5 or 6 drops of light oil, and mix & spread evenly.
Then let it all dry at least overnight, if possible over multiple nights (i tend to do it just before weekends)
The wheel surface has to be dry before you start using it, or you will lose much of those expensive diamond particles prematurely.
Imo it's best to use an oil type with tackifier in it on higher speed grinders (~3000 r.p.m), on slower speed grinders (like mine, which runs between 1400-1700 r.p.m) you can even use oil without.
Once thoroughly dried the oil makes the diamonds adhere quite well to the spinning Wheel, in operation it protects both your apex as well as the diamond particles themselves from overheating (also because part of the oil will be absorbed by the cardboard and just sit below the surface in liquid form, acting like a heatsink), and thanks to the oil's lubricating qualities (even when dried) you can keep the blade almost still while doing passes (no grabbing effect)
All in all working with these diamond coated Wheels is not overly difficult, even for a myopic old fart like me with only one functioning eye.
Then let it all dry at least overnight, if possible over multiple nights (i tend to do it just before weekends)
The wheel surface has to be dry before you start using it, or you will lose much of those expensive diamond particles prematurely.
Imo it's best to use an oil type with tackifier in it on higher speed grinders (~3000 r.p.m), on slower speed grinders (like mine, which runs between 1400-1700 r.p.m) you can even use oil without.
Once thoroughly dried the oil makes the diamonds adhere quite well to the spinning Wheel, in operation it protects both your apex as well as the diamond particles themselves from overheating (also because part of the oil will be absorbed by the cardboard and just sit below the surface in liquid form, acting like a heatsink), and thanks to the oil's lubricating qualities (even when dried) you can keep the blade almost still while doing passes (no grabbing effect)
All in all working with these diamond coated Wheels is not overly difficult, even for a myopic old fart like me with only one functioning eye.
My understanding is that bench grinder is not use for sharpening since it can heat and ruin the edge of a knife. I was looking through this thread but could not find any references to heat management of paper wheels. It looks like the paper wheel system is an excellent option and if it is so good why not it became the main system of choice? I am very much interested but I am afraid to ruin my knives. Can heat affect the blades?
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Good question, Barmaley. Hopefully some paper wheel experts here will chime in with authoritative answers to that.
If I had to guess, I would think that the few passes that are required don't generate enough heat to present a problem, but I could be wrong. I look forward to the answers, too.
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With each standard set of Paper Wheels comes a small block of wax, which needs to be applied to the surface of the grit wheel.
Imo this works best by rotating the wheel by hand and use the block of wax like a crayon to cover the grit surface all over with an even layer, not too thick and not too thin.
Just holding the block of wax to a spinning grit wheel can leave a grit surface with less than optimal wax coverage, where some spots will have no wax at all and others too much.
Once applied carefully this layer of wax will keep frictional heat during sharpening well below the threshold where it would start to affect the temper in your apex.
This is much more effective than dunking your blade in a bucket of water after each pass.
Imo this works best by rotating the wheel by hand and use the block of wax like a crayon to cover the grit surface all over with an even layer, not too thick and not too thin.
Just holding the block of wax to a spinning grit wheel can leave a grit surface with less than optimal wax coverage, where some spots will have no wax at all and others too much.
Once applied carefully this layer of wax will keep frictional heat during sharpening well below the threshold where it would start to affect the temper in your apex.
This is much more effective than dunking your blade in a bucket of water after each pass.
Did somebody made measurements after wax was applied? Why I can not apply wax to ceramic grinding stone to get the same result? What makes paper wheel different? I guess according to physics theory as soon as two system cut with the same speed they suppose to generate the same amount of heat! This is a good article for reference: https://knifesteelnerds.com/2019/04/08/does-sharpening-with-a-grinder-ruin-your-edge/
I remember some people doing experiments on another forum with different types of Tempilstick temperature wax on knife bevels, and i've even bought one of these sticks myself (without ever using it so far)
About using wax on a ceramic grinding stone: i do exactly that on the grindstone of my smaller benchgrinder, and imo it works very well for rough grinding of handheld smaller metal parts without overheating them too quickly.
Compared to a solid ceramic grinding stone with fused abrasive particles a Paper grit Wheel made from compressed cardboard with glued-on loose abrasive particles has a tiny bit of "give" in it's surface, which makes the grinding process a bit less agressive, which creates less friction thus less heat. (when the same force is applied)
That "give" is also what makes knife sharpening on Paper Wheels more controllable by dampening the impacting abrasive particles a bit, which allows you to keep the knife practically still while doing passes.
Adding a lubricant/coolant improves things even further.
About using wax on a ceramic grinding stone: i do exactly that on the grindstone of my smaller benchgrinder, and imo it works very well for rough grinding of handheld smaller metal parts without overheating them too quickly.
Compared to a solid ceramic grinding stone with fused abrasive particles a Paper grit Wheel made from compressed cardboard with glued-on loose abrasive particles has a tiny bit of "give" in it's surface, which makes the grinding process a bit less agressive, which creates less friction thus less heat. (when the same force is applied)
That "give" is also what makes knife sharpening on Paper Wheels more controllable by dampening the impacting abrasive particles a bit, which allows you to keep the knife practically still while doing passes.
Adding a lubricant/coolant improves things even further.
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Aside from applying wax to the grit and polishing paper wheels, would it be advisable to apply any kind of oil or something else?
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I just tried the paper wheels out tonight for the first time. WOW. So fast and easy - and the results are sharper than razor sharp. Some knives were done with just one pass on each side. A couple of knives took two passes on each side, then one or two passes on polish side. Results: AMAZING.
I had a slight bit of difficulty keeping the knives from jumping around a bit, but I think with more practice, I'll be fine with that.
Between the paper wheels, DMT Diamond stones, Spyderco Sharpmaker, and two sets of Waterstones... I think I've got my sharpening bases pretty well covered.
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I've sharpened a few knives and a totally blunt, dead-dull, rusted machete (in hindsight, I probably should have only used a stone grinding wheel on that machete, the paper wheel is too nice to waste on a piece of crap blunted machete)... anyway, now, when I feel the grit wheel - it feels quite smooth - I guess the wax has distributed well. But shouldn't I feel some grit? Or, is this as it should be? Should wax be removed to some degree?