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Post by ineffableone on Jul 8, 2011 8:21:54 GMT
Hey folks, I recently came across this Work Sharp knife and tool sharpener. It is basically a mini belt sander and at the price of $80 not too bad a deal. I have not had a chance to try one, or even seen one in person. But thought I would toss this out for people to take a look at. Especially since Accusharps are out there getting used still. I personally like hand sharpening my blades but might consider a mini belt sander. Of course Harbor freight also sells mini belt sanders. www.harborfreight.com/catalogsearch/result?q=belt+sanderthese for only $40 and these belt sander disk sander combo for $73 My thinking I would go for a belt sander like these from Harbor Freight since I could use them for more than blade sharpening. Some people though might like the smaller easier to use Work Sharp knife and tool sharpener. Someone with a small apartment maybe this is a great tool. I would say as a compact sharpener this is a great alternative to the accusharp. for sharpening advice, see this SBG info page www.sword-buyers-guide.com/sharpen-a-sword.htmlHappy sharpening folks.
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Post by ineffableone on Jul 8, 2011 8:33:09 GMT
A couple videos of the Work Sharp Knife and Tool Sharpener for people to see it in action.
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Greg
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Post by Greg on Jul 8, 2011 14:12:47 GMT
At first I was about to go on about how this really doesn't seem like it would be worth it, until you mentioned people that don't have a lot of space.
I bought the Harbor Freight sander over a year ago and I have been getting more use from it then I have any other tool I own. But for people that don't have the space for something the size of a breadbox, and would rather compact their sharpener down to hand drill size.
Good find.
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Post by ineffableone on Jul 14, 2011 22:51:25 GMT
Yes I agree I would go for the Harbor Freight sander (which was why I included info about them in this post) over the Work Sharp sharpener personally, they are cheaper and can be used for more purposes. The Work Sharp though might be a good option for someone with space concerns. I felt it was worth it to let the forum know about these little sharpeners even though it would not be my preference others might like them.
My own personal taste I prefer hand sharpening, though I have been eying those little belt sanders for a bit for general shop use. I imagine one of these days I will end up getting one.
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Post by Elheru Aran on Jul 15, 2011 14:44:22 GMT
I would be concerned about using one of these to sharpen anything bigger than a knife, though, unless there's some way you can lock the trigger to use it hands-free. If not... well, imagine trying to wrestle a bastard or two-hander in front of that thing with one hand... now that wouldn't end well! Could always get someone else to hold the trigger, I guess...
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Post by ineffableone on Jul 17, 2011 5:06:01 GMT
If you watch the videos you can actually rotate the head, and use without the guards. You would most likely then clamp your sword down and run the sander on the blade vs running the blade through the sander. They show this method with sharpening tools.
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TomK
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Post by TomK on Jul 18, 2011 3:40:52 GMT
for the shop sharpener tool, using it would be easy, just clamp your sword to the edge of a table or bench like you would if hand sharpening and then use that. I could see it having its uses. I have used one of those little 1x30 belt sanders for years now and had nothing short of great results with it. in fact it is the tool that allowed me to achieve the sharpening level that bears me name. :lol: in truth, it is actually pretty easy. the only thing I would ask about the hand held guy is what size belts it uses and what grits can you get them in? if it is 1x30 then good deal! go to true grit abrasives and get everything you need. if not then research is needed before buying.
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Post by ineffableone on Jul 18, 2011 12:04:12 GMT
The belts are 1/2" x 12 and so far I have only seen 80, 220, and 6000 grits for them. However, that is pretty much all set of grits you really need to sharpen a blade.
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TomK
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Post by TomK on Jul 18, 2011 15:08:46 GMT
80 grit is way too coarse for sharpening, that's stock removal/shaping 220 grit is still very coarse for sharpening but if you have to reprofile a stubborn edge then I can see using it but it is damn rough 600 grit (I'm assuming 6000 was a typo) is a good sharpening grit but not the only one you need if you want a really good edge. yes you can do it all with 600 but meh I'd rather have 400, maybe 800, and 1000 or 1200 to go along with it. in fact I would trade 600 for 400 or 500 and use that for establishing the base edge. check out www.trugrit.com/ they are currently my go-to source for belts. they only have 80 grit in 1/2 x 12 here: www.trugrit.com/belts1.htmbut they have up to 3000 grit and leather belts in all kinds of abrasive types for 1X30. from what I can see the 1x30 HF belt sander is still the best bang-for-buck sharpening tool available. I have been using a Grizly 2x72 lately with very good results but it is hardly a budget minded tool.
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Post by LittleJP on Jul 18, 2011 15:46:57 GMT
Eh, I decided to pick one up, it'll be useful once I go off on my own. Expect a review in some time.
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Post by ineffableone on Jul 19, 2011 2:32:42 GMT
Nope 6000 is not a typo, they sell them with the Work Sharp and sell replacement kits with 80, 220, and 6000. As you said 80 is good for stock removal. 220 is a good reprofile (basic edge creation). 6000 is the honing grit for the edge. I agree I would rather have other choices between 220 and 6000, but the combo of the 3 does make some sense. I would sort of think they would have a 4th grit at least something inbetween 220 and 6000, like a 1000 or 2000 grit, but I have not seen one yet.
