One of “those” purchases...

[Kev]

Have you ever bought something for knife making on a whim, and had it turn out to be the best thing since sliced bread?
I recently made an eye opening purchase, and I can say it has definitely open my eyes to trying a few diff Rey things here and there.
I guess you could say I was in a rut of sorts, just getting the same old every time.
Let’s here what purchase changed how you do things.

 

[tkroenlein]

What was it?

 

[Kev]

What was it?

Trizact belts. I had never tried them before and I could not believe the consistency of the finish I was able to get.
More than the belts though I couldn’t believe that I hadn’t tried it before. I think they will be best suited for finishing, but man what a difference. Literally took hand sanding from 20-30 minutes to 10-15.

 

[Sean Jones]

I can relate to that. I bought Fred Rowe's bubble jig and never expected it to work as well as it does. Best money I ever spent.

It wasn't entirely a whim, but it was one of the first purchases I made when I started this obsession and I wasn't too sure what I was really getting.

 

[John Wilson]

Trizact belts. I had never tried them before and I could not believe the consistency of the finish I was able to get.
More than the belts though I couldn’t believe that I hadn’t tried it before. I think they will be best suited for finishing, but man what a difference. Literally took hand sanding from 20-30 minutes to 10-15.

Yes.

Trizact belts are without a doubt responsible for getting me to stick it out as a new maker. In my first year I was convinced that knife making was an endless exercise in frustration. My grinding was always teetering on the edge between recoverable disaster and total failure.

My mentor recommended Trizact belts and when I tried them it was like the clouds parted and the sun came out. My disasters had tended to come when I’d finished up on ceramics at 120 grit and then tried to move on to j-flex belts. Splice bump, burned tips, gouging- you name it. I couldn’t grind on a j-weight belt to save my life. Compared to a j-weight belt the Trizacts felt like laying the blade on a strip of indoor/outdoor carpet. It was magical. My stress level went down 90%.

Nowadays I prefer j-weight belts because they cut so much faster. But being able to use them took me several years. Had it not been for trizact belts I seriously doubt I’d have stuck with it.

 

[Justin W.]

I was convinced that knife making was an endless exercise in frustration.

Wait it's not

 

[Motor City Mike]

Couple things

This DVD from the Boss.

I picked it up thinking I'd use it as reference if I got stuck or was unsure about something.

It turned out to be SO much more. It's long. Over 4 hours IIRC but so packed with information that it's easily worth 5x the money.

It answered questions I didn't even know I should ask. It would have taken me years of trial and error to figure out the things in the video.

And the knowledge in the DVD can be used in any kind of folder making, not just flippers and IKBS.

Also this optical punch from Grizzly. So much easier to get accurately placed holes

 

[John Wilson]

1-2-3 blocks. When I was a new maker with barebones tools, struggling with every part of the process I didn’t fully understand how much my struggles came down to things not being flat and square. Having an actual reference for flat and square is a godsend for setting up your tool rest square to the platen, checking scales for flatness, or even as a sanding block. For $15 they are an invaluable resource. I also used them as my first file guide, as well as a bench block for driving out pins.

 

[BossDog]

trizact belts are awesome. I use them on every single knife with out exception.
Oddly, there are two "types". One is a film belt with a fairly thin, hard abrasive coating. They wear like iron and will cut you if you bump into the edge while using them. These used to be very popular and have faded with more choices on the market. I never could like them very much. I bet I have some that are ten years old unused.
the other type is cloth backed with thick abrasive engineered AO coating. These are the shiznet.
Don't get them wet. They will smear and leave streaks if wet.
These like an occasional high speed, high pressure pass to break up the granules and expose sharp new edges.

Trizact belts. I had never tried them before and I could not believe the consistency of the finish I was able to get.
More than the belts though I couldn’t believe that I hadn’t tried it before. I think they will be best suited for finishing, but man what a difference. Literally took hand sanding from 20-30 minutes to 10-15.

 

[BossDog]

Sorry for the length. It's a real sleeper if you try to watch it all at once.
I have plans to put together a couple more videos with Kieth Johnson. One will be building a lock back and the other will be a slippy. We hope to shoot them when the glacial ice here in Minnesota melts back which looks like early July.

Couple things

This DVD from the Boss.

I picked it up thinking I'd use it as reference if I got stuck or was unsure about something.

It turned out to be SO much more. It's long. Over 4 hours IIRC but so packed with information that it's easily worth 5x the money.

It answered questions I didn't even know I should ask. It would have taken me years of trial and error to figure out the things in the video.

And the knowledge in the DVD can be used in any kind of folder making, not just flippers and IKBS.




