Buying a grinder or sander

M

martinsanders

Member
I am looking to start making knives by using the stock removal method. I have been looking around to buy a sander/grinder for cheap in case I do not have the natural talent to make knives. I think it is a mixture of art and science. I found a sander that has a 6x48 belt ($200) and a 9" wheel sander with 1/2 hp motor and another that has a 1x30 belt only ($40) 1/3 hp motor. I know most serious knife makers use a Bader type ($2000+) 2x42 belt. I wanted to know if the 6" belt might help me from getting too deep into the metal and not deep enough in other areas using a smaller belt and maybe the wheel could help keep the blade even throughout. Can anyone give me any suggestions on if any of these will work or a better belt system in the 50-200 dollar range or what you used to start out to try my hand at making knives and if it works out I could buy a better machine then. Thank you for your time and help.


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i would look at a 4x36 Craftsman($135) http://www.craftsman.com/craftsman-1-3-hp-bench-top-4inch-x-36inch/p-00921514000P. this has enough power easily make blades. the belt size is used by lapidary folks and metallurgical labs, so belts are easy to find. the only modification I made to mine was placing a 4 1/2" square tile with bullnose edge on the platen. it is a good basic belt sander that i use now mostly for wood.
the next step from this would be a 2x72 KMG kit; Wilmont and Polar Bear Forge both make good ones. if you shop, you should be able to build Wilmont LB1000 with 1hp motor and VFD for $1200.
 
Thank you for the information. I had some thoughts about getting a 4x or 6x belt wondering if such a wide belt would get in my way of making contoured handles. If I get a wide belt would I need to get a 1x or 2x belt grinder like the grizzly to make handles with. I just bought a Spyderco mule team knife just to get some practice making handles first after I buy a grinder first before I get some steel and that's what made me think I might have a hard time with a wider belt making thin contours for my hand. I was thinking of getting a cheap 1x and a cheap 4x with a wheel on the side combo that I can stick adhesive abrasives to also. Can anybody tell me if the abrasive wheel comes in handy using it to make sure your flats on your blade doesn't have waves in it from the thinner belts or does it have other uses because the knife makers I've talked to so far said they don't ever use theirs. I just thought being new at making knives it might be helpful to me.


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I started with a 4*36 from harbor freight. It worked just fine. I think I spent like 60 bucks on it.

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I have a 6 x 48 that I use for rough sanding, but it doesn't work well for me doing bevels and plunges. I have a homemade 1 x 42, that I picked up at a farm auction for $30 that works pretty well for everything. As far as flats, I picked up a ground granite surface plate and put some sand paper on it. It makes everything super flat if you have the patience for it.

-Aaron
 
Thanks for all the info. I want to get into the higher vanadium type blades eventually. I'll start out with something easier like 154, O1 or 52100 but I also wanted to know when I graduate to M4 or s110v type steels will I need a thinner belt to cut the really hard metal after it's been heat treated or will a 4/6x48 work as well. It's sounds like to me if I can get a 1x and a 4x for under $200 that would be best. I found a grinder conversion kit 2x72 and a Kalamazoo that comes with a converted grinder for 2-300 hundred but I don't know if the Kalamazoo on eBay comes with everything I need and I asked the owner and they haven't got back to me yet.


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you are just starting. i would get a craftsman 4x36(on sale now for $125) then pick up a 3x18 or 3x21 hand held belt sander for doing handle work that you cant do on the big one.
 
A 2x72 is what those of us dont have yet want. Hee hee. I use a Sterling 1x42 and it works well for blades even better on handles. It only has a .5 hp motor and runs wide open so it makes more work for me at times. Get what you can afford and work up to a 2x72 or build one if you can afford it. Just start slow and careful an in time you will have a nice clean knife like tool or a nice knife.
 
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Thank you Scott. I just picked up a Spyderco s110v mule and I got some handles from EBay and they were crap so I decided here is a way to get some experience so I made some handles out of carbon fiber on a 1x18 worksharp with the tool grinder attachment and I thought they came out pretty good. I may be wrong though I'm new at this.


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