The knives usually tend to get blunt with the overtime use. However, you need to sharpen it often to retain the sharpness in it. When it comes to sharpening the knives, bladesmiths use a wide number of methods. One of the most popular types of knife sharpening is using the sharpening stone. On the other hand, some kinds of knives require a much advanced tool for sharpening. In such cases, the belt sander comes into play. So why use a sanding belts with belt sander for sharpening the knives? Here are the answers:
What is a belt sander?
Belt sanders are simply one of the great inventions to make jobs easier for the sanding of the woods. It helps in performing a huge amount of sanding and grinding without much effort. Along with an abrasive sanding belts, the belt sander works in a brilliant way to grind and scrape the layers from the surface area of the wood or metal.
On the other hand, belt sanders are simply multi-use tools. They are used rapidly for trimming and to scribe the line of an object. To make the rough surfaces smooth, it works in the best way. Unlike the actions like orbital or vibrating, the sanding action in a belt sander is much more linear to give the coarse grits a much smooth and sharp surface.
How to use a belt sander?
Before you choose the belt sander for your job, you need to ensure that you are picking the right grinding belt size. Here is how do you use the belt sander properly for the knife sharpening:
- First, you need to load the medium-grit belt in the sander. While loading, makes sure the belt is not too tight. Also, it must not be too loose. Load the ceramic grinding belts in a way so that it can push it slightly back while creating a bit tense.
- Opt for selecting the spinning direction for the sander. If you want to use it horizontally, then make sure it is spinning far from you. If you want to hold it vertically, then make sure it is spinning towards you.
- Turn on the belt slander with the 2 x 72 sanding belts
- Now you need to sharpen the blade properly. Take the blade and gently move it with the spinning device. While you run across the sander, push the blade lightly. It is important to apply a bit of tilt on the blade to enable it to hit the knife. Just stroke it for some time and then flip the side. Hold the blade firmly while being much careful. Have one of your hands on the hilt and the other one on the top to have proper control over the strokes.
- After that, you need to cool your knife for some time by dipping it in the water. Then you need to opt for another round of sharpening.
- As the sharpening is done, a good burr will appear on the blade. Honing will remove this burr. Take a medium -grit belt and link it with your honing compound. Hon it in the same way as you have sharpened it.
What are sanding belts used for?
Usually, belt sanders are used for multiple purposes. Here is the usage of the belt sanders:
- Scribing:
Belt sanders are used for scribing the surfaces. It is usually done using a small and hand-held belt sander. The scribing or marking of the wood is done for the later gouging and cutting.
- Flattening:
Ceramic belts with sanders are also used for softening the surface or removing any kind of extra wood or another kind of materials to make the area flatter.
- Cutting or trimming:
Belt sanders are also popularly used for trimming the extra wood works to give them a certain proper size.
- Polishing:
To help the wood or metal have a smoother surface, the belt sanders are used for polishing. It is especially used during the time of giving finishing touches to the pieces.
- Shaping or rounding:
The belt sanders are popularly used for turning a simple wood into a different piece with the rounding and giving it different tulips of shapes.
- Tool sharpening:
The belt sanders are popularly used for sharpening various tools. The grinding belts for the sharp blade are made in a way that adds more sharpness to the knives.
Conclusion:
The belt sanders are simply one of the best tools to acquire the proper sharpness in the knives. However, before opting for sanding or sharpening, it is important to pick the right tool which is suitable for the purpose. To get the most suitable sanding belts varieties for your knife sharpening, Red Label Abrasives have a lot of choices for you.