04-01-2019, 09:17 AM
Without a doubt force (pressure) coupled with keeping the blade moving across the belt are key factors when avoiding large burr creation and keeping grinding temperatures low. This was easily demonstrated (both right and wrong) during our Tempilaq experiments.
Your slack belt recommendation fits with all this Sharpco. A slack belt should yield a wider control range with regard to force applied against the belt but, intuitively, one would think that it would result in a more convex grind. We don't have any problem with convex edges but, perhaps, others do. Then again, perhaps our intuition is off base.
We believe that this is the reason that sharpening above the platen on a Kally is popular. The belt is more yielding above the platen. We tried sharpening against the platen once - and we repeat, once. Even with the aid of Grepper's knife rest, the edge was a mess.
Your slack belt recommendation fits with all this Sharpco. A slack belt should yield a wider control range with regard to force applied against the belt but, intuitively, one would think that it would result in a more convex grind. We don't have any problem with convex edges but, perhaps, others do. Then again, perhaps our intuition is off base.
We believe that this is the reason that sharpening above the platen on a Kally is popular. The belt is more yielding above the platen. We tried sharpening against the platen once - and we repeat, once. Even with the aid of Grepper's knife rest, the edge was a mess.