Anyone want to online mentor me?

go mike

go mike

Joined
Dec 5, 2008
Messages
1,597
I am starting to make knives (hacksaw and files only) and need advice. Is there anyone who has enough patience to answer the stupid questions a 15 year old can think of when making knives?

First question: Is this sander good for getting knife bevels?
http://www.sears.com/shc/s/p_10153_12605_00921513000P

Second: How do you get a hollow ground bevel?

Third: Is this bandsaw good enough for cutting knives?
http://www.harborfreight.com/cpi/ctaf/displayitem.taf?Itemnumber=93762

Any help is appreciated, especially if you want to be my mentor!!! :D
 
Welcome Mike! You'll find that just by browsing around the forum, you'll see a lot of your questions answered. Start by going through the newbies' sticky thread.

About that grinder... reports are, it works but is kind of fast, and the platen is iffy. Check the belt sander thread here.

About the bandsaw, it looks like it would be fine but I haven't used one.

You mentioned you're 15... any shop classes offered at your school? Metals, woods, drafting, any class like that will give you a little headstart.

Good luck, and read more than you type ;)
 
I use the bandsaw that you show and its a good saw and can be picked up for quite a bit less on sale. Also check local suppliers for used equipment, right now with the economy there is alot of good used equipment available.

My personal opinion on the sander is wait. For the pain and trouble of learning how to grind on that sander you would be better off making small blades with a file and sand paper. They will be a flat grind, dont worry about a hollow grind at this point. If you start small mayber a 3-4 inch blade with 1/8 steel it really does not take long to file and sand to a decient finish.

If you send me a email I will be happly to help as much as I can from this distance, but, the internet make everyone alot closer.
 
I think you chose the option not to recieve emails so I will post the answere about the bandsaw here. I have had it a about a year and it works fine. I also purchased a seperate stand and remounted the bandsaw so it is higher and takes less space. Let me warn you it is not for the faint hearted, it took quite a while to make the brackets and get everyting lined up and mounted. I have some pics. If space is not and issue you can use it right out of the box, it really needs a better table but you can use a piece of wood or steel bolted to the existing table until you can improve.

bandsaw006.jpg


bandsaw007.jpg


bandsaw010.jpg
 
I fixed it, so my email should work now. By the way your picture looks, the blade is at a 45º angle. Is the blade adjustable? Also, if I could get the bandsaw for $160 new, is that a good price?
 
These types of bandsaws typically have the blades oriented at 45 degrees to the frame, and you can't change it. It works very well, however, for the size of stock we typically work with.

--nathan
 
The blade is at about 45 degrees but that is the nature of the cuttoff saw. $160 is really good price. If you list what tools you have and what tools you can buy to get started I can help you prioritize your tools. There is another thread which suggests using the HF angle grinder to cut out blades and profile. Thats a pretty good option for $20 on sale.

If you really think you are going to be a knifemaker and want to accumulate tools that is a good bandsaw, alot of knifemakers use it.
 
What exactly is a bandsaw used to do in making knives? They seem to only cut straight lines easily, so how could you cut a curve in a blade?

Currently I have:
Drill Press
Hacksaw
Grinding Wheels
Files
Sharpening Stones
Sandpaper

What I can buy: (If needed)
Bandsaw
Angle grinder
Belt Sander/Grinder
 
You can make gradual radiuses on a bandsaw, but you're right that they work best in a straight line. The good thing is that you can accurately remove large chunks of excess material and decrease your time with files or at the grinder. You can get pretty close with just the bandsaw without too much trouble. The other thing they work great for is handle material, bolster material, fittings, pins, and just about anything else you need to cut ;).

I lived without one for a long time, and now I'm glad I have one.

--nathan
 
So if I had a blank piece of steel, I could use the bandsaw to cut chunks away from the actual knife part, then filing the curves and intricate works by hand?

If I get a bandsaw, it has to be in the next couple days, or else I'd have to pay $200 instead of $160. I think that is what I might do, then once I start making knives (hopefully selling some) then earning money to buy/build a belt sander. Does that sound like a good thing to do?
 
go mike said:
What exactly is a bandsaw used to do in making knives? They seem to only cut straight lines easily, so how could you cut a curve in a blade?
Click to expand...

With a blade of smaller width (1/4" - 3/8" wide) you can cut around curves and good enough to grind to the lines with a grinder. They are used to profile blades out. no different than if you were cutting a pattern out of wood with a wood saw. The metal cutting saw moves MUCH slower than a wood cutting saw.

Whoops, looks like silver answered the question in the same time i did.
 
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go mike said:
So if I had a blank piece of steel, I could use the bandsaw to cut chunks away from the actual knife part, then filing the curves and intricate works by hand?

If I get a bandsaw, it has to be in the next couple days, or else I'd have to pay $200 instead of $160. I think that is what I might do, then once I start making knives (hopefully selling some) then earning money to buy/build a belt sander. Does that sound like a good thing to do?
Click to expand...

If you happen to get that saw from Harbor Freight....dump the blade it will come with. Won't last long i'm guessing. Get a custom Lenox Diemaster 2 blade welded up. Should be around $25 bucks for that length of around 64"...maybe it's 64.5". Can't remember.
 
I think you're trying to jump in a little too fast but, I may be wrong. A lot of knifemakers use bandsaws to help with stock removal and if you have the $160 to blow on it then go for it but, I think for most newbies that want to get into knifemaking... the best tools that you can have are patience and your brain. A hacksaw works just fine for me but, I'll admit, it'd be nice to have a bandsaw. I would say a grinder is more important, however. I think the one you linked would work fine. Hell, I use a cheap belt sander clamped upside down in a vise and it works alright! Lol. Use what ya got and get what you can use. You have a long road ahead of you if you catch the bug like us! My suggestion is to just read, read, read. There is so much information at your finger tips right now and you've came to the best knife making forum out there. You should learn a lot here. BTW.. not to discourage you but, I wouldn't expect to make any money any time soon from selling knives. From what I hear, that's pretty hard to actually do.
Just be patient, be careful, and have fun. Ask questions. The people here are real good about helping out newbies like us. :)
Good luck!
 
... You may want to worry about a good forge and a better grinder before getting a bandsaw. I probably ought to have one by now, but I actually have a paragon and still use a hacksaw >_>
 
Hay go---Get yourself some good files and learn how to use them.Make 2 or 3 knives and think about it all. It will come to you what you need. There is A LOT to learn.
Jerry
PS GOOD LUCK


I know this is not what you want to hear.BUT YOUR IN BOOT CAMP, YOU NEED TO SWET,CUSS AND BLEED.THAT IS WHAT IT TAKES to make you figure it out.Every maker I know went through it.
BTW that band saw is fine if you want to miss out on some good cussin time GET IT. Use HF blades for now. They are cheap and will give you good exp. and knollage of the saw. And please overlook my spelling.
your friend Jerry
 
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The HF bandsaw you mentioned is Z Golden Standard for hobby and pro knifemakers everywhere ! Many of us spend a great deal of time sitting on this very BS, driving
stock into the blade - this is the preferred way of using it. You'd need to buy a good
bi-metal blade, the plain carbon one that comes with it won't last longer than 2 minutes.
Bimetals can last months or years, depending on usage. Get 18+ TPI in .025 thickness and it will last and last and last.

Grinder is an OK starter grinder. Assuming you can get it at a decent price, go for it.
If the bug bites real good, you can always upgrade later :) - most of us took that route.
 
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