Posted: 12/26/2015 11:09:07 AM EDT
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My nephew made the unfortunate mistake of buying one of the cheap Walmart Coleman metal handled hatchet. He asked me to put an edge on it for him considering I just gave him a hatchet I bought at the flea market and fixed up.
He thought it odd that the Coleman came completely unusable....... 
I thought it would be a good idea to show the difference between a crappy edge and a proper one. I used my Harbor Freight 1x30 belt grinder and a 50 grit belt to cut in the proper profile. I start with the flat platen to set the edge angle all the way until it touches the edge and the edge is nearly completely cleaned up. 
Then I use the slack of belt above the platen to produce a nice convex. A nice slight curve to help avoid the blade sticking in the wood. 
This is after a light touch with diamond files and a light stropping. The steel quality is not terribly impressive. It feels good and sharp. This is a proper quick and dirty edge. 
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