Got $300. Need to Blow It.

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John Katt said:
If it were me, I would put that $300 in the bank and continue to save until I had enough for first and last months rent and security deposit on a house, Preferably one with a garage, or at the very least a place to set an 8x12 shed, no matter how you try to justify it, a knife shop in an apartment bedroom is a bad idea
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Having a knife shop in an apartment is NOT a bad idea. It works quite well actually and it keeps the ladies away. Just looks weird. I do completely agree with the idea of getting a house, but I'm not doing that until I am "guaranteed" that my job wont move. While people have suggested saving for a 2x72, I've told myself many times that I wont buy a super expensive 2x72 until I get a house. Spending $1000 on a grinder, while my 1x42 still kinda gets the job done is kinda like buying a ferrari and living in an apartment. It just doesn't make sense.

Also, FYI - There will be no saving. I don't like saving.
 
I was referring more to your posts elsewhere on the forum while using this thread as an opportunity to do so. You do a lot of 'what should I do?' asking but then slam every option presented to you.

And since saving is so objectionable... blow it all on hookers and cheap coke. Why not... You've shot every reasonable or responsible idea down.

-Eric
 
Guys, let's discuss the topic, not each other. ;) It's not terribly helpful when a cat says he has X amount to spend and everyone tells him "spend more". Sometimes that's just not an option.

dzlvs8 said:
Also, FYI - There will be no saving. I don't like saving.
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Well, there's that. At least you're honest about it :)

dzlvs8 said:
I was thinking about getting a new grinder, but the advantages of a quality 2x42 vs my half broken 1x42 don't warrant spending $300.
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First of all, you don't have to spend $300 on a 2x42. With a little shopping around you can find one for more like $150.

Second, I strongly disagree about the 2x42 not being better/more useful than a 1x42. Right off the bat, you have a much more powerful machine with a wider selection of high-quality belts available to you (also, a not-great, but still useful disk sander). Slap a ceramic platen face on it and good clean grinds are well within your reach. Spend an afternoon and $10 on angle iron and a couple bolts, and you can easily convert it to run 2x72 belts... which again increases the variety of belts available and brings efficiency up.

Variable speed is a wonderful thing of course, but the high speed of the Craftsman 2x42 is vastly over-complained-about. Sometimes speed is exactly what you need! Don't be scared, just learn to approach it with focus and use a light touch.

If I were starting over with a $300 budget and wanted to start making knives tomorrow, I'd build up a CM 2x42 and keep an eye peeled for a non-wobbly table-top drill press. The Shop-Vac and at least one good bench vise are very nice to have, but they're not absolutely required.
 
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I have a similar setup as the OP except I have a garage. With $300 here is what I would do.

1. Temp sensor for forge. If your doing your own HT in it like I am then I think this is crucial. Making great looking knives is worthless if they're not heat treated well. I don't have one yet but have a setup scoped out for under $100 I'm about to get. Still wont be as good as an electric kiln but better than guessing on temp.

2. Didn't see a dremel listed in your tools. I got one last year and found it to be an incredibly usefull all around tool for a variety of small tasks in knifemaking. You can get setup nicely here for $100. On my list is adding the flex shaft attachment for another $30.

3. I've been thinking of holding out for a nice 2x72 grinder but decided to go ahead and get the 2x42 craftsman. I've done a lot of thinking about it and this will pay for itself and easily speed up the process of me being able to buy a 2x72. The 1x30 isn't cutting it for me and I need the disc sander just as much as a bigger grinder even though I know the 2x42 disc is t the greatest.

4. Spend $20 and get the materials to make one of the handy knife vices everyone uses. That will make hand finishing so much easier.

5. Probably should be#1. Not sure how you are on safety equipment but for me it would be wise to spend $100 upgrading my eye, ear and lung protection and getting a fire extinguisher.

6. Do you have stuff for sheath making? You could get setup for either kydex or leather sheaths with all the tools and supplies you need for well under your $300 budget
 
Please remember, just because I ask for suggestions, that doesn't mean that I have to like or accept any or all of your suggestions.

james terrio said:
First of all, you don't have to spend $300 on a 2x42. With a little shopping around you can find one for more like $150.
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My Craftsman 1x42 has a 1/2hp motor. The craftsman 2x42 is only a 1/3 hp. Upgrading to the 2x42, might not actually be an upgrade. What other options are out there for good 2x42's under $200. I use a 2x42 kalamazoo at work and I don't notice a difference in motor strength between it and my 1/2hp 1x42. ...probably because of belt size / grinding area. Therefore, I'm pretty sure my 1/2hp craftsman is a somewhat real rating.



phorizt said:
I have a similar setup as the OP except I have a garage. With $300 here is what I would do.
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1. Being able to heat treat a broader range of steels would be great but my gas forge has too many hot spots to be able to get accurate temp reading from it. I've tried. (All you need is a thermocouple and a DMM).

2. I have a dremel. I never use it for knife making anymore. Oscillating drill press does all of its work. It does the work slower, but way better.

3. I've never used the disc on the craftsman. I don't understand how or why people use it. It leaves curved grind lines in the knife. Not sure what it does that a belt doesn't do????

4. A knife vise??? That's awesome! I need to make one!

5. Check

6. One thing at a time. I'm not going to hone in my sheath making skills until I slow down on learning new methods for making knives.
 
Nah, forget all this grinder stuff. Buy a nice lathe and take up wood turning. :D
 
I used to be big into wood working about 15 years ago when I was around 20 years old. I used to do that in my apartment too. I was too stupid to implement any sort of dust collection methods. The dust got EVERYWHERE. I still have knick knacks and stuff with saw dust on them. No more wood working, unless I have to.
 
Just to annoy you, I second the idea of getting sheath making stuff. I agree that you should continue working on your knifemaking skill set, but I'm finding that (leather) sheath making is a great deal of fun. Easier to work on in short amounts of time too.

When you're ready, hit me up. I can help with which tools (that I find) to be crucial to start with. I'm also building a list of suppliers.

Good times. :)

Edit- the disk grinder is super useful if you're doing flat grinds. At a high grit, the radial lines are easy to hand sand away. You can also make your own disks with paper and spray adhesive. I made some scotch brite disks and they are wonderful! I'll never be without them now that I've seen what they can do. Most of this can indeed be done with a large platen, but if you lack that, the disk is super handy.
 
LucyCustomKnives said:
And since saving is so objectionable... blow it all on hookers and cheap coke.
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I say go with the hookers and blow idea :D



Another option is the HF 4x6 metal cutting bandsaw the thing is great and a lot of folks have used and still use it. Might not be practical in an apartment though.
 
I was not kidding about dust collection. You do create some fine dust when you grind steel, and it will travel further than you might think. My office at work is about 25' from the metal working area. We don't work metal every day, maybe a few times a week. A few years ago I was given some fish-shaped refrigerator magnets, which I put up on the metal window frame inside my office. Granted my office door is open most of the time, but about a year later I noticed each fish had a round black spot on it, turns out it was fine steel dust right over where the magnet was. And this was before we got the 2X72 grinder, now the fish are positively furry. On my wish list for the near future is dust collection for the grinders.

$300 won't buy a complete dust collection system, but it would buy a very good resipartor
 
I think this thread has drifted out of its original value ...not that there was much there. Thread closed.
 
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