Sharpening Made Easy

Knife Sharpening Information and Equipment

I no longer make Belt Knife Sharpeners.
This page will explain alternatives including how to make your own.

We no longer make belt sander knife sharpeners. Our belt sharpeners were modified 1" x 30" Harbor Freight belt sanders. They were designed to be used horizontally so that the belt moves away from the user for added safety. They may also be used in the conventional vertical position. The sharpener has a straight section for flat bevels and a slack belt section for convex bevels. Belts are easily changed in seconds, and are available in grits from 40 to 1200. An efficient setup is a belt sharpener with a 120 grit belt to make your primary bevels and paper wheels for the final sharpening.

The 12 volt Knife Sharpener was developed for use in produce harvesting where a cutter may be making 12 to 15,000 cuts a day. See Salinas.htm The 110 Volt AC model is identical except for having the original 110V motor and pulley. This results in a higher belt speed and faster grinding, but care must be used to prevent over heating when using this sharpener.

ALTERNATIVES:

First Choice:
Buy a Viel Tools S5 sander. This is the sander I use. Belt.htm

Second Choices:
Buy a Sharp Machine Low Speed belt sharpener http://www.thesharpshoponline.com/
Buy a Loray low speed Belt Sharpener http://loraysharpener.com/

Third Choice:
Make you own using these photos as your guide. For a basic high speed system use a 1"x30" belt sander such as the Harbor Freight 2485 http://www.harborfreight.com/ They sell for $40. Several companies make this modification and sell they for up to $400. The base can be made of wood; the one in the photo is plastic cutting board material. Cut about a 2" hole for the adjustment knob, a doorknob hole saw works well. Bolt base to the sander with two 1/4" bolts into the frame (visible in the last photo) and one small angle bracket (visible in first photo). If you are handy you may be able to change the motor and pulley to make a low speed unit.

The machine pictured above is the 12 VDC model we used to make. If you want to make one use a Dayton 4Z144 1/14 hp DC motor from WW Grainger or the equivalent motor from Rae Motors. I might upgrade to 1/10 hp if I had it to do again. Make sure your wire and fuse are big enough to carry the current. You will have to have a machinist make a 2" pulley to fit the motor.

For additional belts we recommend Lee Valley Tools
http://www.leevalley.com/wood/page.aspx?c=2&p=48040&cat=1,43072
and http://www.leevalley.com/US/wood/page.aspx?cat=1,43072&p=66268
For a knife sharpening guide see http://www.surgisharp.com/