Grinder Advice...on a budget

F

feraldude

Active Member
I hand forge my knives very close to final shape...take the bevels pretty close to where I want them... Then I've been going to coarse stones....for hours and hours...and hours... I think its time to get a grinder set up... I see lots of people building their own etc. and I feel like you need take a machine shop class to do it... What can I buy and have come pretty much ready out of the box, with very little modification, for grinding my bevels?

And can I buy a rig for the blade for grinding a specific angle? I'm just resisting having to make my own, so if there is any advice you all could give me I would appreciate it...even if the advice is "stop being lazy and build it" I'm on a tight budget and I don't make my knives by "stock removal" so it wouldn't be heavy duty use.... Thanks all...
 
Get a Grizzly, be done with it little over 500.00. Unless you have a good source of used parts. You be hard pressed to build a grinder for less. Get the 10'' wheel with it and sell the 8'' wheel. You can grind everything from folder to big Bowies. The only mod I have done is shorten the tool rest to a little over two Inches, so I can hollow grinds on folders. I swear by mine.
 
A lot of people dis the Grizz but, besides Jim's endorcement, I met a smith who earned his JS and MS stamps with two of them. I have a Coote, a little more expensive but more flexable, and it has done all that I have ever asked of it. The final price is going to depend on your ability to get a motor. Past that you are looking at KMG.

As far as a jig for grinding grinding angles there was a man on the Knife Dog Forum who was selling a jig to help find the angle that you wanted to on the secondary bevel. As far as the primary bevels go, I stick with the angles that I set up on the anvil. All that I do is refine the profile, grind the flats and then grind the bevels. After that it is just refining the scratch pattern with progressively finer belts.

Doug Lester

Doug Lester
 
Just my opinion, but I'm not really sure that there is such a thing as a "budget" grinder. In my experience (including myself), a person will try to "get by" with spending as little as possible on a lower end grinder...then become disgusted with it and buy something else that is a little more expensive, and maybe do that another time or two before they finally decide to break down and purchase one of the "top end" machines.

There is not doubt in my mind that if you purchase a "budget" grinder, you'll be unhappy with it in short order......but on the other hand, if you save up, and purchase one of the top end grinders to start with, it will be something that will last you a lifetime, and the quality/precision differences in the machine will show in your finished knives. I know by comparison, there is a huge price difference in grinders, but what your paying for with the top end machines is precision. It makes all the difference in a grinder. I'm speaking from personal experience, and from teaching dozens of students annually to grind, but in the end, your the one who has to make the decision on how much to spend in order that achieve your goals.

It's no secret that I dislike, and discourage people from using grinding jigs....with you forging, it especially applies to you. A jig, no matter where it comes from, is generally designed in such a way that it will only allow for grinding of a few different profiles....which means you limit yourself dramatically. If you forge distal tapers into your blades, a jig usually causes more harm than good.....trying to grind a distal tapered blade with a jig is like trying to hit a moving target....as you draw the blade across the belt, every angle changes due to the distal taper. I know it requires more time and effort, but if you can learn to grind freehand, it's the way to go. It will give you the ability to grind just about any blade profile, and adapt to just about any situation you can run into when grinding.
 
Jim and Doug thank you so much for your advice... Doug and Ed I totally agree with you, if I'm hand forging I should get very close and just follow the angle that is already there, makes good sense. By the way, when I posted this thread last night I didn't expect to get such expert advice from experienced blade-smiths like yourselves. Ed, I've followed your work for sometime and didn't realize this was your forum. I was so surprised to see your reply this morning, I'm a big fan of your work. Thanks so much for taking the time to help me out gents.
 
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Your making me blush!:) I'm certainly nobody special...just a guy who like knives, and the folks that make them. Way back when I started, nobody would tell you anything about making a knife. I refer to it as "the dark years". That's stuck with me, and my philosophy is to offer help whenever I can......you can have all the knowledge in the world, but if your not willing to share it, what good is it? :)

I'm always lurking around here, and always happy to help if I can. Just because I suggest something doesn't make it "right"...there's as many ways to do this stuff, as there are people doing it....I just try to offer my experiences, and hopefully save others the pain I've put myself through.
 
Let me pass on a tip that Ed gave me, which may or may not apply to you. You might want to consider forging less close to the finished product once you get a grinder. It will give you some more "meat" in the steel to deal with but you will be less likely to overshoot the end point that you want to arrive at. This may not become a problem for you but it did for me and not forging quite so close to the finished product did help.

Doug Lester
 
I agree wholeheartedly with Ed about the grinder. In the mean time, you might try files for the rough work and stones for finer finishing.

Carey
 
I agree on the files. Assuming that you're not already doing it, get some large single cut mill files in @@@@@@@ and smooth cut and learn how to draw file, if you don't already know. My appologies if I'm preaching to the choir.

Doug Lester
 
Ok, the political correctness nanny program has struck again. The blocked word in my last post could be construed as a naughty word used to insult someone by infering illigetimate birth. Unfortunantly it is also the term for a course cut file, amongst other thinks.

Doug Lester
 
keep an eye out on here , i bought a KMG grinder today. Just made the stand and will fire it up bright and early, its like my birthday when i was 10.
 
I can relate to your situation. When I desired to start knifemaking I bought the least expensinse preground blade and put a handle on it. Realizing I could do this and loved making knives I bought a 4" X 36" grinder realizing that it would not do all I wanted to do but it allowed me to make knives and save up for a KMG or something similar. In the meantime I have improved my skills and have been able to find a motor and a .50" X 24" X 24" baseplate. I am hoping to sell one more knife to have sufficient funds to buy a good grinder. Dan
 
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