12 Expert Steps to Sharpening your Sheep Shearing Blades Successfully
I can remember as a young sheep shearer just starting out, that all of my shearing mates seemed to be getting a smooth cut through the wool with their shearing gear and I seemed to be pushing hard and leaving wool on the sheep, my shearing gear was getting hot and wool seemed to be clogging up my cutter. It wasn’t until I sat down with a good shearing friend of mine that we worked out where I was going wrong.
You sharpen sheep shearing blades on a shearing grinder by attaching a shearing blade to a pendulum and pressing the pendulum to a grinding disk and swiping left and right. You must adjust your shearing pendulum to the correct position on your grinding disc to give the combs and cutters a proper hollow grind. You must also make sure there are no dull spots on any of your blades after grinding by making the surface of the blades completely shiny after grinding your gear.
What Equipment Do I Need To Sharpen My Shearing Blades?
There are several bits of essential equipment you will need to sharpen your blades for shearing sheep. Without the proper sharpening equipment you will never be able to keep your blades sharp enough to cut through the wool.
The Shearing Grinder - This is a machine with an electric motor that has 2 shafts either side of the motor. The motor turns at approximately 2800RPM. There are several brands of shearing grinders on the market.
The Grinding Discs and Clamp - This will come with your grinder. These are plates that you attach to your grinder and rotate at 2800RPM. You put the combs and cutters on the discs to sharpen them. The Clamp is used to hold the discs together tightly when you put new emery papers on your grinding discs.
Emery & Glue - Emery papers are glued to your grinding discs, which in turn take metal off your comb and cutters when sharpening. The comb emery is 40 micron grit and is course and will take more metal off quicker and leave deeper grooves in the comb which help the edge last longer. The cutter emery is 80 micron grit and is finer and takes off less metal. A cutter does not hold its edge as long as a comb. You will usually use 2 or 3 cutters to a comb.
Grinding Pendulum - This hangs from the pendulum holder which is attached to the grinder at the top. At the bottom of the pendulum is where you place the comb and cutter to be sharpened. This area has 2 pins and a magnet to keep the comb and cutter from flying off the pendulum when grinding. The comb and cutter setting on the pendulum is different and you can change the setting on the pendulum very easily.
This is what it looks like grinding a comb
Why Won’t My Shearing Blades Cut Through The Wool?
If you are not getting a crisp cut through the wool it means your sharpening technique has failed you. Your gear is not sharp and no matter what you do it won’t cut the wool properly. There is plenty that can go wrong when sharpening your combs and cutters but unless you know “How To” grind your shearing gear properly you will only make your job shearing sheep that much harder. Sometimes it can feel like you are pushing a loaded dump truck through the wool if it is not cutting properly. This can cause wrist injuries for the shearer. It also tears the wool off your sheep instead of cutting the wool, which hurts your sheep. It will also make you, the shearer, upset and frustrated with your work.
How Does a Comb and Cutter Work?
A comb and cutter work like a pair of scissors when you are shearing your sheep. Scissors have a hollow grind and so too does a comb and cutter. When the cutter goes across the top of the comb at speed the 2 blades act like a pair of scissors and cuts the wool as the wool goes between the teeth of the comb. The hollow grind is put into your blades by the shearing discs which are slightly convex giving a hollow grind. The discs look flat but they are not. Just run a long ruler on its edge, over the disc and you will see the convex in the disc.
Here are some major points to consider when grinding your shearing blades.
You need to set your grinder up precisely to get the right height and distance from the face of the grinding plate.
Finish off on the same spot each time.
When you finish grinding the sparks need to be going straight up off the grinding discs.
The comb and cutter need to have a hollow grind to enable them to work like a pair of scissors.
Change your emery papers regularly. A general rule is 20 to 40 combs and 40 to 80 cutters per emery paper. Or when the sparks become dull when you grind.
DO NOT drop your grinding pendulum. This will bend the pendulum shaft causing a different angle everytime you grind. Buy a new pendulum if the shaft is bent.
If there is a glue bubble in your emery papers change the emery immediately. Your equipment will not sharpen properly and your blades may fly off the pendulum when grinding, creating a hazard
Use a wire string to put your cutters on, after the grinding session so they stay the same thickness for the life of the cutter. This makes for an even grind.
I have followed Phil Jones technique for many years, from https://sheepshearingequipment.com.au/ who designed the Expert shearing pendulum.
This is how I set my grinder up using the 12 Expert Secrets and how I grind other shearers combs and cutters as well. You cannot go wrong following these instructions.
Operating Instructions for Cutters
1) I draw a line through the centre of my grinding disc with a ruler and permanent marker. I then place the grinding disk on the grinder ensuring the nut has been firmly hand tightened.
2) I then draw a line from left to right in the middle of my cutter with the same permanent marker
3) I then place the cutter on the pendulum, (ensuring the cutter is on the cutter pendulum setting and not the comb pendulum setting.) I then adjust the pendulum until the cutter line and the grinding disc line, marry up.
4) I then make sure the cutter is sitting flush on the face of the grinder by adjusting the pendulum arm in or out. So when I grind the tip or the base of the cutter does not hit the grinding disc first but the whole cutter hits at the same time. Your pendulum is now set and you won’t have to adjust it again.
5) I then turn my shearing grinder on to sharpen. I start sharpening by placing the cutter closest to the centre nut and using about the same pressure you would use to clean your teeth slide the cutter back and forth 2 or 3 times and finish off when the pendulum is perpendicular and the sparks are coming off the whole width of the cutter.
6) I then take the pendulum off the pendulum hook and turn the cutter to the light to make sure there are no dull spots on the cutter. If there are dull spots re sharpen if none, then you have successfully sharpened your cutter.
Operating Instructions for Combs
1) I draw a line through the centre of my grinding disc with a ruler and permanent marker. I then place the grinding disk on the grinder ensuring the nut has been firmly hand tightened.
2) I then draw a line from left to right in the middle of my cutter with the same permanent marker.
3) I then place the comb on the pendulum, (ensuring the comb is on the comb pendulum setting and not the cutter pendulum setting.) I then adjust the pendulum until the comb line and the grinding disc line, marry up.
4) I then make sure the comb heel is just barely touching the grinding disc and the tip of the comb is about a match stick thickness away from the grinding disc when the pendulum is hanging freely. This will ensure the comb is ground down evenly after each grind. Your pendulum is now set and you won’t have to adjust it again.
5) I then turn my shearing grinder on and starting from the centre closest to the nut, using the pressure you would use to clean your teeth, slide the comb from the inside to outside of the disk about 5 or 6 times. You may need more swipes back and forth as the emery papers start to wear out. When finishing ensure the pendulum is perpendicular and there are even sparks coming off all the comb teeth.
6) I then take the pendulum off the pendulum hook and turn the comb to the light to make sure there are no dull spots on the comb. If there are dull spots, re sharpen if none, then you have successfully sharpened your comb.
Become Self Sufficient at Shearing Your Own Sheep
If you would like more information on sharpening your shearing blades and to get a step by step online shearing system that will show you how to shear your own sheep without hurting your sheep or yourself then go to https://www.theshearerspost.com.au/courses and Justin will have you shearing your sheep in no time at all.
Safety Instructions
As with all grinding and sharpening systems it is important to keep safe. Wear ear and eye protection. Sharpening removes metal to make a new surface for cutting the wool. The sparks from this process can damage your eyes and can be hot if they land on your skin. So protective clothing is also essential. Keep all people away from the grinding area and ensure that all safety devices on the grinder are fitted correctly.
Blade sharpening is just one of many aspects of sheep shearing but it is no less important then learning how to shear itself.
