Grind-In at Ethan's, Spring 2014

james terrio

james terrio

Sharpest Knife in the Light Socket
Joined
Apr 15, 2010
Messages
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Your buddy JT opened his big mouth about doing a little sharpening/grinding seminar at Ethan's Gathering next month, and response has been super positive.

My idea is to get a couple pros to volunteer to provide guidance and tips, and help folks to grind their very own knife. Not too sure about the pros yet, but if nothing else, I'll be there... ;)

Here's where we're at so far...

Ethan's OK with us using his grinder. THANK YOU!

Chuck and Aldo have both agreed to send a bunch of top-quality high-carbon steel (1080+ and 1084) for us to grind on. It'll come to my shop and I'll bring it to the Gathering. THANK YOU!

I can bring a few new high-quality belts to work with. I'll also bring some layout tools for people to learn about and use. Anyone who wants to chip in belts or any other tools, please do.

Safety will be paramount. I can provide safety glasses to wear while grinding. A dust-mask would not be a bad idea. UPDATE: Murphnuge will likely be able to bring some disposable dust masks.

The steel will be about 1/8" thick... just about perfect for making a handy necker or EDC. As for drilling, I'm not sure how Ethan's shop is set up for that. I'll drill holes for pins/bolts later in my own shop if necessary. UPDATE: looks like we're good to go with the drill press. I'll bring a small selection of twist drills to be sure we're covered on that end.

Steel and belts will be FREE for participants. I've covered the shipping costs to make sure we get it in time, and TMHunt has very generously chipped in.

I'm still working out the details regarding HT, but I have a couple ideas... I'll let y'all know how that goes ASAP. Again, suggestions are welcome. UPDATE: lots of updates and ideas on this... please read through this thread for details.

Everyone loves pics and videos of this sort of thing. If you're willing and able to bring a camera and document the fun, please sing out here! UPDATE: we now have a couple volunteers for this, but more are certainly welcome.

People who just want to sharpen or mod their Beckers are absolutely welcome. This is all about promoting Becker Knives, the Beckerhead community and the sheer joy of learning new skills - especially for those that might not try it otherwise.

SO! Who's in? Wanna make your own knife among friends? Wanna make your favorite Becker even sweeter and more personal? Wanna help other folks learn to grind at the coolest Gathering around? Let's hear your thoughts. :)

Sign up in this thread , and I'll update a list of participants here as we go along... I have enough steel on the way for 15-20 small knives, so don't be shy...

Participant Sign-Up List:
dynamicmoves
mountainmist UPDATE: I will have to insist that any minors have a parent/guardian present.
axesbold
tradewater
Dexwithers
gmoneyluv
1066vik
ponq
The PointyEnd
OzarkDave
zuluninja
Psyop
Col Defender

Instructors/Sponsors/Volunteers
Ethan Becker - Host Extraordinaire, various tools and materials
James Terrio - knifemaking instruction, general PITA
Aldo Bruno - 1084 steel sponsor
Chuck Burrows - 1080+ steel sponsor
Todd Hunt - knifemaking instruction, belt sponsor
DexWithers - sharpening instruction, strops
tradewater - videography/photography, cutting up potatoes for no reason whatsoever
1066vik - HT forge/quenchant/anvil
The Pointy End - sharpening instruction
tackett13 - knifemaking instruction, propane forge
 
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I'll be observing and learning, donno about grinding though. I completely messed up my BK14 on my angle grinder, this would be a great opportunity to fix it.

Thanks for putting this on! :thumbup:
 
This is really decent JT... I'm 90% sure I can make the gathering and would love to hang out by the grinder for awhile... thanks!
 
Sounds awesome!! I'm in.
And I know there was someone asking about the lansky sharpening method. I can also help out explaining that system if needed. I have a few different lansky sets I can bring along as well.

Maybe I'll try and make a few strops and bring them along as well. I'm sure a few people who haven't used one before would love to learn.
 
This sounds Awesome James. Too bad I can't make it down to Ethan's. I just got a hunk of O1 that I hope to start grinding on soon.

If anyone can film some of this seminar and post it for the people that are not able to attend that would be very much appreciated.

Jeremy
 
dresnor said:
This sounds Awesome James. Too bad I can't make it down to Ethan's. I just got a hunk of O1 that I hope to start grinding on soon.

If anyone can film some of this seminar and post it for the people that are not able to attend that would be very much appreciated.

Jeremy
Click to expand...

Got you covered.
 
I can probably bring some belts. What are you thinking? Ceramic 36-120 grit and finish on a scotchbrite medium? Should be good enough for a beginner blade.
 
I'm in if I can find time at the grinder.
I'll also see what I've got handy for wood scale stock -- should have some cumaru &/or walnut scraps to play with.
 
I have a grizzly grinder I can probably pack up and bring too. Not ideal for a beginner, but could still work. Would he allow us to make an expedient earthen forge? I have a spare anvil I can bring. What about quenchant? Is this being covered?
 
I can bring a small anvil (50-60 pounds) and possibly a chunk of rail plus a couple of hammers.
I should have a gallon or so of canola or peanut oil we can use as a quenchant
it won't eke ALL the potential of the steel out, but will do a pretty good job.
I also have a cast iron portable fire pit that can be used as a forge if you prefer that to digging a hole - it just needs a reasonable air source.
do you have a toaster oven for tempering after the initial quench?
 
This is awesome please let us know if there is anything else we should bring. I'm a total noob.
 
tradewater said:
Got you covered.
Click to expand...
Murphnuge said:
I can get a bunch of the 3M cheap white dust masks from work.
Click to expand...
Dexwithers said:
And I know there was someone asking about the lansky sharpening method. I can also help out explaining that system if needed. I have a few different lansky sets I can bring along as well.

Maybe I'll try and make a few strops and bring them along as well. I'm sure a few people who haven't used one before would love to learn.
Click to expand...

Outstanding :thumbup:

RSKT said:
I can probably bring some belts. What are you thinking? Ceramic 36-120 grit and finish on a scotchbrite medium? Should be good enough for a beginner blade.
Click to expand...

Yeah, that sounds perfect!

I haven't worked out the HT details; basically what I'm thinking is send them off to Peters' for HT with my next batch... but that requires a bit of a wait and a few bucks for shipping. So if you guys want to set up a basic forge and can of quench oil, that would be awesome. (the main reasons I'm bringing 1080/1084 is that it's easy to work with, and about as easy to HT as it gets, even with minimal/primitive equipment)
 
james terrio said:
Outstanding :thumbup:



Yeah, that sounds perfect!

I haven't worked out the HT details; basically what I'm thinking is send them off to Peters' for HT with my next batch... but that requires a bit of a wait and a few bucks for shipping. So if you guys want to set up a basic forge and can of quench oil, that would be awesome. (the main reasons I'm bringing 1080/1084 is that it's easy to work with, and about as easy to HT as it gets, even with minimal/primitive equipment)
Click to expand...

I can volunteer my HT service, 1080, 1084 Ive never worked with but its about as simple as can be as far as heat treat is concerned. I won't charge anything as long as the participants cover the shipping. Also, it would cut down drastically on the turn around time.
 
This is simply an outstanding idea. I'll help any way I can, and can prolly bring a few goodies to help out as well.
 
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