Hand Made Gadgetry

Redbaird

Redbaird

Well-Known Member
So... I really stink at holing a constant angle on a grind. I am sure I will get better with practice but patience is not a virtue I have. Yesterday I think I fixed my problem. I took a piece of oak and squared off 2 sides. Drilled 2 holes for adjustment bolts and counter drilled holes for the nuts. This allows me to adjust the angle of the jig. I attached 3 magnets to the side to hold the knife while grinding. After building and testing a few questions come to mind.
1. Does everyone who builds knives already have one of these?
2. Is there one of these out there that is 10 times better than mine?
3. What other cool home made items and gadgetry are out there that could save me time (and fingers)?
4. Is gadgetry even a word?

Let's see the backyard engineering!!!!!



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Gadgetry,,,, I think it's a word. It works for me but I make stuff. There are more then a few grinding jigs out there to buy. Some of them look very nice. Check out the knife making supply stores. Google is your friend. I've made a few things but nothing like a grinding jig.
 
When I first started I made a simple Jig from a piece of angle Iron. Drilled two holes and tapped them for bolts to adjust the angle of the grind. The bolts slid across the tool rest. Drilled a few more holes in the other side of the angle Iron to hold the knife via my scale holes. It worked well with a tool rest.
That being said, If you want to freehand grind one day look up Fred Rowe's bubble Jig. It's basically a bubble level that you set to a specific angle and attach to your knife with a magnet. It gives you a perfect reference point to keep your grind lines straight but it is still UP TO YOU to hold the knife still and draw it across the belt correctly. It will help you build muscle memory for freehand grinding and experience putting pressure on different areas of the knife to accomplish you needs. If you do not intend to freehand grind (and there is nothing wrong with that) then I would use what you have. Just my opinion.
 
There’s more jig designs than ever out there right now. I personally don’t use jigs but have no problem with people that do... My view on jigs is that they are a gadget meant to produce the same thing over and over (in general). They are used in production to increase efficiency. As someone who forges, I just don’t see how a jig would be worth using for me. Pretty much everything I make is a one-off. If you forge a full distal taper into your blade, you’re not really left with a flat area to clamp your blade in a jig. I would say that I believe most people forging blades don’t use jigs. It works better for a stock removal guy that is working from a precision ground piece of flat stock or a water jet cut pattern. The only reason I’m mentioning this now is because it looks like you forged on that knife some? One benefit of a forged blade is that the blade flats are already there. You’ve got a flat to lay up against your platen and ride on before you even get to the grinder.

I’m not a master at this craft, but I usually try to tell new people to not start off learning on a jig. Eventually you will need to be able to do some touch up or different kinds of grinds freehand and you will need that skill.

Knife making is all about practice. There’s no getting around that. Just my $0.02
 
C. Killgore said:
There’s more jig designs than ever out there right now. I personally don’t use jigs but have no problem with people that do... My view on jigs is that they are a gadget meant to produce the same thing over and over (in general). They are used in production to increase efficiency. As someone who forges, I just don’t see how a jig would be worth using for me. Pretty much everything I make is a one-off. If you forge a full distal taper into your blade, you’re not really left with a flat area to clamp your blade in a jig. I would say that I believe most people forging blades don’t use jigs. It works better for a stock removal guy that is working from a precision ground piece of flat stock or a water jet cut pattern. The only reason I’m mentioning this now is because it looks like you forged on that knife some? One benefit of a forged blade is that the blade flats are already there. You’ve got a flat to lay up against your platen and ride on before you even get to the grinder.

I’m not a master at this craft, but I usually try to tell new people to not start off learning on a jig. Eventually you will need to be able to do some touch up or different kinds of grinds freehand and you will need that skill.

Knife making is all about practice. There’s no getting around that. Just my $0.02
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That "knife" was actually one of the first things I forged. I hammered it out of a piece of #5 rebar a few months ago. I just picked it up to see if the tool would work as intended and , I was able to adjust the angle of the set bolts and flat grind with consistency. But the point of the post was to share home made tools and gadgets. I find these interesting.
 
Chris Railey said:
When I first started I made a simple Jig from a piece of angle Iron. Drilled two holes and tapped them for bolts to adjust the angle of the grind. The bolts slid across the tool rest. Drilled a few more holes in the other side of the angle Iron to hold the knife via my scale holes. It worked well with a tool rest.
That being said, If you want to freehand grind one day look up Fred Rowe's bubble Jig. It's basically a bubble level that you set to a specific angle and attach to your knife with a magnet. It gives you a perfect reference point to keep your grind lines straight but it is still UP TO YOU to hold the knife still and draw it across the belt correctly. It will help you build muscle memory for freehand grinding and experience putting pressure on different areas of the knife to accomplish you needs. If you do not intend to freehand grind (and there is nothing wrong with that) then I would use what you have. Just my opinion.
Click to expand...

I would sell mine if your interested? Dont need it anymore. It did help me develop the muscle memory needed to grind freehand.
 
The Moen Knife Grinding jig is about the best I've seen. I watched this video (starting about 2 minute mark) and decided to make one. So far I've been happy with it. Sometimes I use it to set bevel and finish by hand.
 
For sure. I love making my own gadgets as well. Just made an addition to my kmg for making perfect plunges.

Most of your questions seemed like they were regarding the jig. Didn’t mean to get on a soapbox about it. Sorry if that’s how it seemed.

