cut a wood block at the angle you want and use it as a tool rest. better then free hand for the average folk like me.

As an expert knife sharpener for more than 30 years ,I am impressed, will go out and buy one of those belt sanders very soon. Well done

Thank you Thank you. After watching your video, I bought a Harbor Frieght 30" belt sander (20%off) / a 10 pack or 400 grit belts and a leather belt with honing compound. Tried my hand at a set of cheap kitchen knives which now slice through paper like butter. Next on to the old dull Henkel and GunterWillhelm higher quality kitchen knives. I'm sold!

Hey Scott !!, Here's a trick I learned with mine. Lay the sander on it's back and turn it around so that the belt is going away from you. The belt will be flat and MUCH easier to sharpen knives without a knife guide. Try it and maybe even make a video about it. I would, BUT ! I am no good on video. PS, This also works on WORK SHARP knife sharpeners too !.

Bought this same setup. You are spot on. Sharpened every knife in our house in about an hour. They are all razor sharp. Happy I finally found someone on KZfaq that knows what the hell they are talking about. Thanks

Well I'm sold! Fixing to order a belt sander. This stone business and not keeping my edge just right is driving me a little crazy haha! Thank you for this video!!!

Just wanted to say thanks for posting & answering all these comments. Skipped my lunch today, went to Harbor Freight & walked out with the sander. Amazon has all the belts, so I should be good to go by the weekend. many thanx!

An old friend, John Dado showed me this method 25 years ago and I still use it today. Great post OP!

For whoever said this butchers steel by taking off too much metal: you don't have to take off so much metal every time, just the first time to re-edge an exceptionally dull knife. Once re-edged, it can be sharpened with a very fine grit belt and / or simply stropped with a porcelain stick without removing much fiber at all. Great video ! PS: Only an idiot would let the blade get anywhere near hot enough to actually change it's temper; as you can see by this demonstration it is a very gentle, finesse of motion & precision, very cool.

there are many good ways to sharpen a knife or tool but this is about the best.

Thanks for getting back to me. I hadn't realized the rouge contained grit. I was thinking it was just more of a lube. You made it look so easy & fast, I went and bought the sander and ordered the belts right away. Can't wait to try it out. Thanks again for the demo.

fantastic video! I bought the same belt grinder, watched your video once more and brought my leatherman's tool back to life!! Thanks man!!

Damn! I'm sold . Thank you for sharing.

6:45 - That laugh of victory is priceless.

I have the same machine, I'm so glad i found your video. The leather belt is going on the shopping list. Thanks Man!

I ran across your video while resourcing how to sharpen a knife. I ordered all the same equipment from Haber freight that you were using. The result is I can now sharpen a knife real sharp. Thank you for taking the time to put this on KZfaq.

wow...THANX... now I know what to get... I have a bunch of knives... some are really dull.... thanx again......😎

Thanks, looks really good. Maybe knife snobs don't like it, but I use a knife as a tool.

Thanks for this video Scott, I had no idea they sold leather belts for sanders. I've been hand stropping on a flat leather for years, after grinding my edges and using a stone for polishing. i'm going to convert to a sander, which I already own. Gotta love you tube.

Right on, I'm gonna have to try it out. Thanks for the heads up man.

I have no idea why people would hit thumbs down when it was really helpful to me. It makes me want to go out and buy the sander which I think I will do just thank. Thank you Scott.

I would make some kind of 20 degree angle jig out of a wood block to get the consistent angle.

Thanks for the video! I've been looking for a better way to sharpen a knife. You did a good job in demonstrating how to sharpen a knife.

I am brand new to bushcrafting and found this tonite, it was a great find and tutorial, I really appreciated this. From Canada, thanks.

@ cogitaretoo: Thought about it, but this is working out pretty good and for these work knifes I am very happy with the results. Most of the time now I just touch up with the leather belt.

Nice video, Scott Gregg. FWIW - Back in the early to mid 80's there was a chain of cutlery shops in just about every mall or larger shopping center here in the Indiana area called "Cutlery World". For several Christmases, I worked part-time in one of these stores and this is pretty much the exact same way that we sharpened our customer's knives. We used a little different style narrow belt sander made by a company called "Hook & Eye". The belt surface laid flat like a bed, and ran from the rear to the front (towards the user). We held the blades at an angle (like you describe) and gently pulled the blade from left to right to and pushed the blade away from us. Instead of finishing the blades off with a leather belt we used the store brand (Cutlery World) crock-sticks. First the grey "coarse" sticks for a few strokes then the white "fine" sticks for another few strokes. The result was the same (a blade you could shave with)! We used this same method on all un-serrated knives from cheap (no-name brands) to expensive professional chef grade knives. I too have also used the Lansky or Smith sharpening systems with good results but with nowhere near the speed or ease of the above described abrasive belt method. BTW - I find that people who rudely "tell people" what they should do without acknowledging that there may be different but equally effective ways of doing things, should generally be ignored and not encouraged to attempt to interact with gentlefolk. In other words...... "Don't feed the Trolls"!!! ;^) Best Regards, all.

