Rounding the Spine

So today I spent a couple of hours customizing my Harbor Freight belt sander so it runs horizontally versus vertically a la Dave's suggestion, and then I took a couple of crap knives and practiced rounding the spines. Both came out pretty well, but I imagine some of you may have some tips or preferences on how to do this.

I just used the belt that came with the sander to get most of the grinding done (which is probably completely the wrong belt) and then did the shoe shine thing by hand from 220 - 1500 with 3M sand paper.

It got me thinking though. How far from the tip should I stop? What belt set-up should I get (brand and grit)? Should I just do a light champfered round or a full blown curvy one? One of the knives has a little rounded bump, so I am sure my technique can get better.

Any preferences?

k.

trugrit.com has a great selection of belts. I like them in the 320-600 grit range. Brand isn't all that important unless you're a knifemaker. I think it's always a good idea to take off as little metal as possible to achieve your desired end.

wsfarrell said:

trugrit.com has a great selection of belts. I like them in the 320-600 grit range. Brand isn't all that important unless you're a knifemaker. I think it's always a good idea to take off as little metal as possible to achieve your desired end.

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I got mine from trugrit, as well. You don't need to do the tip but if you do, don't do it with a coarse belt, haha...