Blade Vise

[colu41]

Any cheap ideas out there for clamping a blade (horizontally)? in my bench vise? I like hand sanding that last bit of the handles since I only have my 1x30. Not much room to run the blades vertically on the belt. I'd like a way to clamp the blade with the scales facing up, and protruding the vise, so I can see what I'm doing. Am I just going to need a fully adjustable vise? Or has someone made a cool little gadget to help with this?

Thanks

 

[12345678910]

2x4 with a saw cut and a c clamp

 

[zhyla]

I've been contemplating bolting a small vise to the side of my bench to get that horizontal blade clamping action.

 

[Joe Cabaup]

C clamps and get creative. Before I built a rotating knife vise I used a C clamp with bits of leather and wood (think paint stirrers) to prevent marking up the blade. Then put the clamp into a small bench vise. Clamp the C-clamp on the long side and rotate the bench vise 90 degrees for the top and bottom. Clamp the top, short part of the C clamp in the vise for the sides.

Do not use alot of pressure, the only portion being supported is the small area of the blade under the C-clamp.

I built a super cheap knife vise. I used 3" square tubing about 6 inches long. I then fit a pipe inside. Drill and tap a hole for a thumbscrew. Then I glued leather on two pieces of flat steel bar and hit them with the grinder until they slid into the pipe. Now you have a knife vise.

Once I unpack my stuff and find it I will post pics.

 

[Justin Presson]

Before I built my vise I just had a piece of wood that I would put in my regular vise jaws then use clamps to clamp the blade down to the wood. Only thing that sucks is you have to un clamp it to flip it to work the other side.

Here is the vise I recently built, mostly all from scraps we had laying around at work.

 

[Karl B. Andersen]

Just C-clamp the blade to a piece of angle iron with the handle hanging off the end.
Clamp the lower leg of the angle iron into your vise.
Then save your money and buy a knife vise.
Or make one.
You're a knife maker.

 

[colu41]

Thanks guys. Ill look into a knife vise in the very near future

 

[Cody Hofsommer]

Here is the one it made. Works great.

 

[12345678910]

Just C-clamp the blade to a piece of angle iron with the handle hanging off the end.
Clamp the lower leg of the angle iron into your vise.
Then save your money and buy a knife vise.
Or make one.
You're a knife maker.

Angle iron is good stuff

Every knifemaker should have a pile of it in the corner -

 

[hagatha]

Try doing a Google on "Hand Clamps". lots of ideas on how to hold "unconventional" shapes.

Lee Haag

 

[colu41]

I'll also look into building something a little more custom but for now I just got 2 chunks of 1x3 ash with the blade C clamped between in the vise. Workin good. And was free!

 

[Bo T]

Google incandescent iron works. Steve has plans for a magnetic blade clamp. It works pretty well.