UPS vs strip belt sander

[Dennis Taylor]

Just was reading the posts about the UPS, and the great reviews by one & all...I have a question to ask: Would a stirp belt sander with the motor reversed, give you the same effect?....I have been think bout the UPS myself, but have seen posts on sites that refers to using a belt sander, probably a 1x42 1inch wide belt, any comments, pro's or con's?...tks...and I agree Gene's knife looks like it just glides thru the wide, sure wish mine would do that!

Dennis

[Iowa Carver]

All that machine is Dennis is a belt sander rewired. It should work. I think a 1/4 motor would be about perfect.

Gene's knife is sharp, very sharp but it's also his techinque and lots of practice. I got the sharp down but not that technique. He makes it look easy.

Corey

[Thomp]

Dennis,
a strip sander ?
i think your referring to a 1" belt sander.

I have (2) 30" and (1) 42" several bench grinders and a hf 8" wet grinder..
i got both the hf 30" set up with 80 and 60 grit belts, the 42 is sears-craftsman i have it setup with 200 grit or 100 grit.
depending the stage of knife making im in.

I usually start with a 6" wheel grinder and remove the real bulk from a straight razor, dip and grind...
i have used this method for all kinds of knife manufacture,

but for just reconditioning blades to sharp the speed is a definite hazard on all of them as the thin edge will overheat and burn out the temper on the discolored area, in the blink of an eye, thus a wrecked knife unless you cut off the burned metal and start again,

i use the slow 650 rpm 10" wet grinder for reconditioning the blade thats chipped, rounded over or super dull... then wet dry sandpaper (scary sharp) and on to the hone..
when a blade is used and just honed it will eventually round over,
i just fall back on the scary sharp method to recondition the round over and go back to honing,,,

most belt sanders run fast and will remove a lot of metal shortening the life of your blade if you dont watch close how you use the fast belt sanding or disk sharpeners...

whew sorry so chatty,,, but it had to be done!

[Plain_Ol_Ed]

I use a belt sander in the normal direction all the time. Been doing it so long I'm used to it, so the direction doesn't seem to matter much to me. Like Thomas said though, you have to watch the heat. Light passes followed by a dip in water will do it. I'd practice a bit on some scrap metal first until you get the feel. Won't take long. Almost all knifemakers use belt sanders.