[Kenny_S]

I think you are right Bob, Understand the portability of a sharpener but like you said, $300 can buy a lot of tools. However, I found I go back to the basic tools that I have had a while with the addition of a few veiners that I did not have and have since added them to my little meager bunch of tools.
Maybe with your engineering background, you could come up with something that fit the bill. Like I said in another post, I settled on a Grizzly 1 " belted piece of equipment and have no problems with reversing the blade but then, I have to go to anothe piece of equipment to take the burr off. But then, both aren't portable enough as they are on stands. So, I revert back to the diamond stone and leather strop like ALA mention.
Thank you Sbirkes for your input and checking out the jooltool. Sorry it wasn't exactly what you needed but I guess no tools are that. Well all of my tools meet some needs but not one of them can do it all. Ok, I am rattling, so, all for a nice civil discussion. Enjoyable.

[sbirkes]

Originally Posted by chuckt

Which $35 buffer from Lowes are you referring to Steve? I've not seen anything like that. Thanks!

ChuckT

OK, I was wrong on the price and the place. Could I have been any farther off?

The grinder at Lowes is $39.97 and the link is: http://www.lowes.com/lowes/lkn?actio...t&N=%205000974
Model #BG150W Item # 229626


The one I have is from Home Depot, a Ryobi at $39.97 also. You will also have to buy the buffing pad. The link for the Home Depot is: http://www.homedepot.com/webapp/wcs/...3&dim_search=1

Model # BGH615

The one pictured is a bit different than what I got. Must have changed a bit or maybe just the picture.

I just this weekend turned the guards around by putting the left guard on the right and the right on the left. Then turn the entire unit around and the switch will be in the back. This way the grinder runs in the opposite direction. Spinning up rather than down. Spinning up seems to be the favored way with the sharpeners you buy for carving tool sharpeners. At least now the ones I use all spin the same direction so I don't end up throwing knives at myself because I forgot which direction this particular one turns.

[chuckt]

Great! Thanks for the links Steve. I think I'll take your advice and go this route for around my home also. Like Mark said - back to basics. And yes - thanks to ALL for the great input.

!
ChuckT

[R-OLDS]

A fellow carver in our club has the Jool tool, I he used it on a couple of my tools and it did not impress me at all.
I have learned to do ALL my honing on bench grinders (spinning up away from you) using cardboard and cotton with either red or green polishing compound...

[Hi_Ho_Sliver]

I will try the cardboard wheels whenever I find a good "low" speed motor...geez, they want a bunch for those and being heavy, the shipping is terrible! I have a Grizzly wet wheel, 180 rpm that is great, but I use it for making the razor knives, not for just touchups on the ones I am using, looking for a motor 500 rpm or less.....know where there are any.....reasonable?

[chuckt]

I've always wondered about this. Why are low speed motors more expensive? Can't you just use a higher speed motor and set it up with mandrel (?) and different sized pulley/drive wheel to step the speed down? (Forgive me if I am using incorrect terminology here - I am no machine engineer.)

I am still trying to figure out what I should get to set up my sharpening "system". The low cost grinders that Steve references above are all high speed (3400 rpm) grinders. Does that really matter if you are using felt/cotton/cardboards wheels instead of stone wheels? Is it just a question of quick touches to these wheels for honing/polishing?

I find this topic endlessly confusing and difficult to "get to the bottom" of because there is no shortage of "systems" and opinions of experts and amateurs, and they all seem to make sense when taken one by one. <grrrr>

I just want to carve with tools that I can safely & quickly sharpen. <sigh> Isn't that what most of us want? Maybe it really makes no difference which way I go and I should just pick something.

Signed - Still stuck in sharpening analysis paralysis -
ChuckT

[Kenny_S]

Chuckt, People do use or build their sharpeners just like you suggested with larger pullies and such.

