craftsman or grizzly

D

dozuki

Joined
Apr 4, 2006
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I have been looking at belt grinders and have come to the conclusion that most of the really nice ones are geared more for a pro and are out of my price range now. So I have been looking at the grizzly and the craftsman 2X42 beltgrinders. Has anyone had ant experience with these machines and recommendations as to whic would be better for a beginner. Right now I am leaning toward the craftsman. It has more horse power and is a little cheaper. Any insights or pushes in the right direction would be appreciated. Thanks Paul
 
from what i have seen most of the people prefer the grizzly to the craftsman 2X42. i gess it depends if you want the belt and disk combo. i just use a home made 9" disk with a makita hand held 1 x 30 belt grinder.
 
Buy anything from Sears (craftsman) get to know their service and warranty department intimately. (which might be a good thing, I guess)).
 
I can't say too much bad about Craftsman tools.I have among my other sanders a 1"x42" Craftsman that has run perfect for about 15 years now.I also have a drill press and a bench grinder going on 20 years and no problems.Anyways you can make knives with both, and both run too fast, but the Griz has a better selection of belts because of the size.Too bad Craftsman didn't make it a 2"x 48" instead, much better selection of belts.Dave:)
 
Got a Sears 2x42 last month. Workes great so far in finishing scales on the two kits I have. Gonna try the blade grinding next. Overall happy with the machine for the money about half the price of the grizzly. May upgrade later if i want to get very serious. Got a good assortment of belts from Supergrit. I think it's a great start and saves lots of time compaired to the file methods.
 
If those are your only choices, then go for the Grizzly (2"X72"). It is a true workhorse, and you can't kill it with a gun.

I have said for some time that if a person can learn to grind on a Grizzly, they can grind on anything.

The Grizz is a China-ville grinder that runs at somewhere near the speed of light. I have made many a knife (flatgrind, hollow grind, and convex grind) using this grinder, and have recently upgraded to a KMG variable speed with most of the bells and whistles.

I understand limited financial resources, and if you can only swing a "fair" amount of cash, .......... Go for the Grizzly.

My take................. Robert
 
I have the grizz and aside from the fact that it runs at the speed of light and the platen is completely junk, it really is a great tool. Have ground a few dozen blades now and I am glad that I don't have the craftsman, but I have gotten to the point that I wish I had a KMG. It took a while to get to the point that I realized that a top of the line grinder would help out my cause. I guess that I would say that it is the lesser of two evils and obviously quite adequate for the job even tho maybe not perfect. For the money very hard to beat.
Best of luck,
Matt Doyle
 
that is a ringing endorsment for the grizz 2X72. is it possible to get a good plated and do some work with it.
 
O.K. I was just at the grizzly sight and couldn't find the 2X72. Does anyone have an item number i could use to look it up. im not sure but why is the 2X72 better than the 2X42. is just because there is more belt.
 
I started with a Craftsman 2x42. It made every attempt at grinding frustrating to me. Some guys have made great knives on tehm though. It's more about determination than the machine, but a better machine is more enjoyable to use.

I've not used the Grizzly, but it seems to be the easiest way to get into a 2x72 belt grinder. This high speed would be a concern for me as it's really hard for a newer maker to make those passes with a finer grit belt and not get an Oops mark. Being able to slow the belt way down pays tremendous benefits.

I'm a hobby maker and went from a a Craftsman to a KMG and it was the best thing I ever did for my knifemaking. If I were starting over, I'd wait for a deal on a used Bader or KMG rather than spend money on a Craftsman or Grizzly. The extra rigidity and smoothness is priceless. Once you've got a solid base grinder, you can always add variable speed later. If you make the investment and don't take to knifemaking, you can always resell it probably get most of your money back.
 
Out of the two, I'd choose the Grizzly. Works well -not as good as a KMG or Bader, but good enough.

*Another alternative is the Wilton Square Wheel/ lookalikes -I believe Sheffield Knifemaker's Supply in Florida sells one for $765 (Model S272). They use a flat platen with small rubber wheels on each end, this can be rotated for use as a radius finisher (eg. finger grooves or any curve ...)
 
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