Advice on my grinds. Pictures

SkagSig40

SkagSig40

Joined
Feb 1, 2001
Messages
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So I'm pretty new to knife making and always looking for advice. My first few blades came out with uneven grind lines. A good buddy is helping me and advised me I have to much pressure on the blade. I'm wondering what tips and advice you guys might have to help me get straight, clean lines. Here is a few pictures. In this first one you can see how the top line is not straight across and dips towards the tip. also the line between the top grind and bottom grind going to the tip is curved down and was supposed to be straight. Wondering what I'm doing wrong here:


This one was supposed to be lower on the blade and nice and straight across but it kept coming out wavy so I had to grind higher and higher trying to straighten it out till eventually it was a full flat grind LOL


This one came out better but is still not as straight as I would like and is a bit curved. It is pretty symmetrical on both sides:

 
I believe in fact you are doing very well as a beginner. If this is one of your first attempts then you are doing even better than that.
You maybe consider to buy some mild steel to practice.
There are two things that come to mind for the commonly encountered problem you are seeing. If you have an inconsistent pressure as you draw the blade along either two little at times or two much you can create what you see. You may have to go with trying to grind just in the areas that need attention and not go over the whole side each time. The second thing that can cause this problem is either a worn out belt or one that is too fine for the grind you are going over.
Don't expect to learn it all on one or two knives. You would be doing very well if within 50 or 60 you were doing a reasonable job. Now you know why I suggested the mild steel from the corner hardware store.
Frank
 
Thanks! These are my first two blades. I have a few more that I can post once I get them uploaded. One of my friends is a very talented knife maker and he's been helping me so I've had a lot of coaching! Just seeing what advice you guys may have for me. Appreciate the help very much!
 
You are doing well. Using a jig or a rest for your blades? You can eventually get good this way, but personally I think it hinders one from learning to feel the grind to a great extent.
Good results will come slower, but you will get better without them.
A friend asked me yesterday if I use a jig on mine. I said no, it's half by feel, half by sight. That may or may not be accurate but that's how important it is to me to feel my work.

On your second pic, I would guess that was a worn out belt. Your blade will tend to skate around on a dull belt and you will have a very difficult time getting a straight even cut.
 
- Make sure your flats are really flat

- New belt if a grind is going bad (use belts like they were free)

- practice

Great looking grinds right off, nice work!
 
Light pressure when initial contact with the grinder is made. It helps you feel your angle against the platen or wheel. Then watch the sparks below. They should be even with the width of the belt. That will tell you when you are flat/parallel against the belt. Something that has helped me is doing a rough grind pre heat treat and then my finish grinds after heat treat. It slows me down a bit and the belts don't bite in quite as fast. I'd say I do 85% of my bevel grinding pre heat treat. As others have mentioned, practice, practice, practice:)
 
I agree with Frank. My first two blades done on a grinder were FAR worse than those. It takes time and practice to develop muscle memory to do this well, and frankly even then you may need to clean up the edges a bit during hand sanding.

Well done, and keep at it.
 
Some good advice here already. You are doing very well and I would say you are ahead of the curve in terms of progress for your level of experience. It's very true about fresh belts. If you are struggling to get clean straight lines, chances are that your belt is dull. Your friend may be right about too much pressure. But it is as important WHERE you put pressure as how much you use. In your second photo, if you were to make another pass on the belt on that side and used the thumb of your support hand (the one holding the blade, not the tang) to add a bit of pressure right behind the spine where the line dips, you will see that line come up and straighten out. Go easy with grinding pressure until you get a better understanding of how pressure in different areas affects your grind. Add pressure where you want to remove more material. Keep even pressure when you want to move the line as a whole. Keep your elbows by your sides and use your legs to shuttle your upper body side to side. If you get a line like your first image it may be from dropping an elbow or shoulder. Your last two images look very good. Careful observation and analysis along with much practice is the key.
 
i think you are doing fine to get started
you just need to do 20 more to understand how your put pressure on the blade and what result you get,
 
Hey there! I just started as well! I have watched tons of videos and read a lot of blogs. I found making a jig for the edge is the way to go.
 
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