how do you get crisp plunge lines using a file?

O

omegaman111

Guest
hey everyone, i dont have a belt grinder so on my first knife i used a flat ******* file and i just didnt get the crisp plunge lines i was looking to get. i am going to start another knife soon and i was wondering if anyone knew any techniques or knew of any technical aids that could help me get crisp plunge lines. thanks.
 
There is a tutorial in the Tutorial Forum on cutting them with a round chain saw file before filing/grinding in the main bevel. This is a good approach if you have a file guide to use to keep from cutting into that pretty plunge when you do the rest of the bevels. If you are freehanding it I think you might as well not bother.
I have a piece of granite with the edge rounded over, that I wrap sandpaper around, and use this to lap my plunges after grinding the bevels in. I have an improvised file guide that I use as a fence to guide the blade as I drag it across the sandpaper. It is mechanically the the same as doing it with a file and guide but I am moving the blade instead of the tool, and this also works effectively even after heat treat, which files usually can't do.
 
hey everyone, i dont have a belt grinder so on my first knife i used a flat ******* file and i just didnt get the crisp plunge lines i was looking to get. i am going to start another knife soon and i was wondering if anyone knew any techniques or knew of any technical aids that could help me get crisp plunge lines. thanks.

Here is a link to a couple videos, they show how I do my plunge lines with a chainsaw file.

http://knifedogs.com/showthread.php?t=8593

After I get my plunges cut, I then grind the blade up to them. I do everything freehand, unless I am using my grinding jig. but I do not use a file guide.
 
You could also use a pillar file. They only have teeth on the flats; the edges are smooth. Another advantage to the file guide is that it allows you to get the plunge lines and shoulders even.

Doug Lester
 
thanks for the video Ernie it was pretty helpful but when you said that after you made the plunge line you grind down the rest of the blade thats what i was really looking to get. i dont know the term for it but its the line at which the full tang thickness meets the grind. how do i get that line to be crisp when hand filing because on my first knife i got a very rounded line.
 
It is not uncommon for knifemakers to grind all of the teeth off the edges of their files so they will not cut sideways while filing the plunges.

George
 
this is sort of frustrating :p i wish i knew the term for it. basically its where the full tang thickness of the blade, on the sides of the blade where you flat grind, meets the slope that you just flat ground. i want where those 2 sections meet to be a nice crisp line. did i do a good enough job of description or do i need to try again? :p
 
If I understand what you are asking, look for a tutorial on "Draw Filing." This will take time and patience but will reward you with a smooth, flat bevel with the sharp edge that you are looking for.
Kevin
 
Do you mean like this

006-2.jpg

045-1.jpg
 
If I understand what you are asking, look for a tutorial on "Draw Filing." This will take time and patience but will reward you with a smooth, flat bevel with the sharp edge that you are looking for.
Kevin

i could not find a tutorial for draw filing on here nor on youtube so im not really sure whether or not you are talking about what i am trying to describe.

and Ernie, what i believe you are trying to show me in the pictures is not what i am talking about. you ground that knife's edge angle (im guessing at terms :p) all the way to the spine. im trying to figure out how to stop that grind before you hit the spine and end up with a nice crisp line. i know this is easy to do with a flat grinder but i dont have one so i have to use a file. i hope this somewhat got the idea across :p
 
okay i think that what i am describing may be the point where the bevel meets the full tang thickness, does that match what i am trying to describe?
 
okay i think that what i am describing may be the point where the bevel meets the full tang thickness, does that match what i am trying to describe?

Yes I think!

I will look for a good pic but I think what your describing is hard on a flat grind.
Most do a hollow grind.
 
Yes! precisely. where the blue tinted area on the lower picture ends near the top of the tang, how do you get such a crisp end to the bevel. and if its hard on a flat grind then can some one please tell me how i would do a hollow grind?
 
Those were not my pics they are pics of members here.
The top one is One of Bill Coye's Knives and the bottom one is made by
Eddie Gunther.

They are hollow ground, I have not really seen lines that crisp on a flat ground unless it like a scandi grind. or a really shallow grind on a thick blade.

To do a hollow grind you would need a big contact wheel on a grinder, most makers use a 8'' or 10'' contact wheel.
 
is there any way to get that without the use of a belt grinder?
 
Not that I know of because of the concave,
Some more experienced makers might chime in here, They might know of a way.
 
okay well this is just great, does anyone happen to know where i can find a cheap belt grinder new or used? :p
 
Back
Top