Finally made the KMG plunge! How did I do?

[Huntsman Knife Co. LLC.]

I've recently gotten into knifemaking as an outlet for stress relief and as a way to make a small amount of money doing something I love. Ive been enjoying the process but my 2x42 Craftsman just wasn't cutting it. I did some research on here and decided to save up and buy a KMG. Last night I dropped 2 grand on the following setup

KMG PL- I only plan on doing flat and saber grinds
1.5hp Variable speed motor
Small wheel addition with a 1/2 inch wheel
spare tooling arm
Drive belt/ all the little stuff that makes it run etc...


I skipped on a 10inch wheel because Im going to use a water jet service to cut most of my blanks and I really only want to do flat and saber grinds at this time. I think the variable speed will be really helpful and will also increase versatility.

Is there anything major Im missing that I should purchase at a later time? Will this setup be sufficient for flat grinding blades under .25 thickness?

Thanks in advance! This form has been so incredible helpful and without all the great members here there's no way I would have gotten into knifemaking.

 

[AVigil]

That set up is really nice. I made a GIB and decided to go with a 2" and 4" Beaumont wheel with a platen. This allows flat grinding, slack grinding and the use of both wheels. I got the idea from the Caffery Platen

I found sometimes it is just easier on the belt if certain grinding is done on the wheel as opposed to the platen. The platen is great but it can put a lot of stress to the belt if hogging material.

Water jetting the blanks will be great until you get woken up in the middle of the night with a knife design and you want to grind it in morning. You can do it on the platen but the wheel really comes in handy. The benefit with the KMG is you can add any size wheel to that extra tool arm when you are ready.

 

[Huntsman Knife Co. LLC.]

I might need to buy a 10inch wheel down the road for hogging. I know what you mean about the 2 AM grinding impulse. It seems like creative energy always comes at a terrible hour haha. Right now Im going to just try to do like 8-10 of a certain design to hone my skill on the grinder by doing simple, repeatable patterns. Im going to start with a thin 4.5 inch utility desgn in CPM 154 or ELMAX.

 

[Varga Knives]

I have the same set up and if you use the right belts hogging is a breeze on the 8" wheel.

 

[Salem Straub]

Sounds like you did great! I think the KMG-PL is a VERY good value. I bet you will end up getting a contact wheel too, but that's the beauty of buying basic and adding on- you can buy extras as needed.

Congratulations!

 

[Maqua]

Looks good! I been thinking about making that plunge, as well. Eventually I need to go to the bladesmith school up in Ar-Kansas.

 

[Bob Katilus]

You won't regret your purchase. This biggest improvement (and most enjoyment) I found was upgrading to a KMG grinder.

 

[Daniel Fairly Knives]

You did great! Congratulations

A nice inexpensive upgrade is a 2" contact (rubber) wheel at the top of the platen, I find mine useful for profiling. No need to get it yet though, spend that money on tons of belts!

 

[jll346]

Congrat's on a nice grinder. You are definately going to need a wheel at some point sooner than later. But great start and again congrat's.