Page 1 of 2 12 LastLast
Results 1 to 15 of 28

Thread: Report on the Makita knife sharpener

  1. #1
    Join Date
    Mar 2005
    Location
    Houston, TX
    Posts
    857

    Report on the Makita knife sharpener

    I recently bought the Makita 9820-2 Blade Sharpener from Amazon and I thought that I would give a report on how it works. I brief, I had to fiddle with it when I first got it but now that it is set up it sharpens quickly, consistently and sharper then I got from a professional service.

    So far I've used it to sharpen 2 sets of 13" planer knives, 3 knives in each set. I have also used it to sharpen one set of 6" jointer knives, again a 3 knife set. It took about 90 minutes of fiddling with it to understand exactly how to get the knives where I wanted them, get everything adjusted and come up with a repeatable procedure. Now that I have the procedure down, it takes about 4 minutes to sharpen a single 13" knife.

    To test the Makita, I took a 6" wide 1" thick piece of African mahogany and sent it through the planer on low speed (10 fpm) with knives that I just got back from a sharpening service. The result was fine and exactly what I had come to expect. I removed the knives and sharpened them on the Makita. I put the knives back onto the planer using the same method and acheiving the same accuracy of knife above cutter head as before. I turned the test board over and passed it through the planer. The result from the Makita sharpened knives was the best quality that I had ever gotten from my planer. With each test, I sent it through until I got a full cut, then turned the crank 1/8 of a turn and took 2 more passes at 1/8 turns each time. It is not a completely fool proof test, but I am confident that the Makita sharpens at least as well as a professional service and probably better.

    I had several concerns with the sharpener:
    * The method to setup the tool rest and mount the knives in the holder to get the correct angle is not clear, and is rather subjective. It consists mainly of eye-ball it, try it and make corrections, repeat until you think it is good enough.
    * The manual consists mainly of how to assemble the machine, however, the machine is so simple you don't need a manual to assemble it. The manual is available in pdf format from the amazon site.

    I have one more issue, but it is not with the Makita specifically, but with sharpening in general. I wish there was an objective measurement for sharpness. If the knife has ground the entire bevel, shaves my fingernail easily and has developed a slight burr I call it sharp.

    Here is the procedure I have settled on, I would be glad to get suggestions from others who have used this tool.

    Initial setup:
    I set the knife in the holder roughly 0.5" above the holder. I placed the knife and holder in the sharpener and adjusted the tool rest heights as shown in the manual. I then took a permanent marker and every 1" drew a line from the back of the bevel right off the sharp edge of the knife. I began to sharpen the knife according to the manual. After 1 minute of sharpening, I looked at the pattern of ink marks and adjusted the tool rest and knife height in the holder until the entire bevel was being ground evenly. From this procedure I locked in the settings on the sharpener by tightening the lock knobs, then I measured the height of the knife from the edge of the knife holder and it was 0.43". Your values will be different because your tool rest will have slightly different settings. This process took about 90 minutes.

    Standard Sharpening Procedure:
    1. I set the knife in the holder with all the depth stops retracted except for the outermost stops. Using the depth gauge on my dial calipers I set the top of the knife to 0.43" from the black steel edge of the knife holder. I mark lines across the bevel as described in the initial setup because it is easy to do and provides positive feedback.

    2. I place the knife assembly on the tool rest and begin the water flow if it is not already started. I adjust the flow until there is water all over the back of the knife in the area of the stone.

    3. Rotate the knife up and off the stone, start the motor and lower the knife. Keep fingers spread over the entire knife to ensure constant pressure. Start sliding the knife from side to side, completing one slide in 6 seconds.

    4. Sharpen for about 2 minutes and check the pen marks and feel for a burr. Repeat for 2 more minutes if necessary. When the sharpener is setup correctly and the knives do not have chips in them, I have never needed to sharpen more than 4 minutes. Typically, to mount a knife in the holder, measure, mark, sharpen, remove the knife, dry it and set it aside takes a total of 4-5 minutes for a 13" knife.

    Here is the link for where I bought it
    http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00...lance&n=228013

  2. #2
    Join Date
    Mar 2005
    Location
    Atascadero, CA
    Posts
    235
    That looks like a nice machine but i am curious how often you sharpen your blades for it to be worth spending $250. I was tossing the idea of getting a similar setup but i kept asking that question. Nice machine though!

  3. #3
    Join Date
    Mar 2005
    Location
    Houston, TX
    Posts
    857
    What decided it for me was the small bundle of knives I had to sharpen. The local place is very convenient and no shipping charges but they charge $1 per inch. 2x(3x13" + 3x6") = $114. Even if I mailed them off to a cheaper service at $0.50 an inch, that is $57 and say $10 shipping brings you to $60. I need sharpening every 3-4 months, which pays for the Makita in 1 or 1.5 years.

    In addition, since I was paying for sharpening and making a trip to drop off/ship the knives I would go too long with dull knives. I hope to now change out knives before they get truely dull and get better quality furniture. I have also taken great pains to become proficient in changing knives in the planer and jointer so that I can do it as quickly and consistently as possible.

  4. Tom: I have one as well and its a dreamboat of a sharpener for jointer and planer blades. Do yourself a favor and go to the Highland Hardware web site, search the Makita sharpener, and they have available for download some very good instructions on how to use the machine that you will certainly enjoy reading and using.

