belt sander sharpening

OK guys I got a one inch belt sander for doing my sheaths but I know it is also useful for sharpening so let's make a good database of techniques and supplies.

I'll add that harbor freight has one right now with the 2 year no questions asked replacement.

Greaser, I changed your post, Dan might have considered it deal spotting. This should keep us all out of trouble.

Skunk

I get my belts from lee valley. Practice on cheap blades. Harbor frieght is good. Got a Kalamazoo but waiting on belts. I like the km though. Sharpened an axe with good results with the belt it came with.

I followed these directions copied directly from Ban Tang's knifemaker forum on blade forum.

• How do you sharpen a Stupid Sharp knife? How do I maintain my steel or carbidized Ti BT knives?

Quote Originally Posted by Ban
Sharpening a Stupid Sharp knife (steel):

Things you will need:
Belt Grinder
120 grit belt
220 grit belt
Coarse Scotchbrite belt
Fine Scothbrite belt
Leather Belt and Green Compound.

Sharpen a V edge using the 120 grit belt, then follow it with a 220 grit belt. You want to knock off a majority of the shoulder.

Use the coarse scotchbrite to continue knocking off the shoulder and slowly form the convex secondary bevel with alternating strokes. A coarse scotchbrite is good for this because it cuts fairly decently and - because it’s fairly unstructured - it naturally convexes the edge. Try doing a true V edge with one and you will see that it has the tendency to round the shoulder edges. Keep at it with the coarse scotchbrite until you are satisfied with the convex geometry. The geometry will vary from large knives to smaller knives, dependent on application, as discussed previously.

NOTE: Be careful when doing this part of the sharpening because a decent amount of heat can be generated. Start off slow to get the hang of it and have some water handy to cool the blade. Dip the blade often to ensure you don’t overheat it. This is the slowest and also the most important step.

Follow the above process with the fine scotchbrite belt.

Finally, strop the hell out of it with the green compound saturated leather belt, and it should pop hair like nobody's business. I start off using a good amount of pressure to do the majority of the polishing. Then I slowly finesse the alternating strokes towards the end to prevent myself from increasing the angle and rolling over the edge.

On average, it takes me 20-30mins to sharpen a new knife this way. But once it’s been set... I usually just have to hit it with the leather belt for a few seconds to retouch the blade.

You can also simply strop the blade by hand if you don’t have a belt grinder. There are a ton of resources here at Bladeforums and around the web regarding sharpening of a convex blade, but feel free to contact me if you’d like some pointers. At some point, I hope to have one of the members here do a sharpening-by-hand video with one of my knives.

Awesome luck that's what I was looking for, what angle do you approximately hold the blade at?

Follow that post from luck,and you got it!!!

I made a small angle guide at first, but scrapped it when I got the hang of it, now I just eyeball, keeping a consistent angle on each side. Depending on knife, it looks to be 12-20 degrees, usually right around 15 most of the time

Never measured an angle in my life, and folks like my edges. You look at the blade and go with what feels right. At least, that works for me.

Cool 15 or so it is then lol.
HD on my cheapo knives I used to just eyeball them on a wet stone but then I didn't really care, but after discovering the lansky I try and be as precise as I can be. I guess with the belt sander I'll just have to go back to eyeballing them again but its nice to have a starting point to work off of.

Greaser don't forget light pressure, patience and pics
My sus I did. Edge isn't quite there but a big improvement

That looks great, nice job.

Where do you guys get your scotch bright belts at I don't see them at lee valley.

Google,bro

Hey Greaser, I changed your second post. It might have been considered deal spotting. It should be just fine now though and it still tells folks to check them out. Thanks for the information.

I got some supplies at enco, and have also use the 3m trizact from lee valley(there was a post that they are just as good), and I can verify that.

Its cool Skunk thanks for the help.

Gunfixrjoe Google is awesome if you want a million choices but it doesn't tell you anything about how good a supplier is or if there product is worth a darn, so I like to get first hand reports from people I know have used the products.

Thanks Luck those are what I'll use then.

Hey thanks for bringing this over luck, it is a good resource to have available.

I understand, was just trying avoid the deal spotting ordeal. My apologies

definitely try it out with some less important blades first. practice is what will get you the results you want.

whenever i feel a bit rusty or unsure on the belt, i bring the kitchen knives over and run through them 'til i like what i see.

i rarely let my knives go too dull, usually start with a 400 grit and work my way up to 1000 in increments of 200 or so.

GFR, NO apologies necessary. We all get excited about something once in a while and that usually turns out well for the rest of us dogs. <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/thumbup.gif" alt="" />

No problem Joe I just wanted to be clear why I started this topic sorry if it sounded like I jumped on you.

So if a knife is already convexed you should be able to just do the thousand and strop it then?

Pretty much, unless it needs reprofiled.

OK excellent now I just have to find a place for this belt sander. lol

This is a link to some videos that I watched when I started. Added my own techniques from there. I'm still no horndog but my knives are plenty sharp! <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/grin.gif" alt="" />

http://m.youtube.com/watch?v=gIOa1bZCMhM

Hopefully this isn't against the rules. <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/crossfingers.gif" alt="" />

may i suggest getting a machete at harbor freight to practice sharpening on.
And don't forget the invaluable sharpie.

I need to get my belt sander back from a friends house. I just had started playing with convexing my own edges when I took it out to his house. Over spring break I will need to run down to warehouse wholesaler and get some belts, or order some off the net. I strongly suggest the idea to practice on something that does not have any worth or meaning to you when you start out. All I have to say is that I am fond of a nice convex and it makes a world of difference when it comes to use. Nice thing is once a convex is done it is easy to maintain.