Razor Sharp edge making system

[StolpSaddles]

Has anyone used this sharpening system

http://www.sharpeningwheels.com/

I am thinking of purchasing it to keep knives / round knife sharp

[gtwister09]

I have had one for over 14 years. They work OK. You have to exercise quite a bit of caution with them but they will give you some sharp knives. Mine is turned backwards so that it rotates away from you.

I know one guy who has a rather large gash in his chin from a round knife getting away from him. He now wears a full facemask as he sharpens with the wheels and also wears a welders jacket when sharpening.

Regards,

Ben

[Randy Cornelius]

  StolpSaddles said:

Has anyone used this sharpening system

http://www.sharpeningwheels.com/

I am thinking of purchasing it to keep knives / round knife sharp

Yes I have one but would not reccomend them to anyone. The best sharpening system I have is a leather belt that I made for my 4 x 36" table top belt sander. I then put rouge into the belt and use it to strop all my knives. Works so much better that that other system.

RC

[gtwister09]

I likewise don't use the system much. Like I said it is OK but I like using jigs/guides for repeatability....something that is drilled into you when you work in a manufacturing environment where tolerances are extremely tight.

When I bought it at the Fort Worth show (not a couple of years ago but many years earlier than that) , the guy was sharpening everyone's knives including Peter Main's and many others. In fact he didn't have any hair left on his arms from showing people how sharp their knives were after he sharpened their knives. A little trivia.....My son was very young at the time and was awed by him because he looked like Santa with his beard.

Regards,

Ben

[Ian]

  gtwister09 said:

I have had one for over 14 years. They work OK. You have to exercise quite a bit of caution with them but they will give you some sharp knives. Mine is turned backwards so that it rotates away from you.

I know one guy who has a rather large gash in his chin from a round knife getting away from him. He now wears a full facemask as he sharpens with the wheels and also wears a welders jacket when sharpening.

Regards,

Ben

I had a similar experience sharpening a splitter blade. It happened so fast, I'm not sure what I did other than maybe I was holding the bade at a bad angle - it caught onto one of the slots in the disk (what are those slots for anyway?)and spun the dern thing so close to my face, I could feel the wind. I still use it for small tools, but the near miss scared me enough that I now take the splitter blade out to be sharpened.

[Randy Cornelius]

I agree, it is very dangerous to use...

[ArtS]

I use one and like it. No close calls yet. I also reversed it so that it rotates away from me and I can hold the blade on top.

Art

[StolpSaddles]

I was going to reverse the bench grinder if I got one. Seems safer and more user friendly

[gtwister09]

The instructions explicitly tell you to reverse the direction when you assemble the system.

Regards,

Ben

[ArtS]

I bought the system from Weaver and bought a grinder from Harbor Freight. I reversed the stand and took the stone wheels off and added these. Works well for me.

Art

[jeeperaz]

I bought the razor sharp system last summer along with a harbor freight grinder. I never found it easy to work with nor did I ever achieve results anywhere close to what I expected.

I now use a combination water stone which works well for me.

[JAM]

I haven't ever had to put a new edge on a round knife, but keep all my round knives (11 of them - all different shapes and different makers - toolaholic!) honed super sharp on a hard felt wheel, on a buffer turned backwards to spin away from me, and charged with the green (chrome) rouge. Keeps them cutting through even the hard spots like butter. Takes a little practice - I don't us jigs, just a consistent position - and it's very quick. I even qive me swivel knives a quick touch on that wheel.

Julia

[hidepounder]

I've had one of those systems for years and still use it for pocket knives and kitchen knives, etc. I reversed mine also. It is fast and handy, but not the best way to sharpen. If you're not careful you can burn the steel and it will eat up a blade it a hurry if you're not careful. I agree with Ben and Randy...it can be very dangerous! I've gone back to sharpening my head knvies and good knives by hand. I am anxious to make some different stopping belts for a bench mounted sander like Randy and some of the other guys have talked about. That makes more sense to me....

