MDF Sharpening Wheels? (1 Viewer)

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e9999

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Can't trust the Internet any more? Is the world going to pot? What is a man to do then?

Been seeing these vids about MDF wheels for some time. Evidently, they are the ultimate sharpening tools. Every vid shows them taking a dull knife, running it on the rouged wheels a few times, 15 secs and bingo. Razor sharp! Everybody swears they work way better than the usual methods.

I've got a real fancy sharpening system but it takes a long time and I could use a quick freshening up method. So I says I gotta have one of them wheels too. So I make 3, right. Enjoyable, actually. And they come out real nice. Rouged one up. Measure precisely 20 degrees which is what I honed the knives to, run the knife on it a few times. Shows a beautiful polished edge, as described in the vids. Great. Paper test: nothing. Not sharper at all. Try again on the wheel. Several times. Different rouges. Nothing. Try a second 25 degs bevel to get something at least. Nope. Not at all sharper.

Sheesh.

And yes I know the full system includes another wheel with carbide bits, but I should not need this, I would think, if I keep to the existing angle and just want a touch up.

So, welcoming any and all suggestions as to what I am likely doing wrong! Any well-known issue with the MDF wheel method that foils newbies?
 
the mdf alone won't do much in terms of removing metal. Just some polishing action, probably somewhere near the equivalent to a strop. You're going to need the knife to be beveled before and maybe add some polishing compound to the mdf.
 
I don't see a short cut any where personally. If a knife is dull (a relative term) then metal needs to be removed to make it sharp. Buffing compounds/stropping remove metal to be sure. But only a little. Working through the stones in a progression as necessary, then finishing with compounds if you desire.

I tend to get in a hurry with the stones - then after a half hour of sharpening I have an edge with scratches because I jumped from 1000 to 4000 or whatever too fast.
 

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