04-20-2018, 12:49 PM
Several things... Mr. Grepper takes his belt sharpening very seriously, and he is the only person I would allow to belt sharpen one of my knives for me. The other people I would trust use the same stones I use.
I sharpen my knives according to type of steel and use, so I finish knives on anything from 140 grit Atoma to 4µ PDP on leather. I use straight razors, which is a whole different game involving fine compounds, but that's a different kind of crazy.
Bark River is stretching the truth to put it mildly. They don't get their compounds from Ken. They used to a long time ago, but they've been trading on Ken's reputation for many years, so I'd rather not get into that.
I have... probably close to 30 different compounds from going through the compound researching phase with Ken. We've been good friends longer than he's had any compounds. Ken was and is... literally, cutting edge.
I highly recommend getting your compounds straight from Ken.
Ken's contact info; Phone; 209-612-2790 Email; ksskss@earthlink.net
I have top of the line Japanese kitchen knives in White #1, and Super Blue (IMHO the best kitchen knife steels), pocket knives in every exotic steel, and my own 52100 knives, which have the most value and EDC use. I don't sharpen ANY of my knives on belts. None. Not even my wife's good stainless kitchen knives. I have practically every kind of stone, from the (inexpensive) King stones Murray Carter uses, to 30K Shapton Pro, and everything in between. Full sets of Naniwa, Shapton Glass and Pro (half of them are for razors). Also lots of Nubatamas and some really fancy J-Nats.
It sounds to me like you're sharpening your kitchen knives correctly IMHO. I just don't bother with anything above 2K any more (usually 16µ PDP on a leather hone for maintenance), simply because that's way plenty sharp enough, with enough tooth. I totally understand wanting to see what 10k will do though.
I sharpen around 1k knives/year on belts, but I've been sharpening in friendly competition with professional sharpeners (belts, EdgePro, WEPS and stones) for about a decade. I've been using stones for 45 out of my 51 years, so other than guided sharpening (which just takes too long), I know stones produce the best edge with the least amount of steel removal, which is very important for valuable knives that get a lot of use.
So, about your Viel... You need to check out the thread about adding adjustment screws, HERE. It's a piece of cake, and given what you've put into yours, this is icing.
You will always use every belt you buy, and it takes about 4 belts to figure out if, how and why you like it. In addition to the coarse Blaze and Cubitrons, you will like every Deerfos belt up to 800 grit. Form there I go to compounds on leather or linen. Leather belts should come with very explicit directions. They will last anywhere from a few days to forever depending on how you treat them. Linen belts last a very long time no matter what. They should cost 5x what they do.
Having the belt plumb or level (machine laying down) isn't critical. The only thing that matters is blade to platen angle, and everyone should own one or more of THESE amazing little gadgets.
Mr. Grepper has a working concept of another amazing little gadget that would qualify as a necessity if you wanted to achieve a specific angle on the edge.
Otherwise, practice makes perfect.
I sharpen my knives according to type of steel and use, so I finish knives on anything from 140 grit Atoma to 4µ PDP on leather. I use straight razors, which is a whole different game involving fine compounds, but that's a different kind of crazy.
Bark River is stretching the truth to put it mildly. They don't get their compounds from Ken. They used to a long time ago, but they've been trading on Ken's reputation for many years, so I'd rather not get into that.
I have... probably close to 30 different compounds from going through the compound researching phase with Ken. We've been good friends longer than he's had any compounds. Ken was and is... literally, cutting edge.
I highly recommend getting your compounds straight from Ken.
Ken's contact info; Phone; 209-612-2790 Email; ksskss@earthlink.net
I have top of the line Japanese kitchen knives in White #1, and Super Blue (IMHO the best kitchen knife steels), pocket knives in every exotic steel, and my own 52100 knives, which have the most value and EDC use. I don't sharpen ANY of my knives on belts. None. Not even my wife's good stainless kitchen knives. I have practically every kind of stone, from the (inexpensive) King stones Murray Carter uses, to 30K Shapton Pro, and everything in between. Full sets of Naniwa, Shapton Glass and Pro (half of them are for razors). Also lots of Nubatamas and some really fancy J-Nats.
It sounds to me like you're sharpening your kitchen knives correctly IMHO. I just don't bother with anything above 2K any more (usually 16µ PDP on a leather hone for maintenance), simply because that's way plenty sharp enough, with enough tooth. I totally understand wanting to see what 10k will do though.
I sharpen around 1k knives/year on belts, but I've been sharpening in friendly competition with professional sharpeners (belts, EdgePro, WEPS and stones) for about a decade. I've been using stones for 45 out of my 51 years, so other than guided sharpening (which just takes too long), I know stones produce the best edge with the least amount of steel removal, which is very important for valuable knives that get a lot of use.
So, about your Viel... You need to check out the thread about adding adjustment screws, HERE. It's a piece of cake, and given what you've put into yours, this is icing.
You will always use every belt you buy, and it takes about 4 belts to figure out if, how and why you like it. In addition to the coarse Blaze and Cubitrons, you will like every Deerfos belt up to 800 grit. Form there I go to compounds on leather or linen. Leather belts should come with very explicit directions. They will last anywhere from a few days to forever depending on how you treat them. Linen belts last a very long time no matter what. They should cost 5x what they do.
Having the belt plumb or level (machine laying down) isn't critical. The only thing that matters is blade to platen angle, and everyone should own one or more of THESE amazing little gadgets.
Mr. Grepper has a working concept of another amazing little gadget that would qualify as a necessity if you wanted to achieve a specific angle on the edge.
Otherwise, practice makes perfect.