Grinding Help Please....

DonL

Well-Known Member
My grinding has improved 110% since taking the work rest off of my 2x42. Even my plunge cuts are getting better. But there is one problem area that I'm having trouble with and that is at the corners above the plunge cuts.

One side will have a nice and pretty swoop, or curve, while the other grind at the opposite side is nearly 90 degrees. While I like the looks of both, I don't want both on the same knife! I've decided I like a little curve the best but no matter what I try, I can't seem to get a good curve on one side.

What am I doing wrong here?
 
I bet the side with the nice little swoop is with you dominant hand and the other is your off hand. Try to make sure you are not twisting spine into the belt too much. Also try running the belt off the edge of the platen about 1/16"
Oh and practice, practice, practice!
Sean
 
Sean, oddly enough, the nice swoop and plunge line is my weak side. My strong side has the nice even bevel grind!

I did try running the belt a little over. I adjust the tracking each time I switch sides. I'll pay more attention to the twisting or arm movements and see if that makes a difference. Thanks for the suggestions!
 
Don check out how your belt is running. if it is straight up and down you belt edge is probably right on the edge of the platten. if it has more a curve to it your belt is running off the side and cutting a rounder plunge.
 
Over the years I've noticed the "swoop" definately comes from hanging the belt over. On X or Y belts I break the edge by hanging it over 1/8"-3/16" and forcing a piece of scrap around the platen edge while the belt is spinning. This seems to determine the "swoop" factor by how much you hang your belt over the side of the platen. On hollow grinds, I often go a 1/4" for a nice radius at the top of the grind. Pressure is also a key factor. The lighter it is the more radius you get. Works on flat grinds too.

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Rudy
 
I was also getting the samething as you,I would run my belt just slightly over the edge of the platen then push the knife up to the platen to cut in the bevels and was getting a swoop and a more square bottom on the bevels,so I got too looking and noticed one side of my ceramic platen had more of a radius and one was a little more square,so I gave the more square side some more of a radius and it helped.
 
Thanks for the suggestions everyone. Much appreciated.

I think I discovered what I was doing to cause the swoop on one side and not the other. FHF pretty much nailed it. I wasn't running my belt far enough off the platen on one side plus, I noticed that as I was bringing the blade across the belt, I would lower my control hand so the plunge on my side would match the edge of the belt. This is what was causing the swoop. I can now pretty much recreate it on either side by lowering my control hand (thus bringing the spine down) near the plunge lines.
 
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