thanks for this video. i have had my eye on the same belt grinder specifically for this purpose. i have about 30 feet of kitchen and camp blades that all need sharpening. last time i took them to a gun and knife show and it would have cost me about $80 to sharpen all of them. this way i can sharpen them anytime i need to for around the same amount of money. thanks again!

Dude, this is brilliant. I have been screwing around with stones, all these different systems like the Lansky and a few auto machines like the Chef's Choice and all those other $200 machines. This looks so easy and all for under a $100. You sold me!

@Derptrollz, I tried asking it nicely to get sharp but I found "Forcing" it worked a lot better. :-)

Hey negative posters , he's showing us how to sharpen everyday , working knives, not high-end Sushi blades. And watch a video on the master knife maker from Entrek knives , he grinds and profiles all of his blades by hand AFTER the heat treat, and his knives have great edge retention.

3-2-15. I bought the same sander :) its awesome. Thanks for the video and some tips. I already did 4 knives. And all came pretty awesome. Practice makes perfect

Sweet video! I like your shirt and your garage is wonderful. The fish poles are very well maintained. That sander contraption scare the hee-bee gee-bees out of me though. I love how-to vids. Thank you

The shop in Anchorage, Alaska taught me how to use belts for this. Your 400 grits is equal to 40 microns of courseness. I was taught to then use a 15 micron belt an then a 9 micron belt to get to the razor-like sharpness.

Mr. Gregg. Thank you. I had a ton of cheap knives that I was ready to throw away since it wasn't worth paying for the sharpenning and using the sander like you did i was able to get them back into shape. I don't know anything about damaging the temper or whatever the hell these other guys were talking about, but i can tell you that even if the metal was damaged, it is still razor sharp and cheap knives are cutting better than my $200 sets. So once again, thank you and f$×¥ the internet know-it-alls.

I just bought one of those Sanders from HF 5 weeks ago...never thought about using it in that fashion...thanks for instruction!

Thanks Scott. I have this grinder and worked on several old hunting and kitchen knives using your method - worked well. The MASTER blade smith that taught me used a series of 1,000 - 2,000 grit to put final edge on his knives and his products are superior to a lot I've seen. One of the best sharpeners on the market today from WORK SHARP uses belts and I don't see them falling apart. I appreciate you sharing your experiences and knowledge with anyone who is searching the web for ideas. That's what it's all about really. I too have experienced the 'think they know it all' naysayers who are just waiting to pounce on someones ideas or suggestions. They actually swarm - one comments and they get their other naysayer friends to back them up. Pretty pitiful existence. Thanks again man and keep it up.

High speed grinders and belt sanders generate localised heat which can be the death of a knifes ability to retain sharpness. Professional knife sharpeners do not use high speed wheels without coolant. Anyone can create a razor sharp edge but how long that edge lasts is another story. The sharp edge of a properly sharpened cooking knife actually rolls over or deforms with use which is why a few strokes on a steel brings it back to a sharp edge.

cool video - confirms to me that the world would be better if it's run by men in sheds!

I just received my leather belt & compound that ordered after watching ur video, boy it really puts that razor sharp edge on my homemade knifes, Thank for video!!!!

Nice video Scott Gregg, Thinking about one of those for myself.... Great!

if you have a real expensive knife, I would not recommend throwing sparks like that all the time, on cheap steel I guess it doens't matter much but I would NEVER throw those sparks on my expensive folders. I would hate to ruin the temper on a blade of mine. This is how most knife company's do their factory bevels though, or when you send them in this is how they re sharpen your blade for you, just have to be careful with the heat.

Normally I find it quite peaceful, almost zen-like, to gather my stones and do some sharpening and the thought of using some powered gizmo, screaming away my groove, seems unattractive in the extreme. However, your clear enthusiasm and contagious good nature about this method makes me almost want to give it a try.

Thanks for the video and regardless of what others say about not sanding your knives, my brother was a meat cutter and the butcher shop he worked for sharpened their knives exactly like this.

