pgandy
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Post by pgandy on Aug 3, 2023 2:03:31 GMT
It is possible for a WS to shift. In the simplest form I’ve solved this by resting a wrist or such on the WS. In the more serious cases I’ve strapped it down to a working board with a bungy cord. I’ve even placed the board on a non-slip surface. The problem I find minor and don’t see the attachment solving it completely. You will need the WS to supply the power, so try the WS first and learn to use it. Then decide whether it’s worth an additional ≈100 USD. Don’t forget that the belts between the two are not interchangeable and you will need at least one spare set, I suggest more, for each.
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Post by larason2 on Aug 3, 2023 2:06:09 GMT
Pgandy: you're not wrong that technically, a chisel grind is a grind on a chisel, and technically, it can be any angle, and any surface profile. My chisels are all stone ground, and have a convex face. However, when I've seen a "chisel grind" on a knife or sword, it tends to be either flat or slightly concave (but looks flat), more likely the latter. Whether that's the right term or not, that's what I've seen used.
If you grind on a wheel, there's no way for the result to not be concave. This isn't necesarily a bad thing, but there's pros and cons, just like anything else.
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pgandy
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Post by pgandy on Aug 3, 2023 2:45:57 GMT
Have nothing against a convex edge, in fact like them make that desire. Not having a grinding wheel, I can’t come up with a valid argument pro or con although it would seem to me the side of the wheel could be improvised for flat. I’ve only had one chisel edge and the was on an US M1909 Hospital Bolo. As it was mint and part of my collection, I never used it. As far as only appearing flat I know well what you mean. When was getting in to blades I had a katana, actually two WWII jobbies before but another story, eventually I decided I would touch up the blade and broke out my Arkansas stones only to find what I thought flat had indeed a slight convex. Fortunately, I had made only two passes before discovering my error. But it took probably another 6 months to find another system I was willing to try and luckily I was able to polish out those two lines. This was before my SBG days.
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Post by ragebot on Aug 5, 2023 22:54:00 GMT
Some random comments.
I got the attachment from Amazon and it is still available at the time of this post. As for overheating both the WS motor and the blade my take on this is user error. I am sure it is possible to do both but equally possible to avoid doing it.
There are lots of Youtube vids (both from the WS official site and WS supported and unsupported users). One thing I would point out is that the documentation that comes with the WS also discusses what I will call levels of sharpness and how to achieve them. While very sharp sounds like a good level of sharpness WS also describes what they call 'bragging rights sharpness'.
The belts on the attachment are about twice as wide as on the WS itself so theoretically things should go twice as fast, but require a steadier hand than if not using the attachment. As an aside while some vids show sharpening using only the trigger on the WS others show pulling the trigger and then pressing the button so the WS runs continuously. While I started out using the later method I have switched to the former as holding my hand on the WS keeps it steady and gives me more control, but I suspect this is very personal.
One reason I got the attachment is I have some cheap beaters I expect to do a lot of grinding on to reshape the end of the blade and this will go much faster on what I will call a more conventional oriented belt grinder. But for really heavy duty work I would choose a real industrial strength grinder. What I like best about the WS is it is so easy to set it up anywhere and quickly do a basic sharpening job with very good results. While I would not compare it to what I will call traditional methods for lots of peeps who don't have expensive swords and like me spend a lot of time cutting milk jugs with beater swords it makes a lot of sense.
In one respect I view using a WS kinda like the old saying 'are you gonna fish or cut bait?'. If you want a quick and easy to use sharpening system on mostly heavily used cutting swords the WS makes a lot of sense. If you want something for wall hangers with shiny blades another option will likely be better.
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pgandy
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Post by pgandy on Aug 6, 2023 0:13:17 GMT
Good to hear that you have the attachment, thanks for the update, and keep us posted. IIRC one suggestion made by WS regarding the overheating/burnouts was to run the WS at higher speeds. I don’t know if WS has beefed up the basic machine or not. Most of the information I have concerning the grinder is old.
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ghost
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Post by ghost on Aug 6, 2023 2:25:34 GMT
my orig WS still works but is very old and heavily used. clogs easily with steel dust and require frequent lube otherwise the squeals in protest. still shop vac my KO after every use but the attachment does seem to coat in less dust especially at the spinning bearings...and plastic
cant say i would ever take katanas to a WS. would be quite aesthetically unpleasing. as mentioned in other threads, i think id rather strop and if really needed a hone
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Post by fullswing on Aug 14, 2023 18:32:13 GMT
pgandy et al,
Your comments and knowledge have been quite helpful and I really appreciate you guys answering my questions and sharing thoughts. I finally decided to pull the trigger myself and ordered the KO. Holding off on the blade grinding attachment for now but am planning to get one eventually.
Can't wait to try it out, will definitely take the knowledge shared here into consideration as I practice on some cheap blades before working up to my prized possessions haha
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pgandy
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Post by pgandy on Aug 14, 2023 21:31:46 GMT
Congratulations on pulling the trigger. I hope it works out satisfactory for you, and let us know your thoughts after you have learned to use it. I’m sure that would be helpful to others.
