Alpha Knife Supply steel sizes? Need some help

jonnymac44 said:
Blandies,
Don't be worried about the magnet method. Surface plates are great, I use one all the time but a good welder's magnet is a great addition to your shop. If you're worried about the knife coming free, don't be. My welder's magnet has 120 lbs. of pull and holds the blade VERY firmly. If you really push into the grinder and get it too hot, it will weaken the magnet's pull, but with reasonable use it is a great method and you shouldn't rule it out. If you plan on getting all of your steel nice and flat and smooth using only paper and the surface plate, you will be at it for a very long time!:)
Click to expand...

The above is true just ensure your platen is level before you begin , do you go vertically or horizontally when grinding it flat? I've always done vertically and had slight issues with a 8" blade and a 6" platen , I don't have this problem anymore and am amazed at how fast 36 grit with a 2hp motor can move steel!
 
duffy99 said:
The above is true just ensure your platen is level before you begin , do you go vertically or horizontally when grinding it flat? I've always done vertically and had slight issues with a 8" blade and a 6" platen , I don't have this problem anymore and am amazed at how fast 36 grit with a 2hp motor can move steel!
Click to expand...

I would be grinding my knives vertically, tip & butt facing tword the ceiling and floor. The problem I'm seeing is a 8" long knife like you said on a 6-7" platen.....or if the blades width exceed 2" like a bowie might.
And I still have some safety concern for the welding magnets force on my pyraceram platen.
 
blandies,

I think the key here is for you to get some steel, any steel, and try grinding it. Grind the flats, grind the bevels. Drill holes. Hand sand, wet sand. Hit it with a hammer. Bend it with a vice. Spit on it.

I appreciate that you want to learn so much in advance that you will get it right the first time. I am the same way. It's not going to happen with your first knife. It may never happen. But I suggest you focus on one thing and do it. If that goes well, do the next thing. We will help you along the way, but until you actually try, you won't know what comes naturally and what doesn't.
 
I have already grinded steel. Not blade steel for a nice knife but some steel just to see how bevels grind and how everything works...plenty of times.
I can do everything and advance in it all in time except I cannot find a way to grind the flats....and will not be able to advance in that when I can't find a way to start.

I probably do ask more questions than I should, I want to make sure I do it right though instead of burning the wrong processes into my head. Guess I'm trying to be a perfectionist and loosing sight of making bad knives to get better at it. Always have done things a bit differently.
 
I'm telling you, we are the same. I have been making for about a year. I have read and readied and tested on scrap. I have salvaged every knife I have ever made until this last week - I threw away my first blade. It was a cut-off piece in very expensive steel that matched my current heat treat order. I rushed and screwed it up. I tried to fix it until it was so ugly I had to face the truth. With a liberated fling it went in the round file. I don't like defeat, so it was a big step for me. Who the hell want's to make a bad knife? I'm not saying set out to do that at all. I'm saying try to make a perfect knife, that along with this forum, will help the most.

You don't ask too many questions. Ask as many as you want.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top