I think the better system is the flat rotary wheel systems they are selling now. Engravers use them to sharpen their gravers. They run in the $300 range. For sharpeniing knives, however, I think you need a reversable motor so that the wheel will rotate in opposite directions. I've seen one on line but the price was astronomical! Foot controled too. I don't understnd why someone smarter than me hasn't designed an economical one. Placing different grit plates for cutting/honing/polishing on the wheel would be fast and easy. You can mount leather on the plates for stropping also. Ben and I have talked extensively about these...he's more knowledable than I am. Troy uses his GRS graver sharpener all the time for sharpening. He's even been sharpening/polishing ceramic swivel knife blades on his, too.

Bob

[Tkleather1]

on my bench I use a grinder with the wheels removed, I cut leather discs about 3" in diameter and stack them where the grinding wheels were. I stack them about two or three inches thick, when you first spin it up you will have to even them out with a rasp or something, then I apply the green rouge to the wheel and using caution not to over heat anything it works excellent.

That and I am too cheap to buy stuff that can be built.

[Bob]

I've got one of these under the bench, you can have it for the shipping cost... I sure don't like it. It's far too easy to burn your round knifes... it's alot of work to fix that....

there is however a bench grinder that turns slower available. they want almost double the money too.

I use a hard felt 1 inch disk on the grinder and rouge, and lots of care is also required with that...

[Rawhide]

  gtwister09 said:

A little trivia.....My son was very young at the time and was awed by him because he looked like Santa with his beard.

Regards,

Ben

Ben,

Funny thing is, that fellow had his named legally changed to ...Santa Claus. Go Figure.

[howardb]

I have one and love it. Like anything, it takes time to learn how to use it.

I got mine from Big Sky Tool (Michigan), and they sell it with a grinder that is already reversed. I got it last fall at IFOLG.

The hardest thing to learn is keeping the blade at the right place and pitch. It's great for putting a clean edge on just about anything. Once edged, THEN I use my strops to keep them going until they need a new edge. My swivel knives got edged once, and I've been using them with a strop only since October.

I plan on making a guide plate to maintain proper angles, which will make it easier to use. I sharpened up a Chicago Cutlery paring knife that is sharp enough to slice through just about anything, and can even skive cleanly. I kept it on my bench rather than return it to the kitchen!

I'd buy it again. Get a couple of crappy kitchen knives and PRACTICE on them for a couple of days. Get comfy with it before touching the round knife to it. It will do a marvy job on it!

My two cents.

Brent

[gtwister09]

  Rawhide said:

Ben,

Funny thing is, that fellow had his named legally changed to ...Santa Claus. Go Figure.

Marlon,

Thanks. I had heard that as well..... He fit the part quite well!

Regards,

Ben

[Todd]

I use a variable speed bench grinder and 1 inch felt disks that were purchased at Lee valley tools here in Canada. I also buy my rouge there as well. I find it very easy to use and as long as you are consistent with your angle every time this system leaves a very keen edge in a very short time.

[Denster]

If you want the best thing for sharpening and honing check out the sharp-all by drill doctor. Sears caries them and has very good prices usually. I originally bought one for plane irons and wood chisels and it will get them scary sharp. I also use it now for sharpening my tube and bag punches and round knife. Get the more expensive one, about $200, it runs slower and has more features.

[gtwister09]

Are you talking about the Work Sharp tool sharpeners WS2000 and WS3000? These lapping systems are pretty good for sharpening because they rotate slowly.

If so the sharpening kits (abrasives) for these are about $15-16 for each level. Wheels are about $20 and they have a wide blade attachment for about $70. The WS3000 is the more robust of the two.

Regards,

Ben

[Denster]

  gtwister09 said:

Are you talking about the Work Sharp tool sharpeners WS2000 and WS3000? These lapping systems are pretty good for sharpening because they rotate slowly.

If so the sharpening kits (abrasives) for these are about $15-16 for each level. Wheels are about $20 and they have a wide blade attachment for about $70. The WS3000 is the more robust of the two.

Regards,

Ben

Work Sharp. Yes that is what I was refering to. Late night rain fade.

[Bmoz]

  StolpSaddles said:

Has anyone used this sharpening system

http://www.sharpeningwheels.com/

I am thinking of purchasing it to keep knives / round knife sharp

i just bought this... amazingly good tool. all jet and tormek stuff fits except the wheels

http://www.woodcraft.com/product.aspx?Prod...;FamilyID=21231

Edited March 29, 2009 by Bmoz