When using mdf/ply buffing wheels in a grinder it's best to turn the grinder round and use it back to front. The reason being is that the grinder is then running in the opposite direction so you can hold the knife with both hands and the blade is pointing away from you and you can also hold the knife more comfortably and it makes it easier to sharpen the knife.
I just bought the green buffing compound off amazon. It is a huge block of compound and will last for ages. I would suggest keeping it in a ziplock bag so it doesn't dry out over time.
A man after my own heart! I made a 4" stropping wheel by gluing 4x4mm leather disks together (I have a big box of thick leather offcuts) - it works well - but I like the idea of MDF (cheap and all too common) and a larger diameter would likely work marginally better.
Every part of this video was great, except for the part when you said you were going to throw away the old file lol 😉. That's (in all probability) a perfectly good piece of quality high carbon steel with only a light layer of rust that's easily ground off, as you've already demonstrated by making the quick scraper out of it. Old file steel makes excellent knives, chisels, and any other type of tool that requires a finely honed edge since they used to almost always be made of a finely grained high carbon steel. Now days you don't really know what your getting with regard to steel type and some may even be just case-hardened mild steel. If you don't have a belt grinder with the proper abrasive belts (ideally ceramic) to grind and hog off material without over-heating and thus ruining its temper, you can just re-harden and temper it in a fairly rudimentary way after grinding and still come out with a decent edge. Just heat it till it's just past non-magnetic (~1475F) and quench it some in pre warmed (to about ~120F) canola oil. Canola oil seems to be the fastest quenchant when it comes to the store bought food grade oils, and low alloy, high carbon steel require a fast quench to properly harden. Anyway, after quenching, temper it in an oven for 1-2 hours at 400F, take it out and quench it in water, then repeat one more time. I apologize if you already know all of this info but wanted to share it just in case. On another note, I like how you used your bench grinder as a lathe to true up the wheel, as that seems to keep things quick and simple. I think I'll be making my own in the near future using your techniques. Thanks for sharing and take care :)
+lsubslimed - Hello mate. To be honest, the old file is still next to the honing wheel as I use it to re dress and re load the wheel with abrasive every now and then. However I may well take on board the idea of making something with it as numerous folks have suggested doing exactly what you say. Firstly though I am going to do a couple of videos on how to regrind and re sharpen chisels and planes. I have picked up a couple of good quality chiels that have been dreadfully abused - so I will put a proper razor edge on them. One of them has been used as a car body filler stirrer!!
Don't throw away old files. Clean them with a wire brush and then dip them in a dilute acid solution. Sharpens them right up. Or you can anneal them and make a nice knife out of them.
good idea. Looks like the blade is only touching the ends of the wheel. What if you made the wheel a convex shape rather than flat? Would that give more contact?
:D I know what you mean, when I started using a stropping wheel I realized from the improved sharpness that I had been slacking when hand stropping. I think Paul Sellers recommends 30 passes on each side, with quite a lot of downward pressure.
Yet another brilliant video, I know what I'll be doing this weekend now. Don't suppose you could share where exactly to get the green buffing block from could you ? Thank you 👍🏼
Cheers mate. The buffing block is made by silverline. I bought it off of ebay for about £5. That one block will last an age!! Might just have a go at making a leather covered wheel next for a different version of the same thing. :)
Jonathan Elliott - update on the buffing blocks. I was wandering around Newark market last week and one of those stalls that sells cheapo tools were selling buffing blocks for a quid each. so keep your eyes peeled for that type of stall on the markets ;)
you need to be aware the USA has banned MDF for a reason, the US uses a low emission formula MDF, but the 'old' MDF that used to release significant amounts of formaldehyde (now a declared carcinogen) as it off-gassed is actively discouraged.
+Steve Boyd - yep.... I'm probably going to be getting something really awfully cos when it first came out I was routing it into all sorts of things. I would come away from the workshop literally covered in a few weeks mm thick layer of mdf dust.
Good video. Question. You mentioned the different coloured blocks. Once you've charged a buffing wheel with one colour, can you change to another colour, or is that wheel now committed to that one colour? (Other than recutting the wheel)
+Javier Fauxnom - to be honest mate - I would just skim off the previous compound with the file again and re charge with the new compound. Its very quick and easy to make a new wheel if you need to.
Ace Carolino I bought a used grinder for 20$ Canadian, cut out a rough circle with a cheap hand saw and used sandpaper to finish, had a friend drill the hole for me. it's doable
I sharpen my knife shaving Sharp when I try in my arm i don't leave hair behind but when I try to cut paper is struggle I'm doing something wrong or I just don't know how to cut paper lol😂
Most of the junk cabinets and book shelves tossed out at your local apartment complex are made from MDF. Medium Density Fiberboard can also be purchased at your local big box like Lowe's or Home Depot. They sell 2'x2' sheets for a few dollars.
Why would you call a swiss army knife nasty and cheap,victorinox and wenger made they're knives from first class stainless steel and they are one of the best knives out there,the title of nasty and cheap does not belong to a victorinox or wenger swiss army knife.The title of nasty and cheap belongs to the very cheap knockoffs swiss army knives that are close if not completely unuseable.
They are overpriced novelty junk. Any real knife has carbon steel, not STAINLESS. Stainless is brittle, hard to sharpen, quick to dull (If you ever get a edge on it in the first place) and the "tools" are worthless except for the corkscrew. It works somewhat.
