Sharpening on a Bench Grinder

H

HOE3

Joined
Feb 9, 2007
Messages
294
Quick question please,

If sharpening a blade on a benchgrinder, :eek: with the wheel turning counter-clockwise, should I hold the blade edge "up" so the wheel is sharpening the "bottom side", or should I hold the blade edge "down" so wheel is sharpening "top side"? :confused:

I know most of you may say "Dont use a benchgrinder to sharpen knives!",
and I won't, but trying to resolve an arguement with a Mr. KnowItAll.:o

thanks!!
 
If you were crazy enough to potentially ruin your knife, you would point the edge up so that no burr forms on the edge and, more importantly, the edge does not get jammed between the stone and the tool rest when angled towards the machine.
 
I used to have 5 bench grinders set up with various wheels. 4 of these were simply different types of motors with arbors installed so I can put wheels on them. Horsepower ranges from 1/4 to 3/4. Rpm from 1700 to 3400. Doing this was standard practice for my father, grandfather, uncles etc.
All pretty standard stuff actually. I have been fixing,making and sharpening things on grinders for about 35 years now. I can sharpen anything on them held in any direction. You just gotta know what your doing. You must use the proper wheels with the proper techniques or you will fail. I have never tried a convex edge with anything but a belt grinder however. You must use the proper protective gear also, unless you like scars. Anyone who says never use a bench grinder to sharpen or fix a blade just does not know how to really use one.I also use belt and wet grinders. They will work just as well as hand techniques with much less time.
 
I`m using the paper wheel set-up. Does a quick, great job and I`m terrible at sharpening.
 
If you do choose to use the grinder, stay away from Guinness stout. Get a scotch-brite wheel (fine grade) and go to town. Using a grinder on knives is somewhat of a risky thing, you may ruin a few blades in your attempt to sharpen a knife that would have done better with a stone or crock stick. The paper wheel, as mentioned before, might represent a better choice.
 
the wheels are the only way to go if time is important. with practice you can sharpen a knife with the same angles that are on from the factory. it takes practice but when you can sharpen a knife in a couple of minutes to razor sharp, nothing else can compare in my opinion and i used to have an ez sharp which is similar to a lansky sharpener. i gladly gave it away to my cousin for sharpening his broadheads.
 
You guys should try a bench grinder with a soft deburring wheel on it, wonderful fast sharpening.
 
One time I used the exposed side of a bench grinder wheel to do a quick sharpening/bevel job on a hatchet blade. Did a nice job, and it was sharp as hell but I feel stupid for my haste. Thinking back, the wheel could have easily broken off and shot into my face or somethin.

Anyway, I feel that most bench grinders are way too fast and too crude and coarse for any kind of a quality, nice and even sharpening job. Your hands have very little control with these machines. They get things hot and ruin tempers. I've noticed that most of the wheels diameters are not big enough for clearance of the motor while sharpening anything. Give your know it all friend these reasons not to use a bench grinder, and his argument will start sounding irrelevant.
 
dig-it said:
I`m using the paper wheel set-up. Does a quick, great job and I`m terrible at sharpening.
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I use paper wheels too for my every day knives. There is a learning curve but it is not difficult to learn to do it right. I bought several cheap Old Hickory brand carbon steel knives on ebay for practise and I'm glad I did. Man, the wheels make quick work of sharpening and the edge is better than I ever would have expected. Watch out for the tips - easy to burn so be quick in this area, or not at all.

caveat: For my GOOD knives, I use an EdgePro Apex exclusively.
 
i have been sharpening knives for about half my life and i speak from experience. i have seen and used quite a few contraptions to sharpen knives on and when it comes to quick fast and sharp, you cant beat these wheels. i sent a knife to ren the devil's trailboss and here is what he told me in an email. "Cool little blade. You were right Hair popping sharp and a definite user."
with practice, anyone can get the same results from these wheels. when i get someone to help me, i plan on making a short video of how to use these wheels. i had a friend check out one of my knives and asked me if "i can not sharpen a knife so sharp", i asked him why? there is no half way point with these wheels. its either sharp or its not. if its not, you are doing something wrong or the knife is junk steel (pakistan knives for example are junk).
 
psycho78 said:
One time I used the exposed side of a bench grinder wheel to do a quick sharpening/bevel job on a hatchet blade. Did a nice job, and it was sharp as hell but I feel stupid for my haste. Thinking back, the wheel could have easily broken off and shot into my face or somethin.

Anyway, I feel that most bench grinders are way too fast and too crude and coarse for any kind of a quality, nice and even sharpening job. Your hands have very little control with these machines. They get things hot and ruin tempers. I've noticed that most of the wheels diameters are not big enough for clearance of the motor while sharpening anything. Give your know it all friend these reasons not to use a bench grinder, and his argument will start sounding irrelevant.
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Thats funny, I feel exactly the opposite. Grinders can be had in varying RPM. Wheels for grinding and buffing come in a wide variety of grit size and materials. I have complete control of my hands and my bevels are all even. You will not temper blades out if you watch what you are doing. Cool the work if necessary. If the wheel is too small get a bigger one! Just make sure it can handle the motors RPM. A smaller wheel will move faster, a larger one will move slower depending on load and HP rating.
I have sharpened lawn mower blades and machetes held in a vise while using a 4 inch hand held side grinder with good results. What you have described above is what happens if you don't know what you are doing. I am not bragging nor am I anywhere close to knowing it all. I was just taught well and have been doing it for a long time:) .
 
SOLEIL said:
What you have described above is what happens if you don't know what you are doing.
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Well....I guess I dont then. I only like to use the bench grinder for profiling blades and very coarse non knife related grinding.

I dont like bench grinders for knives and feel that they are for people who DONT KNOW WHAT THEY ARE DOING with proper stones and hand tools.

I've been doing this a long time too.
 
LOL,

I usually use a hand stone at least once a day at work. I use hydraulic, pneumatic, electric and hand tools all day long. If I have a number of knives to work on I prefer to use my grinders as they are quicker. If I am only doing touch up I will use different stones, rods and strops. I just prefer to use the most efficient tools for me to do the job.
Don't take it personal, I am just stating that you can sharpen just as well with bench grinders as you can with hand methods. Use whichever is best for you. Just don't state that a method is irrelevant just because you have difficulty with it.
 
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