Also this optical punch from Grizzly. So much easier to get accurately placed holes

 

[John Wilson]

trizact belts are awesome. I use them on every single knife with out exception.
Oddly, there are two "types". One is a film belt with a fairly thin, hard abrasive coating. They wear like iron and will cut you if you bump into the edge while using them. These used to be very popular and have faded with more choices on the market. I never could like them very much. I bet I have some that are ten years old unused.

I ordered a couple of those by mistake. And just like you said I managed to cut myself pretty good when I bumped into the edge.

I’ll say this- they make fantastic sharpening belts for putting on the first cutting edge on a newly finished blade.

 

[C Craft]

Couple things

This DVD from the Boss.

I picked it up thinking I'd use it as reference if I got stuck or was unsure about something.

It turned out to be SO much more. It's long. Over 4 hours IIRC but so packed with information that it's easily worth 5x the money.

It answered questions I didn't even know I should ask. It would have taken me years of trial and error to figure out the things in the video.

And the knowledge in the DVD can be used in any kind of folder making, not just flippers and IKBS.

Also this optical punch from Grizzly. So much easier to get accurately placed holes

Tell me more about the optical punch please!!! I have center punched a hole and think I had it dead on and I get it under better light or magnification and it is off. When it comes to holes being off a little bit, can be as much as a country mile!!

So yes please, tell more about the optical punch and how it works!!!

 

[Motor City Mike]

Tell me more about the optical punch please!!! I have center punched a hole and think I had it dead on and I get it under better light or magnification and it is off. When it comes to holes being off a little bit, can be as much as a country mile!!

So yes please, tell more about the optical punch and how it works!!!

Pretty simple really.

You use the magnifying sighting glass to get over your mark. There's 2 glasses, 1 with crosshairs and 1 with a circle and a dot.

While keeping the holder in place you replace the glass with one of the punches.

Tap it with a hammer and you get a perfectly placed mark. I usually hit it again with a larger punch before drilling to get a little bigger target for the drill.

I use it on every single knife I make

 

[Heikki]

In aviation we use a similar tool called a snatch block with a bomb site. The sight can be replaced with a slip bushing for drilling. Great tool for pulling a mis-located hole. Can the Grizzly sight holder be clamped in place?

 

[Motor City Mike]

In aviation we use a similar tool called a snatch block with a bomb site. The sight can be replaced with a slip bushing for drilling. Great tool for pulling a mis-located hole. Can the Grizzly sight holder be clamped in place?

It could be clamped but I wouldn't recommend it.

It's plastic and pretty light duty and I doubt it'd hold up to much pressure.

I definitely wouldn't drill through it.

 

[C Craft]

Thanks Mike, I have never heard of one! There has been more than one time at my age that I swore I was dead on and center punched and cr@$%^%^@$ I am off!

Sometimes I think that is caused by an off center, center punch. You know one that has been reground!! I had one that was so bad I had to file one edge to get it back. Helped some but it was always slightly off. Now days I just use it as punch!!

I am going to have to check into one of these!! So did a few searches and the prices range from, "how much" to "OK I wonder if this one is any good"! Anyone have a recommendation on one??

 

[Gliden07]

Trizact belts. I had never tried them before and I could not believe the consistency of the finish I was able to get.
More than the belts though I couldn’t believe that I hadn’t tried it before. I think they will be best suited for finishing, but man what a difference. Literally took hand sanding from 20-30 minutes to 10-15.

They are the BOMB!! I do 40 or 80 depending on thickness, 120, 220 ceramic then onto Trizacs, A100, A65, A45 end or if I want smoother A35 and A30 and then onto the hand sanding 600 Rino Wet and then 800 Rino Wet.

 

[murphda2]

trizact belts are awesome. I use them on every single knife with out exception.
Oddly, there are two "types". One is a film belt with a fairly thin, hard abrasive coating. They wear like iron and will cut you if you bump into the edge while using them. These used to be very popular and have faded with more choices on the market. I never could like them very much. I bet I have some that are ten years old unused.
the other type is cloth backed with thick abrasive engineered AO coating. These are the shiznet.
Don't get them wet. They will smear and leave streaks if wet.
These like an occasional high speed, high pressure pass to break up the granules and expose sharp new edges.

Boss, I’ve found that using a stone dresser and then running a steel brush across the belt will return them to dang near new cutting potential.

 

[Von Gruff]

Boss, I’ve found that using a stone dresser and then running a steel brush across the belt will return them to dang near new cutting potential.

Do you mean a wire brush Murph??

 

[Kev]

They are the BOMB!! I do 40 or 80 depending on thickness, 120, 220 ceramic then onto Trizacs, A100, A65, A45 end or if I want smoother A35 and A30 and then onto the hand sanding 600 Rino Wet and then 800 Rino Wet.

That is almost identical to the process I’m using