Thread: I have a question

I was wondering if I could use a craftsman bench top belt sander to put a grind on a razor?

Probably, but it's very tricky

1) the wheel is not a contact wheel, and it has a very small diameter.
2) the motor is very low power so you risk burning it
3) it goes way too fast for fine grinding at higher grits. As the razor gets thinner, you get heat buildup and you will likely burn the edge blue before you even get a chance to say 'oops'

I won't say it is impossible, but the high speed in particular is what really makes me say no, probably not.

This is an interesting thread.

http://straightrazorpalace.com/forge...ake-razor.html

It isn't not be the best tool, but it would be a way to test the waters.

Charlie

Thanks for the help I will give it a shot for now till I can build my own grinder.

When you get belts, make sure they're for steel. Typically, these things are used for wood and softer metals and belts for that purpose suck for grinding tool steel.

You will note that on the final grind (after heat treat) of my thread, it was not done on the belt sander...it was done on a slow grinding wheel that stays wet. No way for you to ruin the HT with the Craftsman water grinder. It's too slow for the rough work, but if you are patient you can make razors for sure. My first half dozen razors were made just like the thread shows.

You guys forgot to mention that the platen on the Craftsman also sucks. A LOT of folks started off making sharp pointy things with one of them and moved on to something better as quickly as humanly possible.

Nothing wrong with starting out with what is affordable for our budget. My Ryobi 4x36 belt grinder and Sears water wheel are still in the shop...the belt grinder gets used quite a bit actually and i have a nice variable speed 2x72 grinder available. Many of us here are on a budget and have to make do with what we can lay hands on. As you can see, my razors turned quite fine.

Man, you are right about that!!!! Some of us are still on a budget and just have overspent. I would argue that the 4 x 36 was a better buying decision that the Craftsman 2 x 42 having now ed the latter, because if nothing else, it still works well for things scales and the even popular "home made surface grinder substitute" trick, right? Hell, I would argue that the good old 1 x 30 setup might be better. With that said, after watching the video of Mastro Livi do what he did with a 4 inch angle grinder, I am convinced that some people can do darn near anything with any equipment!! It's like watching a video of Bill Moran NAIL a SHALLOW convex grind like nobody else grinding lengthwise on a 12 inch emery wheel. Where are more pics of your razors? The few that I have seen sure looked like they turned out better than fine.

Originally Posted by shooter74743

Nothing wrong with starting out with what is affordable for our budget. My Ryobi 4x36 belt grinder and Sears water wheel are still in the shop...the belt grinder gets used quite a bit actually and i have a nice variable speed 2x72 grinder available. Many of us here are on a budget and have to make do with what we can lay hands on. As you can see, my razors turned quite fine.

In case you want to see my work:
https://www.facebook.com/pages/Snail...98151823624514

The tool steel ones are all O2.
O2 is imo the best steel, bar none, for razors.