Belt Sander to sharpen Concave Heads

[DaveT1963]

Been using a steel master to sharoen my simmons.  Ran across some belt sander viseos on Utube - My question is has anyone used a belt sander to sharpen the concave blades on a simmons?  Seems to me that the flex in the belt would allow it to sharpen thses heads weel?  I also see that they make leather belts for final honing.  Hopefully somneone has tried this and can give me their results before I spend too much on another sharpening system.  I tried the rada and jewel stick and get only satisfactory results with them.

[JimB]

Personally,I never sharpen blades on any motor powered tool.It can wreck the temper faster than you think and in the case of a belt sander,could take a lot of metal off very quickly.One or two times doing that could lighten a point enough to even mess up the tune of your setup.There have been a few good threads on this site,about sharpening those heads.

[DaveT1963]

Belt sande with a dimmer switch would allow for slower sppeds.  120-600 grit for slow removal and then they also make leather and 6000 grit paper that should be able to hone.  I know a lot of knife makers are going to belt sanders and they too worry about temper and overheating but have work arounds.

[ChuckC]

I have a jig I made for my standard 6" belt sander and it works fine ( for standard non concave heads).  Go light, quench VERY often and I have not seen any issues at all.  Just take it easy, its a power tool.
CHuckC

[Ray Hammond]

if you are having trouble with the curved portion of the head get yourself a half round file..single cut....about 8 inches long...and try that.

Should help you.  As a knifemaker I can tell you power sanding to sharpen heads will end up causing you issues with your temper.

[Bladepeek]

I'm with Ray on overheating the BH with a belt sander. I finally got a variable speed control for my 6x72" belt grinder (a dimmer switch will not work!)and can slow the belt down to a walk. I've done a few that way, but really find it just as easy to set the bevel with a file and then use fine stones for the sharp edge.