Flat grinding up or down

H

Hulkie

Joined
Oct 22, 2012
Messages
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Gday, when flat grinding, do you start from the bottom up or from spine down. I have been doing from edge up. I plan on practicing the other way but I wanted to get some advice from persons who know what there doing. I mentioned , in a previous thread, I was having trouble with grinding a sharp tip, but I don't think the way I initially flat grind would effect that. Thanks
 
Regardless of how I hold the blade, all my grinds start at the edge ;) I do most of my grinding edge-up.

One little tip (ho ho!) about not rounding over your tips is to leave a little extra steel on top of the blade near the end. Then after your bevels are ground, you can bring the spine down to meet the edge in a nice crisp point.
 
james terrio said:
Regardless of how I hold the blade, all my grinds start at the edge ;) I do most of my grinding edge-up.

One little tip (ho ho!) about not rounding over your tips is to leave a little extra steel on top of the blade near the end. Then after your bevels are ground, you can bring the spine down to meet the edge in a nice crisp point.
Click to expand...

That tip is priceless James! I have that problem too and this will solve my problems.
 
I grind edge down whether flat or hollow. No matter which way you choose practice and focus will make improvements.
 
I've done it both ways and find edge up works best for me. Harvey Dean flips and does the opposite side edge down in his Flat Grinding DVD, which I tried and didn't have good luck with personally, but each person is different.
 
You should immediately notice a difference when you grind edge down verus edge up. When you grind edge down the belt is primarily taking steel off the spine portion of the blade (you wouldn't think it would do that, I know, but it does). My advice, and I look forward to hearing what other's will say, is to stick to edge up. I think it gives you better control of the process, as you simply grind up to the line you want.
 
I grind edge up. My platten is vertical so I can look down easily and see the progress. If I were to ground edge down, I would have to flip the knife to see my progress.
 
james terrio said:
Regardless of how I hold the blade, all my grinds start at the edge ;) I do most of my grinding edge-up.

One little tip (ho ho!) about not rounding over your tips is to leave a little extra steel on top of the blade near the end. Then after your bevels are ground, you can bring the spine down to meet the edge in a nice crisp point.
Click to expand...

Thank you everyone. James , i gather you mean grinding the top of the spine down to meet the bevel by placing the blade vertically against the platen .
I guess I would have to watch out not to get an over exxagerated drop. Thanks
 
Yup, you got it. Some makers wait until after HT to do that final profiling of the spine.

I will second Harvey Dean's flat-grinding DVD, it's a great resource. Not just for the basics but also some advanced stuff, getting nice plunges, fixing mistakes, etc. :thumbup:
 
james terrio said:
It may be cheating, but it works :D
Click to expand...

Frist of all, I don't think it's cheating James!:)

I used to leave that bit of extra meat at the tip to save my edge thickness. I have found that with lots of practice over the last couple years I've gained a better feel for what goes on at the tip and my grinding has changed accordingly. I no longer leave that extra meat at the tip anymore, but it was an awesome tool to save the tips of my knives while I was learning.

I guess the point of my post is all the guys who tell you "practice, practice, practice!" are absolutely right. In time you'll hone your skills by repetition.
 
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