Knifemaker's Vise....

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Dana Acker

Well-Known Member
Am finding that the older I get, the more I should have been born with at least three hands, or perhaps born twins. So, I'm looking at knifemaker's vises.

Anybody have any experience with a Garrett-Wade Ultimate Versatile Vise? It's about a hundred bucks, and the video on their website is impressive.

If you have looked or used one, I'd like you're impressions. If not, does anybody have experience with a different brand? I just don't want to shell out for one, and then wish I'd gotten another one. All opinions welcome. Thanks much.
 
If you do not want to buy one there are several videos on you tube about making one. From a piece of pipe. I need to get around to making one I still use a wood workers vise and a piece of angle iron. I can see the knife makers vise helping a lot with handles.
 
I have one similar to Randy's that I got from a guy in a FB knife group. It works great. Grips the knife with rubber pads, spins all directions, etc. I think it cost me $60
 
A buddy of mine built this one for me. Fairly simple...

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Those look nice! I have one I'm making on the back burner. Everything is cut out but I need to improve my welding skills before I put it together.
 
Being a cheapskate , I made mine out of pvc. With it mounted in a panavise, it is infinitely adjustable. cost about free. it ain't purty, but it sure does work well!
 

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Little late to the party, but I'd suggest whether you buy or build, make it a vise with enough jaw opening to hold a finished knife handle. There is always some touch up that needs doing before a knife goes out the door.....and a vise with jaw big enough will save you a lot of frustration.

I made this one YEARS ago from some square tubing. The only thing I didn't have in the shop, and had to buy was the acme thread rod and nut. The toughest part of building the vise was making is to the upper jaw "floats" and is able to adapt to whatever angled material/thing I put in it. The way I solved it was to turn a slot on the acme threaded rod, then using a typcial 1/2" flat washer.... I just cut a "V" out of the washer, then pinched it together around the slot in the acme rod. It formed a shallow cone, that allows the upper jaw to "float" to, and clamp down onto just about any shallow angle. Then welded the perimeter of that washer to the top jaw. You can use plain old 1/2"-13 threaded rod and nut, but if you use your vise as much as me, those threads will be worn out within a matter of months. The Acme threaded rod and nuts were only around $12, and have lasted for years now.

Looks like it's about time to give it a "blast cabinet party", and repaint it. :) Everybody knows it'll work better with a new paint job! :cool:









 
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Ed, that's a great looking knife vise, very similar to the one I build a few yr back. I also did the exact same thing you did in the photo above with an inch or so of blade sticking out past wood support. Only took 6 stitches when I reached across wrong and jabbed my left arm with knife tip. Now I'm VERY careful to always put end of wood even with tip of blade.
 
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OH YES!! When there is a blade in a vise like that......you best be on high alert all the time. As my Granddad taught me.... "Ed, there's traps everywhere for a man!" :) Even with that wisdom, stupid has walked right up and slapped me in the back of the head a few times..... as in going to get staples or stitches. :)
 
I haven't been "bit" yet by the knife in the vise and hope to avoid it. When I have one in, I generally toss a bunched up tshirt over the blade, then if I do hit it, I only get a little poke.
 
If you want to explore the “hey, I know it’s low-rent but it works” option...

A piece of tube with a 2” ID. Drilled and tapped for threaded knobs. I cut a 2” wooden dowel as my jaws. One side is fixed and the other floats for tightening. I got all fancy and laid a strip of metal on the back to keep the knob bolts from eating into the dowel.

I think I have five dollars in it total. I may have had to buy to dowel, I forget, so add three more dollars.

My bench vise already rotates. I chuck my knife vise/tube up in my bench vise and now it all rotates up/down and swivels 360°.

Holds everything from pocketknives to big kitchen knives.

I do need to make one like Ed’s that holds the handle. That’s a way better solution than what I’ve been using to touch up blades on completed knives.

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John Wilson said:
If you want to explore the “hey, I know it’s low-rent but it works” option...

A piece of tube with a 2” ID. Drilled and tapped for threaded knobs. I cut a 2” wooden dowel as my jaws. One side is fixed and the other floats for tightening. I got all fancy and laid a strip of metal on the back to keep the knob bolts from eating into the dowel.

I think I have five dollars in it total. I may have had to buy to dowel, I forget, so add three more dollars.

My bench vise already rotates. I chuck my knife vise/tube up in my bench vise and now it all rotates up/down and swivels 360°.

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now, now John. There's no cause for copy cattin.
 
You’d like three hands, huh? LOL.... I’d be STOKED if I had TWO!! :eek: But I make do with One... Not too bad I guess. I did teach everyone to Home build the SGA after all. :)

DO NOT buy one of these...please!! They are so incredibly easy to make! Remember you are a Knife Maker! Honestly, as simple as a PCV pipe, round or square steel/aluminum tubing...2 pieces of flat ANYTHING! Be it wood, Phenolic, steel, plastic...whatever! Couple drilled/tapped holes and matching bolts. BAM!
 
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