[chuckt]

Thanks Ken. I actually think I've found a way to put off my sharpening dilemma. I just got back from a meeting of the Mid-Hudson Woodcarver's Guild and I'm joining them. They have all kinds of sharpening tools and I can get some hands on experience and advice. And heck - maybe I won't even need to have my own if I manage to stay actively involved. Though I'll still want a stone or two and strop for when I travel or am on my own without access to the club. But this way I can try stuff hands on and figure out what works best for me.

!
ChuckT

[Thomp]

lots of ideas and questions I've pondered myself are posted here.

dressing up a cutting edge, most times is just to remake the bevel and remove round over, from the continued honing... that occurs normally,

If a feller or gal wanted a portable tool to grind a knife back into shape and power hone it while running on battery power?

this question has been posed many times here on the board.

from my junkyard days spent as a youth, the first thing that comes to mind is a heater or air conditioner motor for the same vehicle voltage,

cars trucks and them big rv's are not the same voltage, so before running out and buying a fan motor check your rv's voltage it could be 12 VDC or 24 VDC,,
tell the attendant you need the wiring color code intact and the switch if its obtainable, or go to a u pull it junk auto salvage yard and get it yourself for $10.00 or so. if you got the tools

take the motor to a machine shop and get them to thread the output shaft('s) to whatever you need,
the shaft may have to be adapted to make it bigger to fit the wheel, with a shaft arbor, the machinest can make. or just make a home made wheel to fit the shaft, use the heavy fender washers to strengthen the binding force of the shaft nuts and on the shaft that tightens the wheel(s) and use rubber glue on the shaft under the wheel to shaft connection this will aid in a non slip connection. and help lock the nuts in place

most air conditioner motors are double shafted, (a shaft on each end,)
they can be threaded, left and right so the direction of rotation will aid to tighten the nuts,

these are low amperage motors and they wont last forever, they wont take a really big load but you don't want to hog off that much steel when your doing touch ups, so it should be ideal. for a quick fix on a dropped tool or just reconditioning a rounded over edge.
build your rests out of wood and label them as to what they are for,

another nice thing about using vehicle fan motors is they are multi speed. and should be readily available at a auto wrecking yard.
switches and such should be available from there as well or an auto parts store. wiring can be researched from a repair manual for the vehicle it come out of...

WET GRINDERS.
the small delta or task force wet grinders are great for touch ups at home, hard to wear down a straight razor, to a carvibg knife with though, Although great for touch ups i found my small delta wet grinder wheel getting out of round, and there is not any replacement parts, for them there designed as toss outs after the wheel gets too bad.

Harbor freight tools:
has 2 wet grinders now in stock, the 35098 for 59.00 i own this one and i don't like that it has a plastic gear that turns the wet wheel i returned it and bought the extended warranty for $10.00,
as it was replaced with a new unit, im going to use this baby up making razor knives,
this unit has no rest on the vertical wet wheel. its nor reversible. the other wheel a dry 3/4" x 6" 3350 rpm has a rest like most bench grinders, i would say its not a good choice even at 60.00bucks.

HFT: also has another model looks like a tormex, with all the different rod based tool rests and some jigs im looking at, its at
http://www.harborfreight.com/cpi/cta...emnumber=95236
but at $100.00 , its a 150 rpm 8" wet/dry wheel with a hone built on..

but lets all face it, us as carvers are just looking at it as a conveniences to get the drudgery of sharpening over quicker, but a real sharpening of our single most used tool probably shouldn't be done but once a month in most cases, we tend to wear out our tools prematurely due to over sharpening, when honing or a touch of a Arkansas stone would be better touch,,

[Kenny_S]

Very good Thomp. Great suggestions on using automobile equipment.
Bob has an Rv and I know he travels around and he is researching in to portablility and you may have hit on something for him.
I guess what we all have could be portable if a person wants to lug the sharpners around.
Chuckt- Don't give up on you need for the right sharpner. But again, you have hit on a great way to achive expereince and ideas.

The quest for the right sharpner continues.