I learned a lot. I do have the belt sander from HF, the belts including the leather belt. I tried it your way, great! Thanks

I cant figure out why 400 people disliked this video

R8ed4U: that butchers steel takes a lot of metal off a knife. Probably the worst thing to use in my opinion other than a quick touch up on a knife that you really don't care that much about anyway. The work sharp is a GREAT tool! I went the way I did due to 2 things: 1.cost is about 1/2. and 2. I could get a leather belt to really make things super sharp. the Works sharp can be bought here about as cheap as anywhere and the blade guides are great to help folks keep the correct angles: goo.gl/odOmKO

Thanks! Heading up to Harbor Freight as soon as these roads get cleaned!

Nice stuff dude, i have spent a lot of time & money trying to sharpening knives over the years and this is the best effort i have seen & used.

ya know, knife factories don't hone blades with wet stones, so why would the average person use a stone? I have a older version worksharp for fillet knives. and use it religiously. I can see how sweet this is also.

This is more of a re-profile than a sharpening. Fast, but not the best edge by any measure.

Hi scott i watch im sure this video a few weeks ago, anyway out came the bush knifes, the house carving knifes even my three hatches and my axe and its been great. Obviously the the thicker edges axe etc coarser grit, but all work great. Hatchet with a razor edge its a dream kindling etc in secs. Annyways for going to the trouble. Video clear as well as instructions. All the best to you nick from scotland. Ive subscribed too bring us more.

Great video! Wish I would have seen it earlier. Works great. Fast and cheaper than a worksharp. Thank you my friend. Very informative

All of this talk of ruining the temper is absolutely foolish! Can we remember to feel the side of the edge after a couple of passes on the belt? Or, after each pass if your terrified of destroying your knife? When the blade starts to get even a little warm, you may drag it across a wet towel nearby or dip it into a vessel of water. Duh! I very rarely must use anything coarser than 400 grit unless I am restoring a very badly damaged edge or re-profiling a blade. And, I use belts up to 2000 grit before going to the leather strop. However, I can't argue with the video evidence you provided here. I just don't particularly like a "toothy" sharp edge. But who would be disappointed with that chef's knife you sharpened? There is a video here on KZfaq on making your own belts out of sandpaper. I do this with great success. The really fine grit sandpapers can be purchased at the better auto-parts stores (NAPA). I bought a very nice Italian men's leather belt at Goodwill and sewed together my own leather strop belt also. It works every bit as well as the factory-made belts for electric sander/grinders. There are even different grits of polishing compounds to swipe onto your different leather strops if you like crazy-sharp and polished edges. I would recommend a ceramic rod before a butcher's steel to touch-up an edge while working with the knife. It restores and edge with a finer polish than a butcher's steel. Now, if you waited too long and need a more aggressive surface.... You did a great job with this video dude! Just remember to encourage only the use the finest grit you absolutely need in order to prevent unnecessary excess loss of steel.

I would not recommend doing this unless you're willing/able to re-temper the knife after. The heat generated from friction will soften the metal in your knife and ruin the temper. The metal will become softer each time and will not hold an edge as well as a result. Unless you plan on tempering it again after just use a stone. There's a reason people use stones instead of this method, and that is it.

This is a great tip! Thank you!!

Well I just got the 4" belt sander for Christmas and a nice assortment of belts, hopefully I can get some results close to yours with the wider belt. Thanks for the cool video, you have inspired me.

This is forcing an edge onto the knife. A $10 guided sharpener from Amazon does the exact same thing. The reason chefs use stones is so that a proper angle is sharpened. When you get a proper angle the knife has a longer lifespan and holds the sharpened edge longer.

Lots of people saying it takes too much steel off. Remember that he bought this knife for a buck

THANK YOU for making this video. This really is the best way to sharpen a knife. Much appreciated.

Thanx Greg, you helped me out alot, I appreciate it. Thanx.

Best way to pull the temper out of your knife... There's a very good reason no knife experts sharpen knives this way. But some guy in his garage says its best so it must be true. Factory edges on decent knives are done on powered water cooled stones. Not this catastrophe.

Thank you so much for this, I've been trying to figure out a simple way to sharpen knives for a real long time. I can't wait to try this out.

This is excellent! I am inspired and will buy one of these ASAP

I bought a couple of these belt sanders, one is dedicated for grinding ( 800 grit belt with $8 angle guide set to 15 degrees) and the other for stropping (leather belt). Was so impressed with results I bought a sharpness tester to confirm the sharpness. Razors score 30-100 on the tester, my blades score 40-50 when done. Average kitchen knives score between 300 - 400. Butter knife scores 2000 (grams of force). Just 90 seconds of work. Still want to master wet stones, but this solution creates amazing results for such little money. Can't justify spending big $$$ on wet stones and accessories.

