Finishing vise recommendations?

timos-

timos-

Knifemaker / Craftsman / Service Provider
Joined
Oct 22, 2012
Messages
2,164
I am looking for a good setup where I can clamp blade and rotate in the X and Y. I really dont have much time to fab myself. Is there anything out there on the market? Ive checked Jantz/K&G but am looking for something more.

I have seen the how to threads, Mr Wheeler's in particular is great but I am looking to buy something.

TIA
 
Would this work? http://www.knifeandgun.com/ProductDetails.asp?ProductCode=P350


If you need "rotate" the work you could always clamp the blade in between two 2x4s and put the 2x4s in the vise(and rotate the 2x4s). That's what I do with my bench vise and I'm able to pretty much hit any angle of the knife. I can angle the 2x4s upwards or downwards too.

But then again I might not even be understanding what you're talking about.
 
No, That looks pretty good. I did not see that one on their website. Thanks for the input JG!
 
Do you know how that product holds up to hard/consistent use? it seems a little light (5lbs).
 
I have no clue. I use two 2x4s clamped together on the blade and then clamped into a bench vise. I rotate the 2x4s on multiple planes and can hit pretty much all angles. I may have to bend to get a good angle sometimes but, for the most part, it works pretty good. I'll try and take a pic.

Oh, and when you say you need it for finishing I assume you're talking about working on the handle. Right?
 
That one does look nice Stacy. There are no dimensions though. Is that long enough to hold a 240mm blade? Is there enough room to put in a couple 3/8" boards to distribute pressure onto the whole blade?
I like the idea of the 2x4s. Ive been looking for a decent bench vise at garage sales for a year now and still havnt found one. The usual local retailers only have crap vises.
 
timos- said:
That one does look nice Stacy. There are no dimensions though. Is that long enough to hold a 240mm blade? Is there enough room to put in a couple 3/8" boards to distribute pressure onto the whole blade?
I like the idea of the 2x4s. Ive been looking for a decent bench vise at garage sales for a year now and still havnt found one. The usual local retailers only have crap vises.
Click to expand...

Look on Craigslist. There's a guy I found on there, who was local to me, that refurbishes them and sells them for cheap.

Also, flea markets and pawn shops are good places to find them. I was at Menards Home Improvement store the other day and they had some real nice looking ones for around $65 IIRC. You gotta have a bench vise, it's essential knifemaking equipment.
 
Been eyeing this one
7505.jpg

but for 220$ im still hoping i can find something old and cheaper.

My home depot bench vise is truly a POS. Like 10° of play when the swivel is tightened , not to mention the jaws cock unless you are clamped across at least half the jaws.
 
My knifemaker's vise is made by Chuck Ward and is distributed through James Neilson. It's identical to the one Stacy posted a link to. In fact, I wouldn't be surprised if they are the same vise.
http://www.mountainhollow.net/knife-vise.php

You can purchase a seperate mounting attachment that allows the knife to also swing in a vertical plane. But since my bench space is limited, I didn't go that route. I already had a multi-purpose 5" bench vise, so I just mounted the knifemaker's vise to a small piece of angle iron. In combination with my bench vise, it allows full access to my work. When I need it, I chuck it into my bench vise and I just remove it when I don't. So far, it's proved invaluable for my needs. My previous set-up to do handle work was pretty rudimentary to say the least.

IMAG0482.jpg
 
I have a versa vise/parrot vise and I love it. Bought it from the company on ebay that bought the rights to the original design. It was $59.95
 
I think one of the keys to a good deal on a quality used vise is the fact that a lot of folks aren't real good spellars. ;)

If I search for "vise" on CL, I get a lot of results with high price tags. If I search for "vice," then I get quite a few results showing nice vises at low prices.

It's a bit of a continuous cycle, because the guys selling vises are comparing prices to the other guys selling vises, and so are the guys selling "vices." ;) :)
 
If it wasn't for my pipe vis/ce - I wouldn't know how to finish a knife.
And put it in the middle of the room and you can access your knife from all directions.
The other day I was walking through Menards and they had 'em for 49 bucks.

 
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