Grind/Sand from Tip to Plunge vs. Plunge to Tip?

Langadune

Langadune

Joined
Apr 19, 2012
Messages
212
In almost every how-to and advice thread I've seen, everyone seems to say you should grind/file/sand from Tip to Plunge. I've even seen some say that grinding/filing/sanding from Tip to Plunge will yield different results than griding/filing/sanding from Plunge to Tip.

Could someone explain why it matters and how the results will vary?
 
I've never heard anyone suggest grinding tip to plunge. I grind plunge to tip because it's near impossible for me to grind a nice plunge line going tip to plunge. Whichever way you do it, I don't see how it'd yield different results. Grind however you like as long as the end result is what you want.
The only advantage to going tip first that I can think of is the tip will develop less heat. That's not really a problem anyway if you dip the blade in water before it gets too hot.
 
I also never heard tip to plunge suggested. I can't imagine hand sanding tip to plunge without developing some serious fishhooks. What may work however is tip to plunge when using a grinder and a file guide.
 
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When grinding freehand I found it easier to ease into it about 1/4 inch from the plunge to the tip , and then lightly drag it back towards the plunge (almost no contact) and then hit that last 1/4 right to the plunge. This gave me much better plunge lines.
 
I agree with Tim. Grinding from the actual plunge can often leave "2 inch marks". Start a bit from the plunge, go just past the tip, reverse without moving the blade, and lift off as you reach the plunge.

Two Inch Marks are the dip in the blade made by holding the blade in one spot while trying to get the plunge straight. They usually make the edge thinner at that spot, and the bevel higher.
 
I had this quick little video on my computer that can explain my approach. I took this for a friend of mine that was asking something similar about a year ago..

I usually grind off of a tool rest these days, but the essential mechanics of it... i.e. starting ahead of the plunge, lightly sliding back into the plunge, and then going from plunge out to the tip are still pretty much the same.

For the tool rest haters... ;) :p I ground freehand like this for many years. I switched to the rest for more control and faster grind times.

[video=youtube;NrGQACu-gqg]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NrGQACu-gqg&feature=em-upload_owner[/video]
 
Hey Nick... I'm not able to view the video. When I click it I get a message that reads "This video is private."
 
Oops... sorry, I thought I could share it on the forum but not the ENTIRE youtube "community" with that setting.

I changed the settings.

Hope I didn't oversell its awesomeness...! :eek: Cuz it's not very exciting. :foot: LOL
 
Using an abrasive to cut something CANNOT leave the material perfectly flat or square. As the abrasive moves over the material, the abrasive is loaded with the removed material, and the abrasive has slight wear resulting in slightly less cut as it passes. If you flip the material over and grind from the other side, you cut better at the other edge resulting in a convex grind, however slight. To get something perfectly flat, or as close as possible, you need a proper cutter. Granted, the grinders we use for knives will grind "close enough" for our purpose, but you cannot get the precision you could from a mill.
 
Nice vid Nick, pretty much the same way I do it, except for the prayer that I don't screw it up before grinding.

A belt grinder isn't perfectly flat, no, but then I use leather backed sanding stick to put a slight convex to the bevels and edge during hand finishing. I have heard of hollow grinders having a series of different sized wheels to take into account the belt thickness to make there grinds.
 
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