How To Preferred method of sharpening knives - Japanese stones, on a fixed angle jig, or - 1" X 42" slow speed belts, or Horizontal Makita wet stone ?

[tools13]

Hello - I am new to the forum. I am a lifelong (@ 68 yrs) woodworker. I now want to try my hand at sharpening higher end kitchen knives. So - I am asking about preferred methods of sharpening knives - Japanese stones, on a fixed angle jig, or - 1" X 42" slow speed (1725) belts, or Horizontal Makita wet stone ? I am patient, but not overly so. I learned during my apprenticeship to "free-hand" sharpen chisels and plane irons. However, with the introduction of the Veritas (Lee Valley) fixed angle holding jig - I was sold. Moving forward, I want to again use the precision of a "fixed angle" method. I own several Shapton (Japanese) wet stones (1K, 5K & 10K + Trend 300/1000 Diamond,) and a stone holder. I also own a slow speed (1750) grinder with a 1" X 42" belt attachment. I also own a Makita model 9820-2 horizontal, 8-in.-dia., 1,000-grit water stone (& the coarser stone too), spinning at 650 rpm with wet a drip system to lubricate the stone. I have access to a welding shop. I am planning to build a "fixed angle knife sharpener" (not unlike the many many on the market). It would allow the clamped knife to be rotated 180 degrees and stop back "level" in a fixed dog - so I could chase the burr off the edge. This unit would have my stone holder attached to the traditional angled rod, so I could affix my Shapton stones to it. So - I am asking all you experienced blade sharpeners: what method should I pursue ? Seems clear that the "Wicked Edge" method (with stones only) would give me the very best and sharpest edge - but at what cost in time ? Could I use the 1" X 42" sander/grinder with Trizact and other belts (including a leather belt) to achieve acceptable results ? I would sincerely appreciate your comments ! Thanks to all in advance. Ken

 

[3D Anvil]

I definitely wouldn't use a belt sander on a high end kitchen knife. High end kitchen knives are *really* thin behind the edge and it would be too easy to burn it. Probably take off too much steel, too. I also wouldn't use an 8" grinder, as you'll get a pretty concave edge with such a small wheel. Which leaves freehand or fixed angle. Since you have a nice collection of stones you might want to check out Hapstone's angle guide, which is basically a blade clamp with screws facing in either direction on each side. You adjust the screws to get your desired angle. The main downside is that it only goes down to about 14-15° before the clamp drags on the stone, but that's probably fine for 95% of kitchen knives.

It's a little fiddly setting it up initially, but you can probably get away with setting the angle once since you have dimensionally very close Shapton stones. You'd have to experiment and see if the angle needs adjusting between stones.

It's available from Hapstone directly, or from Gritomatic.

Here's what it looks like:

 

[pwest]

Could I use the 1" X 42" sander/grinder with Trizact and other belts (including a leather belt) to achieve acceptable results ?

You absolutely can, but you'll need to make sure you really get a low-speed machine. I use an AMK-75 30" belt sharpener and its lowest speed is 350 RPM w/a 2" drive wheel. At this speed, it runs at about 3 feet per second--slightly slower than a Tormek T8. I use the Trizact belts that go down to 6 microns, then load linen belts w/various abrasives (Autosol, diamond past, Tormek honing compound, etc) to finish. I also have a couple of diamond belts that I use for supersteels. I regularly sharpen e.g. Wusthof and Global kitchen knives with no issues. If you turned up the speed, you could absolutely burn and damage edges, but it's not a problem the way I do it (I'm not guessing here--I've done careful testing w/Tempilaq).

-Phil

 

[catspa]

A 5/8 bolt will fit in one of the jig holes on your Makita, with a nut or two to set the height. I rounded and polished the head on mine, not strictly necessary, or use a carriage bolt (typically threaded to the shoulder in the 5” length). Then you can add any bracket you want to get out over the stone.

The 1000 grit wheel leaves a nice working edge.

Parker