Grinder attachments?

[Ratking20]

So i built my grinder. Just waiting on some glass for my platen. I have a standard flat platen. A small wheel attachment(5 sizes from 1/2"- 1")on the way. And i will eventually get a large contact wheel(not sure on size yet?)

My question is. What are each attachments mostly used for? Large wheel for hollow grinds. Small wheels for finger grooves and serations. What attachment do people mostly use for profiling? Flat or large wheel?

 

[AVigil]

Large wheels are far better for profiling . They have less friction on the belt when grinding and your belts will last much longer and run much cooler.

 

[Geoff Flato]

My take on profiling is that it depends on the piece of steel you start with. If you start with a bar and grind it entirely to shape, a contact wheel is FAR better. If you use a vertical bandsaw and cut pretty well dead on your scribe line, I feel a platten (or even a disc sander) is a better option as you're not removing metal so much as cleaning up and squaring the edge.
As for the dividing line between when to use a wheel or platten? That really something you need to figure out for yourself.

 

[kuraki]

3" wheel on my horizontal grinder does a lot of clean up work on profiles.
6" wheel is nice for deep steep hollows and some handle work.
8" the same but more useful for handles.
10" seems to be a default recommendation for hollows but I rarely use mine
12" I use for most hollows and hogging profiles
I'm ordering a 14" today for hollows but would rather a 20".

 

[Ratking20]

Since large contact wheels are pretty expensive. what size wheel should i grab now to start of with. what one size covers a wider range of uses. 8 or 10 maybe?

 

[Busto]

Depending on style of knife the 10" is more practical for hollows on hunting and tactical knives. You can achieve a nice Saber grind with the 10" on 5-7" tactical/Camp knives.