Art of Grinding

A

adam britz

Joined
Feb 16, 2017
Messages
28
Hi all,
Newb alert here. I have been researching knife making for some time and plan to start making them soon. After going through this site as well as other knifesmiths instagram pages, I keep asking myself how they get so good at grinding. I guess my question is how did they/you get so proficient at it. I'm assuming lots and lots of practice, but what did you start with? Mentor, did you use a jig at first, books, etc...?
Any suggestions on how to get this portion of the process down?
Thanks, appreciate any feedback.
 
Practice, be prepared to scrap blades, grind freehand, use the right equipment, an under powered HF grinder is not going to produce stunning grinds.
 
Welcome to the forum. Practice, take your time, don't get in a hurry, practice, practice, practice. Buy or make a carbide file guide. And don't get in a hurry.
 
I like to rough the bevels with a jig. Just get them established. It's fast and easy. Once there is a bevel established freehand grinding becomes much easier because you have a frame of reference to push into the platen. While I admire and respect those who can walk up to a grinder with a square bar and turn it into a symmetrical wedge, along with the time they invested to develop that skill, I can't without a lot of trial and error that is just wasted time to me when nothing is lost starting in the jig.

The bubble jig is a good learning tool as well.

Even with a jig helping to establish even angles, there is still a lot of practice in maintaining them, sweeping through the tip, getting consistent and even plunges, etc. Using a jig start to finish won't teach you those things. Trial and error is about the only way to learn. I did buy an instructional video on grinding from ABS but I still haven't sat down and watched it.

FWIW I've never thrown a blade away because I ground it to scrap. I've scrapped a few for other reasons but not grinding. I forced myself to fix every grinding mistake, either at the grinder, or by hand sanding or filing. Do that a few times and you will learn to slow down and think through every move at the grinder knowing that one small misstep is going to cause you a lot of elbow grease to repair.
 
Never accept advice from me. I do things wrong.

That said, doing things wrong is how I learn. Maybe you learn that way too. Most people learn by listening to people who know what they are doing. I listen, then do my own thing... the wrong thing.

So, don't do like I do... and you'll probably be doing better than me. ;)
 
I freehand and I started on a 1x30 HF grinder. When I got a real grinder, it was much easier. Regardless of what route you go, lots and lots of practice. I hope you need some funky looking shop knives...
 
adam britz said:
Hi all,
Newb alert here. I have been researching knife making for some time and plan to start making them soon. After going through this site as well as other knifesmiths instagram pages, I keep asking myself how they get so good at grinding. I guess my question is how did they/you get so proficient at it. I'm assuming lots and lots of practice, but what did you start with? Mentor, did you use a jig at first, books, etc...?
Any suggestions on how to get this portion of the process down?
Thanks, appreciate any feedback.
Click to expand...

There is nothing wrong if you use some kind of jig .No one will ask how you make knife , what matters is what you have at the end /final result / not how you did it . This is my first attempt ,hardened 1.5mm high -carbon steel and grind on disc sander . Even I did not overheated this thin steel .Now I'm working on a little better solution for Jig ....... :)

16k0v3q.jpg
 
Last edited:
The one thing that has helped me understand what is happening while grinding is having a Variable speed grinder. I can slow it down and see what pressure at different locations on the blade with out removing too much and creating a mistake I can't fix.
 
Practice on wood til you learn to read the grind. Lots cheaper than steel so you can get lots more practice !
 
I watched a couple of vids put out by JTKnives way back in the day, as well as some DVDs on grinding ("Flat Grinding with Harvey Dean" and "The Fine Art of Hollow Grinding by Johnny Stout"), and they helped give me a basic idea of a starting point, but the only thing you can really do to get better is practice, practice, practice.

Not only that, but THINK about what you're doing and what you need to do. Don't just push a blank into a belt and hope for the best. Think about how the abrasive is going to remove the material if you hold it a certain way, or apply pressure at a certain point. Understand what happens when you lean to far into one side of the wheel or platen, move too quick, too slow, etc...

Aside from that, start with FRESH CLEAN BELTS and change them often. Also make sure your setup is flat and square if using a flat platen, and if using a contact wheel, make sure it's relatively balanced and that the corners of the wheel are even.

File guides and a bubble jig may help, but aren't necessary.

Go to your local fab shop or scrap yard and get a bucket full of mild steel flat bar drops to practice on. As long as you are mindful of what you are doing, cause and effect, etc... you'll pick it up fairly quick. Lastly, START SIMPLE. Don't start off trying to grind compound bevels, recurves, or daggers. Just start with a basic wharncliffe or drop-point design and go from there. Some guys like to start with chisel grinds (grinding only one side), get that down, and then move on to both sides. Your call.

Good luck.
 