    Rich.

  5. #5
    Join Date
    Nov 2004
    Location
    Belden, Mississippi
    Posts
    2,742

    A quick question....

    I too have the Makita. Love it. Do you also flatten the back of the blade (as in plane irons or chisels), and do you gring a micro-bevel after the initial angle is groundTIA, and thanks for your post.
    Bill

  6. #6
    Join Date
    Mar 2005
    Location
    Houston, TX
    Posts
    857
    Quote Originally Posted by Bill White
    I too have the Makita. Love it. Do you also flatten the back of the blade (as in plane irons or chisels), and do you gring a micro-bevel after the initial angle is groundTIA, and thanks for your post.
    Bill
    I have not tried either. The blades were so much sharper than what I got from a sharpening service that I didn't see the need to go further with it.

  7. #7
    Join Date
    Feb 2003
    Location
    Hayes, Virginia
    Posts
    14,760
    Tom,

    I bought my Makita sharpener so long ago I can't remember. Don't forget that when you get toward the end of a knife increase the speed...add a little zip to keep the knife end from being overground. It's a technique that requires a bit of time to master. You can use a caliper to check the width of your knives to make sure that each knife in a set are wearing equally. The Makita knife holders do a good job of keeping knives pretty even but it is a good idea to check them periodically.

    The odds are your knives may develope a transverse crack long before they are worn down. Adjust the water flow so that you have about a quarter inch rising up onto the knife edge and watch carefully while grinding. The metal filings will attract to a crack, if you see this use a dye penetrant kit to test the knife or have it checked by a local inspection company.

    My 2cents

  8. #8
    Join Date
    Nov 2003
    Location
    Grantham, New Hampshire
    Posts
    1,128
    While you are at the Highland Hardware site, order up one on the Green wheels for you Makita. It will make it much easier to sharpen a knife with nick or a very dull one. Actually, for planer and jointer knives, it is all I use. just run the slide back and forth a little faster as you finish up ( as mention earlier) and th finish is still better than most sharpening services.

    CPeter

  9. #9
    Join Date
    Jul 2005
    Location
    The Kudzu Patch
    Posts
    770
    Amazing timing. I was looking at the Grizzly and giving it serious thought. I was about to look and see what else is out there. I appreciate the info!

    As for me, there is a guy that does great work in my area but he does it on the side. It 45 mintues (rural driving) away and always have to make two trips. Just a royal pain. Was having a tough time with the price but I think the convinence is worth a lot to me.

    OH yea. Will the Makita hold chisels too?

  10. #10
    Try USPS Priority Mail both ways. With gas prices and your time costs, it could be cheaper.

    Of course, you would miss the opportunity to converse with the guy on the state of the world. That could take some time as well.

    I'm from Alabama, and sometimes I miss it.

    Bill

  11. #11
    Join Date
    Mar 2005
    Location
    Houston, TX
    Posts
    857
    OH yea. Will the Makita hold chisels too?

    When I checked out the Highlands Hardware site I noticed that they had a chisel holding jig, but I have never tried it.

  12. #12
    Join Date
    Feb 2003
    Location
    Hayes, Virginia
    Posts
    14,760
    I own the chisel holding jig for the Makita. Works Great.

  13. #13
    I've had Makita sharpener for a few years but didn't like the "mess" factor with the water and switched to the Tormek system. I probably wasn't doing something right but felt that the Tormek was easier to use.

    Both sharpeners give outstanding razor sharp results. Since I don't use the Makita anymore, I'd be glad to sell it for a good price if anyone is interested. I also have the extra fine white wheel. If you're interested, I can be reached at bobl@pawsinc.com.

  14. #14
    Great post Tom, Thanks for all the info. Makita has another customer now.
    When in doubt, ask a Creeker.

  15. #15
    Join Date
    Mar 2006
    Location
    Central Kentucky
    Posts
    196

    Makita Knife Sharpener

    I bought one after reading Tom`s orignal post ,also got the green wheel. You can easly get your money back in a hurry with it. Does fine. BARRY BRUNER

Similar Threads

  1. Can a 4-knife jointer run with only 2 knives
    By Rob Blaustein in forum General Woodworking and Power Tools
    Replies: 8
    Last Post: 02-11-2006, 6:23 PM
  2. Jointer making me crazy!
    By Chris Damato in forum General Woodworking and Power Tools
    Replies: 14
    Last Post: 12-18-2005, 7:36 PM
  3. Makita 9820-2 Electric Sharpener ..... opinions?
    By Brian Hale in forum General Woodworking and Power Tools
    Replies: 12
    Last Post: 10-07-2004, 12:14 PM
  4. Day 1 of the knife box project.
    By Dennis Peacock in forum General Woodworking and Power Tools
    Replies: 18
    Last Post: 08-31-2004, 7:45 PM
  5. Source for sharpening planer knives?
    By Dick Holt in forum General Woodworking and Power Tools
    Replies: 8
    Last Post: 09-05-2003, 12:52 AM

Posting Permissions

  • You may not post new threads
  • You may not post replies
  • You may not post attachments
  • You may not edit your posts
  •