Belt Sharpening Makes Knives Duller!

[Squilchuck]

Thanks for all the advice.

[Trox]

I use a cheap belt sander with good result. I use 2 inch wide belt belts for wood, because thats the only ones available for it (180 and 80 grit). Remove any under belt support plate and let the belt be slack. Always sharpen against the belt movement of course and use a flat angle. I move the knife fast sideways, especially with a new belt. Start practicing with something cheap until you get the hang of it. The advantage with this system is of course that you can sharpen for a long time without the need of any cooling. I use it to form an edge, remove rust etc. The final sharpening is done on a fine ceramic stone before polishing. However, I know people that do their polishing on their belt sander too. It all depends of the grit of the belt. If you only have coarse belts like me, moving the knife fast sideways will make a finer result