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Post by ehartkopf on Aug 15, 2023 2:18:34 GMT
I have used my KO with blade grinder attachment to sharpen hundreds of knives and machetes. It is by far the easiest and most reliable tool I have to get a shaving sharp edge. I would be nervous to use it on a high end sword, and I don't have access to any less expensive blades to practice on.
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mrstabby
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Post by mrstabby on Aug 15, 2023 9:32:11 GMT
I have a question about ruining the heat treat with grinding, might fit here. I have heard differing opinions, some say a slight straw discolouration is still OK and only a more intense colour ruins the temper, others said any discolouration means the blade is garbage now. Probably depends on the steel as well, but what temperatures ruin a temper? Can you kill the temper without seeing discolouration?
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pgandy
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Post by pgandy on Aug 15, 2023 12:29:39 GMT
I cannot answer accurately as I have not experienced discolouration. As long as the blade can be touched without discomfort I’m satisfied. In cases where extensive grinding is required and the blade is heating by feel I apply a wet rag or dip, usually the former.
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Post by larason2 on Aug 15, 2023 13:02:05 GMT
Before I started exclusively using stones I used to grind a lot of tools on the bench grinder. My experience and what I have read online is that unless it blues, there's no damage to the hardness. I've also blued tools before, then ground off the blue using stones, and the performance appears equivalent. These would all be tool steels though!
If you're going to sharpen with a machine, my advice is to take it slow, and cool using water frequently. I switched to a white grinding stone (aluminum oxide), which increased the time before steel starts to blue. There's no replacement for experience though! Go slow, and go carefully. Once a steel gets hot, it's very easy to blue. Let it cool off, and come back later to continue on.
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mrstabby
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Post by mrstabby on Aug 15, 2023 15:10:18 GMT
I just tried it with a cutter blade, seems where it gets yellow, it gets a bit harder than the unchanged metal, and when it's blue it goes soft. This did surprise me a bit that the yellowed part got harder. This might be different for different tempers and steels. It was a soft blade, since I wanted to tell by scratching with another harder blade.
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Post by ragebot on Aug 16, 2023 22:43:38 GMT
Congratulations on pulling the trigger. I hope it works out satisfactory for you, and let us know your thoughts after you have learned to use it. I’m sure that would be helpful to others. While I am getting more experience with the KO WS I am also wondering about belts. Amazon has some leather belts with compound and a lot of both WS and OEM belts. Wondering what you guys are using once the original belts that came with the WS wear out. I just got a Cold Steel Cane/Sword (in stainless steel which I guess is OK) and sharpened it so it now cuts printer paper very smoothly.
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Post by ehartkopf on Aug 16, 2023 22:57:32 GMT
I bought all of my belts from Red Label Abrasives. Waited for a sale where they had 20% off and ordered 10X of 120,320,1000,2000,7000, and 120000. Today I did a 24 inch machete and did not notice any excessive heat on the blade as long as I moved quickly and let the blade cool completely between grits.
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pgandy
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Post by pgandy on Aug 17, 2023 1:06:22 GMT
I’ve used the standard WS replacement blades, until the last order and switched to Tonmp belts at $8.99/12. They give a wider range of grits and much cheaper. So far, they are holding up fine. I do have a supply of WS official belts on hand. www.amazon.com/gp/product/B08KDQB7N9/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o05_s00?ie=UTF8&th=1As for leather, I tried a leather belt w/white polishing compound. I can’t say it was bad, but didn’t see enough advantage to warrant the price. I save my wornout belts of fine grit and apply red jeweller’s rouge and get about the same result at a fraction of the price. Anybody have WS’s tech support URL? I’ve tried with the information I have (old) and have not made contact. I thought it was because I’m not in the States, but giving the information to my son, who is there, got no results. While not acknowledging me they try to load my computer with all sorts of tracking and other programs. I do have a program blocking their attempts. 22 attempts so far this month alone.
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Post by ragebot on Aug 18, 2023 0:35:34 GMT
I’ve used the standard WS replacement blades, until the last order and switched to Tonmp belts at $8.99/12. They give a wider range of grits and much cheaper. So far, they are holding up fine. I do have a supply of WS official belts on hand. www.amazon.com/gp/product/B08KDQB7N9/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o05_s00?ie=UTF8&th=1As for leather, I tried a leather belt w/white polishing compound. I can’t say it was bad, but didn’t see enough advantage to warrant the price. I save my wornout belts of fine grit and apply red jeweller’s rouge and get about the same result at a fraction of the price. Anybody have WS’s tech support URL? I’ve tried with the information I have (old) and have not made contact. I thought it was because I’m not in the States, but giving the information to my son, who is there, got no results. While not acknowledging me they try to load my computer with all sorts of tracking and other programs. I do have a program blocking their attempts. 22 attempts so far this month alone. Thanks for the link and advice about a leather belt. Have you tried going to the worksharptoolsdotcom and during regular business hours opening the chat window. Not sure what time zone you are in but they are in the US pacific time zone. I will try the chat tomorrow during regular business hours which the WS site doesn't list. Does seem kinda funny to me.
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pgandy
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Post by pgandy on Aug 20, 2023 12:44:54 GMT
Sorry for the delay. Our time is GMT-6, not too far off from PDT. Thanks, I’ll give the chat approach a go.
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