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Hubert (Ga)engine7 
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 Topic: Knife sharpeners
Posted: 16 Mar 2024 at 7:29pm |
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Being old, fat and lazy I am looking at some of the smaller powered belt sharpeners particularly the WorkSharp brand from Lowe's to replace the 1"x30" belt sander I am now using. They have a "Ken Onion" version that is $50 more than the regular version. My question is: has anyone used either of these and is the upgrade worth the difference? Thanks in advance for your thoughts and opinions.
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Just an old country boy saved by the grace of God.
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DiyDave
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Location: Gambrills, MD
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Posted: 16 Mar 2024 at 7:56pm |
I have no opinonoin... But a lot of that sharpening system stuff is just crap, IMHO. I'm making a sharpening system for lathe tools, right now, cause everybody in "the know" says to just buy a $400 system. As of now, I'm in for $125, for a slow speed grinder plus some scrap plywood. Hell, the lathe I use only cost me $100!
I'd skim youtube vids for home made knife sharpeners...
I'm sure that advice will make Mr Onion cry... 
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Codger
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Posted: 16 Mar 2024 at 8:45pm |
I can't offer any direct experience of late either but I've never used a belt sander for a knife except very coarse work finished with a second operation. Prior to swapping to a replaceable insert type knife many years ago, I used a disc sander for rough form just after hardening the steel blade, then followed with a hollow grinder. Prior to that I always finished with a porcelain stick and this would instill an edge you could shave with as it was sharp as a straight razor.
Good quality hollow grinders will do the same with different wheels once the holding jig is positioned properly. Look for one with a sliding table as they are very accurate, simple to use, and quite fast. Use coolant to protect the heat treatment of the steel blade.
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DaveKamp
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Posted: 16 Mar 2024 at 8:47pm |
Hugh... are you looking for a SHARPENER, or a BELT GRINDER?
When making, or doing a heavy repair on a knife, one uses a grinder, frequently a belt grinder, to establish the curve of the edge, then set the bevel of the blade, then the sharp angle, and then once those angles are cut, the sharpening is done with a stone or diamond hone.
If you REALLY want an edge, once it's been honed, one finishes it with a strop...
My belt grinder is a Hammond F-2... don't have picture of it handy, but it's like this one:
Edited by DaveKamp - 16 Mar 2024 at 8:49pm
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DMiller
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Posted: 17 Mar 2024 at 5:25am |
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Leather belt running like a belt sander with Jewelers Rouge is what a local shop used when lived in St Charles, made a wicked long lasting edge.
Edited by DMiller - 17 Mar 2024 at 5:25am
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Coke-in-MN
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Posted: 17 Mar 2024 at 2:54pm |
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Worked for a guy who was a boner in packing plant for years and a Army butcher in WW 2 , he said the only thing he ever used was a wet stone and a steel after to hone in to keep knife sharp .
Tried all kinds of things over the years and his ideas and methods still are the best .
Only thing I sharpen with the belt sander is lawn mower blades , but do touch them up sometimes with disc grinder .
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jaybmiller
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Posted: 17 Mar 2024 at 6:15pm |
I don't know...but I think most people don't sharpen OFTEN enough. When I was a butcher's helper(OK...grunt...) he'd cut,cut,cut,cut,sharpen....repeat as needed. He only needed 30-40 seconds to sharpen every few minutes,usually as I was hauling something on or off the table. Said I took longer to get the meat than for him to resharpen his knives.
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DaveKamp
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Posted: 17 Mar 2024 at 7:56pm |
It doesn't take long to address a blade, as long as it doesn't have deep nicks. There's circumstances that having a finely-honed blade ISN'T what one wants. When meatcutting, the blade will actually be more effective with a fine grinding pattern, as it acts like micro-serration during a pulling or pushing action. When cutting smoothd leather, a finely-honed edge does better with that polished sharp... but one HAS to remove the burr that forms from a stone.
I'm not a fine woodworker, but I carefully hone my chisels, so that I don't have to make lots of lousy cuts (and I make lousy cuts)... the oiled stone with an angle jig... but when I'm sharpening carbide teeth on my lathe tools, it's a diamond hone, either on the Di-Acro toolcutter, or the plastic plates that come in a set of three from Horror-Fright.
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Ten Amendments, Ten Commandments, and one Golden Rule solve most every problem. Citrus hand-cleaner with Pumice does the rest.
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IBWD MIke
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Posted: 18 Mar 2024 at 7:32am |
Dave has great insight as always.
I use many different methods to sharpen things. A file does a lot of it! The one that blows peoples minds is utility knife blades. Three passes on each side and done. Much faster to sharpen than change blades. Of course, they don't last forever, change as needed. Take the last three passes into the cutting edge to remove the burr.
Lawnmower blades are another file project. This is a little more work but blades last a loooong time. Keep a sharp set in the shop ready to go on, sharpen the dull ones on a rain day.
Use Arkansas stones on my kitchen/hunting/fillet knives. A steel in between honing.
Brush hog blades get the 6" grinder, I really hate that thing!
I like to sharpen drill bits on a belt sander but don't currently have one so have to use the bench grinder.
Should mention, a steel is effective because the edge is not really dull, just 'rolled'. All the steel does is beat it back in line.
Edited by IBWD MIke - 18 Mar 2024 at 7:34am
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DaveKamp
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Posted: 18 Mar 2024 at 9:50pm |
Yeah, there's LOTS of things that'll sharpen a knife blade. Here's an odd, but very effective one if you need to touch up your daily pocketknife...
Roll down your car window most of the way. Leave an inch or two sticking out. Run your knife blade across it as if it was a narrow stone... MOST windows' edges are radiused and slightly rough due to how the glass shape is manufactured, and that edge will do a pretty good job of restoring a dulled pocketknife... and it's built into the car! ;-)
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Ten Amendments, Ten Commandments, and one Golden Rule solve most every problem. Citrus hand-cleaner with Pumice does the rest.
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JoeM(GA)
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Posted: 19 Mar 2024 at 6:26am |
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mine gets a couple of passes on the bottom of my ceramic coffee cup after I rinse it out, keeps it like a razor
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Hubert (Ga)engine7
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Posted: 19 Mar 2024 at 8:32am |
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Thanks for all of the good ideas and information. I occasionally sharpen the knives in the church kitchen and they do get abused as in using a SS table for a cutting board when we have several boards available, etc. I don't want to risk getting them too sharp and I have a bunch to do each time. My personal use knives I keep sharp and use a steel for touch up. I am thinking I may stick with the belt sander I have now for rough work and diamond hones for the good knives and save some $
JoeM, I like the idea of using the bottom of the coffee mug. I have one that says "Can't Fix Stupid" that should be appropriate (see above remark).
Dave, good advice on using a vehicle window also.
Edited by Hubert (Ga)engine7 - 19 Mar 2024 at 8:33am
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IBWD MIke
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Posted: 19 Mar 2024 at 9:12am |
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Dave has me thinking I may start sharpening my meat cutting knives with a rougher stone. Dual benefit, micro serrations to cut better and definitely faster sharpening process! I've sharpened a lot of guys knives with a file while they were cutting up deer. Quick, easy, and they can't believe how much better they cut.
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Dave H
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Posted: 19 Mar 2024 at 10:00am |
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I use the basic work sharp, been using a long time and still on the first belt.
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