Cheers,
Cody
 
YEP! Anybody who's been doing this for a while has a truck load of "little gadgets" they use. My issue is that I'll be working on a knife.....then all of a sudden get a bright idea for a fixture, tool, etc. that "would make this so much easier!"...... that I let it distract me.....and I wind up spending the rest of the day building a tool or fixture instead of finishing a knife. :)

Where I draw the line is "jigs" for grinding..... they simply cause more harm then good. LEARN TO GRIND FREEHAND, AND THERE WILL BE NO DESIGN/PROFILE YOU CANNOT GRIND! DEPEND ON A JIG, AND ALL IT DOES IS LOCK YOU INSIDE A VERY SPECIFIC BOX. ;)
Now...that being said, I am NOT against grinding jigs all together..... ONCE AN INDIVIDUAL HAS LEARNED THE NECESSARY SKILLS TO BE CAPABLE OF FREEHAND GRINDING. Grinding jigs make sense for those who do semi-production runs..... While I don't often do so, one example of me using a grinding jig is for hollow grinding EBKs...... it's the difference between 3-4 grinding passes per side..... or 10-15 mins per side freehand. But again, I am fully capable of grinding them freehand....the jig just saves a significant amount of time when I produce "runs" of a given design.
 
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Love building stuff for this hobby! On my 3rd Forge, building a 9" Disc grinder (just saving for components), various sanding sticks a holder for my Foredom tool. And a ton of other stuff in my head!
 
I for one do not feel like I am locked inside any box of anothers imagination
I almost never do a one off knife except for handle fixtures so unlike Ed, I have jigs for all my different blade widths and thicknesses so that I can repeat the same knife again and again when required. Have had orders for 6 to 10 knives of the same design from the one customer and they need to be the same knife to knife. It is not only a time saving aid but in every sense a differentail grind saving aid as well and I will continue to use them regardless of never haveing done, nor do I intend to do freehand grinding except for some minor finish belt touch ups.
So apart from 10 grinding jigs, there is my 2x72 grinder, 2 forges, knife vice and many other tools and helps that make my day easier.
 
I have jigs for all my different blade widths and thicknesses so that I can repeat the same knife again and again when required.
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Diifferent approaches to knifemaking I suppose. If an individual makes multiple "models" of knives, then having a grinding jig for each is a plus.

I think my premise holds water though...... grinding jigs do limit you to specific styles and shapes for the given jig...... if a person learns freehand grinding, then anything they can image.....they can successfully grind.

Not being mean, but my mind simply doesn't think in terms of repeating the same knife.........I cannot image making the same knife over and over. Honestly, if someone comes to me and wants 3-4 or the same knife, I refer them to someone else, and turn down the order. I tried doing multiple/patterns early in my career......and simply couldn't do it...... I had, and still have so many ideas floating around in my head, making the same knife over and over is just not something I can justify to myself.
 
I agree with Ed. I am sure I am a bit biased as Ed has been someone I've looked up to since I watched his first Basic Bladesmithing DVD and I share many of his beliefs. I am only doing this for fun though. I love the forging aspect of knifemaking the most. I like that every knife comes out slightly different. It keeps it interesting. Part of the reason I started looking at custom knives was to get away from "production".

I do think that a stock removal maker doing batches of the same model would definitely benefit from jigs.

That said, I firmly believe that people should do whatever makes them happy. I certainly wouldn't think it would be detrimental for someone to learn to freehand prior to using jigs (especially if that someone is also learning to forge). If you freehand grind, you can grind in anyone's shop on any grinder at any time without worrying about a jig.

Back to the topic at hand...

My favorite "gadget" I've made is my rolling mill. I love this thing. Just a couple days ago I rolled out some thinner stock for forging out a bird and trout knife. I use it to clean up tapers quickly on pretty much every single knife I forge.

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Like many others, I've also made a handle broach for cleaning out hidden tang slots. I've got a few others but I forged this one out of some O1 one day.

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I'd say most of the gadgets I've made are more for forging since that is the aspect of bladesmithing I enjoy the most but always thinking of new gadgets to make things less frustrating.
 
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C. Killgore said:
I agree with Ed. I am sure I am a bit biased as Ed has been someone I've looked up to since I watched his first Basic Bladesmithing DVD and I share many of his beliefs. I am only doing this for fun though. I love the forging aspect of knifemaking the most. I like that every knife comes out slightly different. It keeps it interesting. Part of the reason I started looking at custom knives was to get away from "production".

I do think that a stock removal maker doing batches of the same model would definitely benefit from jigs.

That said, I firmly believe that people should do whatever makes them happy. I certainly wouldn't think it would be detrimental for someone to learn to freehand prior to using jigs (especially if that someone is also learning to forge). If you freehand grind, you can grind in anyone's shop on any grinder at any time without worrying about a jig.

Back to the topic at hand...

My favorite "gadget" I've made is my rolling mill. I love this thing. Just a couple days ago I rolled out some thinner stock for forging out a bird and trout knife. I use it to clean up tapers quickly on pretty much every single knife I forge.

View attachment 69989


Like many others, I've also made a handle broach for cleaning out hidden tang slots. I've got a few others but I forged this one out of some O1 one day.

View attachment 69990


I'd say most of the gadgets I've made are more for forging since that is the aspect of bladesmithing I enjoy the most but always thinking of new gadgets to make things less frustrating.
Click to expand...
I've never seen a rolling mill like that before. Very cool.
 
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