Grind before or after heat treat?

M

mikereineman

Active Member
Hi guys,

I am looking to hear some thoughts on this. I Just watched Ray Ennis from Entrek Knives grind a knife on youtube and I was blown away, this master craftsmen gives his hole system away for free. I am going to try his methods and see how they work for me. Thank you so much Mr Ennis. If you haven't seen the four part series , I highly recommend it. Now I wanted to hear your guys thoughts on this. 1. Grinding after heat treat, is this a good thing to do , and is it going to make a good knife? 2. Grinding with the grits and speeds that he does, he states that as long as you dot go over 400 you are good, well how do you tell if you are bringing the steel that high and as fast as he grinds? I love the speed he grinds at, now he also has decades of experience too . These videos have totally change my way of thinking of knife making, I am brand new , but this does seem the way to go for me. I just wanted to hear your thoughts on this kind of knife making

Thanks guys and here are the links

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=04W2V5VjBlk&feature=plcp

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kvlKfzW12d0&feature=plcp

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xr0MQussnDI&feature=plcp

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dgkkWz73Yro&feature=plcp
 
As long as you don't get the blade above the tempering temp. you're fine. If you grind a heat treated blade I suggest that you do it without gloves. If you grind without gloves you will burn your fingers before you damage the blade. When you feel the blade getting to hot to hold dip it in water to cool it off and go again.
 
Yes i grinds all my blades after HT very fast its hard to over heat with 36gt ceramic as it chews of the hot stuff before it gets to far
I go up to 1300 gt the Norax belts but mostly 400 or 800

I do use a Jig ( well a bit of angle plate and mole grips ) I rarely dip blades

worst one is the 120 or 180 gt that seems to be easiest to over heat

on scandi grind I go from 36gt ceramic to 400gt Norax

Heres a hollow grind i did recently 7mm (0.275") on a 10 " wheel hardened and tempered O1 edge to 0.030" no water dip or over heat took 20 mins

hollowd500.jpg


un hardened steel over heats a lot easier than hardened i find and feels chewy to grind so i guess its rubbing more than cutting bit like tryint to sand a lump of rubber

ATB

Duncan
 
I grind after heat treat and keep my belt wet with a squirt bottle of water as needed and also dip in water when I see water boiling on the blade or feel it getting too hot with my fingers. I start my blade beveling with 60 grit then go to 400 grit then to hand finish. I have to wet the 60 grit belts more often than the 400 grit,they seem to hold the water longer.
 
I grind about 60% before and 40% after HTment. You can remove metal quickly when it's untreated. Sometimes a 100% after HTment.

You get a crisper better grind on the HTed steel. My guesstimit is that I grind at about 1/3 -1/2 The speed the Gent in the video's does after HTment. I use 36 Grit, Then 60s then a 120 grit Ceramic belt, then a Norax X-65, Then Scotchbrite belts

For the most part I make larger much larger blades than him.

He has found what works for him, I the same. You Mike will need to do the same after you get rolling!

Cheers.
Laurence

www.rhinoknives.com/
 
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On thin stuff like 1/8 and sometimes as thick as 5/32, I grind after HT. As others have said, grinding without gloves will let you know when you're blade is heating up. Also, sharp belts cut the best without building up heat.
 
Just a side comment, I would discourage grinding with gloves out of safety reasons. The glove could get caught between the belt and the table or it could get caught between the belt and a wheel and drag you finger(s) around it.

Doug
 
Doug Lester said:
Just a side comment, I would discourage grinding with gloves out of safety reasons. The glove could get caught between the belt and the table or it could get caught between the belt and a wheel and drag you finger(s) around it.

Doug
Click to expand...

LOL! What's the matter Doug???

You don't like having your fingers mashed between the belt & contact wheel??

Where's your sense of adventure??? LOL

Mike you haven't lived till this happens to you!!:s12201:

:exclamation:

Laurence

www.rhinoknives.com
 
Well , I have cut off a finger, so does that count? lol, mags will ship tomorrow, printed and mounted friday, will cut and ship tomorrow.
 
Ive now watched the videos and yes hes running fast my rig runs at 3600ft/min which is faster than most std hobby KMG clones in UK

I love how he makes knives as an Engineer from a Design and production background its how I Make knives or how I want to upgrade to make knives Simple jigs or design thought can make the process so much easier I have several std models i use

ATB

Duncan
 
Yeah , they put it back on two surgery's later lol, it was only my right Pinky, a nice scar now, doesn't bend all the way now but i gets me by lol, ..................Yeah i was very impressed with Rays videos, I think its the best I have seen on the web as far as how one starts and finishes with their final product. Once I get my grinder running , I will be practicing his knife making methods for sure.
 
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