07-08-2020, 11:31 PM
I hope its ok to add to this thread. Reading the posts and watching the videos from @blgentry here and at Bladeforums is what got me interested in powered sharpening in the first place. Brian has been great about sharing his knowledge over the years.
I first followed Brian's lead with a Worksharp Ken Onion with the Blade Grinding attachment. Its been a great introduction to powered sharpening. I've been using the WSKO-BGA to sharpen my neighbors knives and tools for a couple years now.
The COVID Shelter-in-place has everyone cooking at home much more, and I've started to sharpen a much larger volume of knives. Word is getting out and I've even had a few paying customers! Not something I ever intended, but its been a fun way to practice sharpening more.
I feel like I've been outgrowing the Worksharp and ready to move up to a "real" belt sander for a few months. The consensus seems to be that a 1" belt is preferred for sharpening, with a 2" belt preferred for knife making.
I put together a small comparison of some of the most popular/highly recommended 1" belt grinders to help me make a decision on which one to purchase.
Ultimately, I ended up with the Rikon Variable Speed 1"x30". The Kally 1SM was the other main contender. The Rikon won out primarily due to a couple factors:
I'm sure that I'm overthinking things, but with the additional cost of the KallyRest (which feels like a nearly necessary add-on) meant a pretty high overall cost. At that point, it becomes tougher to justify the 1SM in favor of spending a bit more for a 2x48 or 2x72 with horizontal tilt and a VFD that can run 1" belts.
In any event, the Rikon VS arrives this week and I'll share some initial thoughts after I've had some time with it. Here is a link to the spreadsheet in case anyone wants to compare grinders:
https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/e...CF/pubhtml
I first followed Brian's lead with a Worksharp Ken Onion with the Blade Grinding attachment. Its been a great introduction to powered sharpening. I've been using the WSKO-BGA to sharpen my neighbors knives and tools for a couple years now.
The COVID Shelter-in-place has everyone cooking at home much more, and I've started to sharpen a much larger volume of knives. Word is getting out and I've even had a few paying customers! Not something I ever intended, but its been a fun way to practice sharpening more.
I feel like I've been outgrowing the Worksharp and ready to move up to a "real" belt sander for a few months. The consensus seems to be that a 1" belt is preferred for sharpening, with a 2" belt preferred for knife making.
I put together a small comparison of some of the most popular/highly recommended 1" belt grinders to help me make a decision on which one to purchase.
Ultimately, I ended up with the Rikon Variable Speed 1"x30". The Kally 1SM was the other main contender. The Rikon won out primarily due to a couple factors:
- Low Cost
- Variable Speed
- Easy Vertical/Horizontal switching
I'm sure that I'm overthinking things, but with the additional cost of the KallyRest (which feels like a nearly necessary add-on) meant a pretty high overall cost. At that point, it becomes tougher to justify the 1SM in favor of spending a bit more for a 2x48 or 2x72 with horizontal tilt and a VFD that can run 1" belts.
In any event, the Rikon VS arrives this week and I'll share some initial thoughts after I've had some time with it. Here is a link to the spreadsheet in case anyone wants to compare grinders:
https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/e...CF/pubhtml