Thx for the video brother!!! Great info!! I’ll be getting one..

I'm planning on buying this sander by the end of this week,because of all the positive comments about it.I plan on using a block of angled wood that I can clamp my knives to for the procedure. TX Scott...Good video, H

Just bought a Harbor freight 1x30 belt sander today! And ordered some sharpening belts. Can't wait to get at it 🤪

I didn't expect to like this video, but it turned out to be great. Thanks!

That was great. so happy i found your videos

Great presentation. I am going to order a belt sander from Harbor Freight on the next paycheck. Thanks

This is the O.G. Video I always fall back on when it’s time to sharpen. This should be on top of the list, cause everyone else is just copying.

Just got one early for Father’s Day. Hoping your vid helps me ace it. Thanks

Awesome video, I will have to get me one of the belt sanders 😊

Awesome video Scott. I sharpened some knives today and they are razor sharp. Thank you again!

cool video, i already have this belt sander and have never used it for this purpose

I WAS INPRESSED WITH YOUR DEMMENSTION THANK YOU ....

This is great. I've been looking at a ton of different videos on how to sharpen a knife. This should be titled " 'Merica does it better: knife sharpening." By far, the simplest and most effective video I've seen. Big thumbs up!

Awesome Scott !! Thanks for the idea

Wow!!! Learned something today... I need one of those.

Thank you I will definitely be purchasing this now!

after trying several ways to sharpen my tools. by far this is the best way. easy and fast. you have to buy the equipment but is worth it. I use it for sharpen my victorinox utility knifes, my kitchen knifes and my chisels.. thank you for your video..

I'm reshaping old knives and sharped knives I thought would never be used again!!! thanks so much sir !!

I like razor sharp knives! All of my knife collection has been sharpened razor sharp, by me personally. I always carry an arkensas stone or diamond steel with me to touch my knives up. When I am in the bush, i've never found any current bush to plug one of those electric sharpening contraptions into. Besides, I don't care to remove any, or all, of the steel from my knives while sharpening blades.

Hello, Happy new Year! Killer Video bud. I'd love to get my hands on those extra knives if you still got them laying around.

That's awesome! Thank you for sharing..

Nice video,It's a great way to get re-profiling done fast.I like how you keep the method simple.It doesn't take as many different grit belts as some people think,and you showed that here.That said I don't get why some people still believe that this method will ruin a temper,as evident by all the comments. I've never done it,nor have I ever seen it happen..

Good job buddy! Well done 👍 buying that belt sander asap

Nice video. Thanks for sharing your tips for us.

I have been using a work sharp belt system sharpener for years, $50 from midway USA come with guides. Awesome!

Great video, very good instructions. I gave it a like and will surely share!! :)

About 30 years ago I pulled out a belt sander on a job and clamped it down. I used an 80g belt (pretty worn) to set the edges of my chisels and to put a hollow grind on them. The other guys were amazed at how sharp they were. So, everybody started doing it. You can sit there for hours with stones n steels to get a great edge or... just use a belt sander. I also am a chef and I do it with my very expensive knives. Its a touch, but saves hours of honing honing honing. I still finish with super fine steels and polish with a leather trop. But hey... hours and hours and hours or... zip...strop go!!!

So I just finished sharpening a blade last night using my diamond lansky kit. Cost me about $80 and 2 hours. Wish I would have watched this video sooner lol. Thanks for the post, I'll give this a try!

I have using different sharpening methods for 40 yrs, with only modest success. Gotta try a belt sander . Thanks !!

Helpful vid' Scott. Keep up the good work.

Thanks for the video, well done production, content & presentation excellent.Regards:

Thank you. You're using a sander like one of mine. I'll give it a try.

Great review...I also bought the 600, 800 and 1,000 grit belts to go with mine and get some really fine edges as well. Slick setup!!!

Great video this will work great for my shop knives. And for those that say it takes off to much metal. It's not like anyone with a good set of chef knives would ever do this. I keep mine under lock and key in the kitchen.

I can use this on a certain level , thanks for posting

I considered the Worksharp because of the built in angle guides, but I figured out that it's cheaper to buy or make a jig and use one of these belt sanders than to buy some device and then have to buy special belts or stones. Thank to guys like you and Reed Lukens I went with the belt sander.