As I mentioned I would tend to go for one of the Harbor Freight or similar mini belt sanders before the Work Sharp one, but that is me also doing crafts etc thinking how I could use it for other stuff besides blades. So far though I have been happy doing my sharpening by hand, and haven't felt a pressing need to automate and get a belt sander.
I do see how others might find purpose in one of these Work Sharp sharpeners though, which was why I posted it here. A definite improvement from the accusharp horrors.
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Post by ineffableone on Jul 19, 2011 2:34:15 GMT
Cool definitely give us a review and let us know how well they work and how you like it.
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Post by ineffableone on Jul 19, 2011 3:53:57 GMT
I understand you there. I personally like the water sharpening stones and doing it by hand. It just feels good to me that way. But, I can understand why others wish for something simpler and cheaper. Water stones are expensive and they do take some skill to use well. Not everyone wants to spend large amounts of time learning to use water stones to sharpen, many also don't want to spend the longer time it takes to sharpen with water stones. Belt sander sharpening has been around for awhile. There are many great tutorials on how to do belt sander blade sharpening, including the ones listed in the Helpful Articles - SBG.com forum.sword-buyers-guide.com/viewtopic.php?f=19&t=72 Oh and of course one very good thing about belt sander sharpening, it is very easy to keep your convex edge with a belt sander. One of the big things belt sanders do well in sharpening. They conform to your blade's shape easily so you don't destroy convex by turning it into a secondary bevel. As for just buying sharp blades, they are often sharp. The trouble is you need to sharpen them regularly if you use them. Every thing you cut dulls your blade, from paper to water bottles to bamboo. So we need tools and skills to sharpen. The reason I think people have confusion on sharpening is we don't use blades in our culture like we used to. Just a couple decades ago most men carried a pocket knife. 50 years and more most men and women knew how to sharpen knives as it was a common tool and there were not all these gadgets to do it for you. 100 years ago knives were a tool of such an importance to culture everyone knew sharpening from an early age. Times change and many times so do techniques to do things. Natural water stones have become rare and expensive as the deposits have been mined of most of the best quality now, so most water stones are man made these days. I see nothing wrong with people wanting to find a simpler easier cheaper way to sharpen their blades. Even though I hand sharpen, I posted this mini belt sander up for those who might want to try it.
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Post by ineffableone on Jul 19, 2011 4:24:39 GMT
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TomK
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Post by TomK on Jul 19, 2011 11:55:15 GMT
I use 320 to reprofile bad edges and is just about the roughest grit I would use for sharpening. jumping to 6000 grit after 320 seems silly as it would do almost nothing to further sharpen the edge at that point, the ultra fine 6000 grit just would not have the grit to smooth the coarse scratches of the 320 grit, it would just shine the scratches leaving them in place. also 6000 grit wears out very fast. generally speaking the finer the grit the faster the belt wears out. 6000 grit is almost worthless. there's no need for a belt that fine. I suppose it could take the place of the leather belt with polish rouge that I use but that is a final step and really the belt is not required to make a good edge it just makes a good edge all the better. there's no way you could sharpen a dull edge with the leather belt effectively. it would take forever. maybe the 6000 grit belts they have might be more aggresive but I have a hard time seeing a 6000 grit belt being effective for sharpening a dull blade.
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Talon
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Post by Talon on Jul 19, 2011 19:18:03 GMT
i've discovered the joys of the belt sander rather late (files and lots of sweat are what i used to use) now i can cut out a knife blank with the hacksaw,then grind the bevels with my belt sanders in a day wonderfull tools,i still go back to the file if im doing a flat scandi grind,if it's convex i stick with my belts,i would not be without them,i bought a power file thinking i may get some use out of it,now i've pretty much junked my bench sander and use the power file and a hand held 4"" sander ,i still go to the stones for final sharpening and honing,belt sanders are fantastic tools ,i go from 80 grit for primary stock removal then work up to 400 grit,then on to the stones :twisted: my last bushcraft knife was done in a day,no way i could have done that without my belt sanders (ignore the iffy colour im playing with vinegar etching atm) they really do make things so much easier
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TomK
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Post by TomK on Jul 20, 2011 0:11:48 GMT
that's a nice looking knife Talon, good job. yeah it would be nice if the edges of our swords and knives came properly shaped and sharpened but most of the time they don't. learning to sharpen is an important part of sword ownership in my mind.
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Deleted
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Post by Deleted on Jul 21, 2011 19:35:50 GMT
Hi everyone. I'll go a bit off topic, but this more or less appropriate thread. I live in UK and really need to get a belt sander and the cheapest one that TomK uses and suggests costs $138 here. I can't believe that there are no other alternatives. I've been looking for one already for few months, so if someone could point me in the right direction I would be extremely grateful. I can pay up to $80/£50. PS. I can't find any high grit and honing belts either :/. Damn Europe.. (I found some for $30 per sanding belt, haven't seen leather honing belts anywhere)
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Post by ineffableone on Jul 21, 2011 21:33:06 GMT
Ouch, that is a steep price hike. I don't know about European shops, but my suggestion is look in woodworking shops. These little sanders are commonly used by woodworkers, and they also should have some very fine grit belts for them.
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Post by Deleted on Jul 23, 2011 1:10:29 GMT
Hi Tom If you don't mind me asking, What is your opinion (pros - cons etc.) of the Grizzly (model G1015) 2x72 belt grinder.
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