| Belt Sharpening Tutorial - Just a note, belt sharpening is actually pretty hard to do and very hard to do right. Practice it on some knives that are not your more expensive ones first. I've done it for around 15 years, and I'll still fudge one up royally from time to time. |
| I'm holding the edge up and I don't even have the grinder running. I do this to gauge my bevel, no I don't use a work rest or a bevel gauge or a compass. I simply eyeball it and when done I caliper it to see that they are really even. The next 3 are all of me actually grinding the edge on. Several things to keep in mind are: The blade edge thickness, the belt speed, the cleanliness of the belt, and the temperature of the metal, and finger positioning. If you see the white substance on the belt, it's talc. I put it on there to see where my edge pressure is going. Also, I only use 1 belt in this process and it's a very worn 400 grit belt. You will use the full surface, so no tears. The edge thickness is of vital importance. On a knife such as this, it has a full blade grind, and it's flat, so it's not super thick. So on this one, you can't have a really big edge, or you'll get the working surface so thin that you'll wear it back after a few sharpens. The thicker the blade edge, the higher you can go with the edge grind. Those are the big mean edges that you see that look like they can cut brick. Of equal importance is the belt speed. I recommend running the RPM at less than 500. If you have it running too fast, you'll either get too much heat and burn out the temper, or you'll grind away more than you need to. You should NEVER see sparks while doing this. The only time you see them is when you are grinding metal that is hot, because a spark is metal heated and propelled through the air which cools it very quickly causing it to "burn in". Make sure the belt is clean as well (less the talc). You are dealing with an otherwise finished surface, and the sharpening is the last thing I do (saves fingers that way). Also of importance is the finger positioning. I start with the edge up approach as shown above. I do this bare handed, because we aren't getting the metal hot, and you need a very good feel for what you are doing. You can see what you are doing blade up, and it gives you a reference for the other side. Fingers will be near the edge on blade up while pushing lightly upward on the tips. I use 2 fingers on this. Fingers will be near the front (for control), and pulling slightly downward on the blade down approach for other side. You may notice that I do all the grinding with the knife in my right hand, this is how I grind blades as well. I know that the belt is the exact same on one side as it was a few minutes ago, and my point of reference is the same as well. If you move the blade to the other hand, and change your side, you don't know those 2 factors, and they will be different. After you do this, examine the blade. Is it even, is it ready to clean up, does it have a light burr on it. If yes, then you're good to go to the next step. In the two above photos, I am "taking the burr off". Or at least the rough feather. It helps immensely to do this as it means less time on the buffer, and less chance of the buffer grabbing it out of your hands. This part is the part which actually gives the knife that razor edge. I use a 500 grit compound that it near impossible to find these days, but I've had this bar for years. You can also use Jackson's 700 grit, or a 600 grit green chrome jeweler's compound. Just make sure it's not a cutting compound. As you can see above, the blade barely makes contact with the wheel, and you do not push the edge into it at all. The thing is, if you push the edge into the wheel at all, you will round it at the microscopic level, and then you have to resharpen it on the belt. About 3 passes on each side with the blade edge down, and you're done. It should leave about a 1/4 to 1/2 inch high line of compound residue that actually looks kind of cool (see 1st picture below). Alas, we have come to the end. If you did it right, it should take chunks out of MDF with very minimal pressure, and it should shave your arm without applying any drag pressure. I pride myself on having some of the sharpest knives you can order. Hope this helps, and I will post some pics of sharpening a recurved tomorrow. |
| Before you even start, put the knife, spine down on a flat surface and eyeball the edge to get a feel for it's thickness or thinness. This one is thin, so it will have a more drastic bevel instead of a longer(prettier) edge. |
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