Watch a lot of youtube videos. You'll be amazed at the technique differences, from finesse to just hogging. Figure out what you want to make, and whether you want to do production or one off pieces.
I can say I threw away maybe 16 blades that I learned on. And the next 15 were just ok. It takes a while, or a lot of grinding to get it down.
 
adam britz said:
Hi all,
Newb alert here. I have been researching knife making for some time and plan to start making them soon. After going through this site as well as other knifesmiths instagram pages, I keep asking myself how they get so good at grinding. I guess my question is how did they/you get so proficient at it. I'm assuming lots and lots of practice, but what did you start with? Mentor, did you use a jig at first, books, etc...?
Any suggestions on how to get this portion of the process down?
Thanks, appreciate any feedback.
Click to expand...


When the Violin player asked the cabbie, How do you get to Carnegie Hall? PRACTICE man! PRACTICE! ;)

BOLD1 said:
The one thing that has helped me understand what is happening while grinding is having a Variable speed grinder. I can slow it down and see what pressure at different locations on the blade with out removing too much and creating a mistake I can't fix.
Click to expand...

^^^ A variable or Adjustable, Step pulley set up does make a dig Difference!

Adam, Look for Knife maker groups and Hammer inns in your area! This helped me a lot! I started 20 years ago when there wasn't all of this stuff on the Net!

You can meet other makers that will share their knowledge with you and you can see the different kinds of Grinder's available as well as watch others grind!!

Buy a REAL 2 x 72" machine as soon as you can afford one!

A man shared with me, Grind the blade with your off hand first, I'm a rightie so that's my left hand, Then grind with your strong hand trying to match what you have done with your off hand! This way it will be even! In time with that Practice your off hand will strengthen up and you will have crisper more even grinds!

The other tid bit of info I can pass on to you is, Use belts as if they were free! These days, I only use about half of the grit on my Ceramic Belts, for my Bevel grinding because they start to wash out and build up heat to fast! I grind after heat treat! I then put then in the profiling and other duties piles where a fresh belt isn't so important!

Stay safe and have fun!
 
The main thing that got me to try freehand grinding was Salem Straub's write up on his website. His explanation just clicked for me since watching someone grind doesn't really clue you in to what exactly is happening when you grind. I think he also has a link to an explanation by Fred Rowe. Read it and try it for yourself, that's what worked for me.

Sent from my 0PM92 using Tapatalk
 
My first Kiridashi was an attempt at getting a tanto tip grind straight no matter what!

I've ground about 2000 knives and it is still hard sometimes, just practice lots and use the belts like they are free.

Really pay attention to your edge and where it sits when you put the knife to the grinder, repetition here leads to precision.

I like to lay in my grind and plunges with an 80 grit ceramic belt, everything else is just metal removal or polishing. I never try to change grind geometry (like evening up a plunge line) with a high or low grit belt.

Salem's page helped me when I got started, great info there. I might need to go back and re-read it!
 
Last edited:
I started out hollow grinding freehand on home made equipment and did fair for what I had to work with but when I got better equipment designed for knife making specifically my grinds and time spent were much better. I would start with what equipment you can afford and when you get established you can upgrade, You will make mistakes just like all of us do but that is how you learn. Good luck on your start into a very rewarding hobby or career.
 
This first video really taught me my technique. I watched a ton of "how to grind" videos, but this one stood out to me.
The finesse this guy has was totally inspiring to me. There are no holes in his gloves!
There is a lot of good advice on this thread and worthy of note for sure.
But studying this video over many hours and coming back to it taught me my technique really. Totally freehand.
It takes time to know what points you need to learn, but over time you will see just about every question you have answered in this.
Hat's off to Silverman for this great instruction. :)

[video=youtube;Og5GL5PGo_U]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Og5GL5PGo_U[/video]

This one shows a bit of the opposite spectrum, hogging. If you want production I would also study this one.
My opinion is that it is more difficult to produce a highly refined blade, but it does produce a great knife.
Ray is very good at this style of grinding and the video shows that.

[video=youtube;kvlKfzW12d0]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kvlKfzW12d0[/video]
 
The Harvey Dean video was very helpful. I forge my blades including the bevels except for thin stuff like kitchen knives, , so no scribing centerlines for me. I have to eyeball it.
 
To be clear. I stated above that I only freehand. I must admit, it's not for a lack of trying a jig. I have built simple jigs, I just couldn't get them to work for me. I think it was a distraction to me and mostly just a mental thing. At the point I'm at now, i wouldn't be apposed to using a jig, especially on knives that I make several of the same style simultaniously, but I'm at the point now, where it seems just as easy to me to freehand as it would be to figure out and implement a jig system that would work for me. Either way takes skill, and the proof is in the pudding (finished grind) as to how well you do.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top