I'm an inexperienced knife enthusiast, and I will be grinding on the tang to thin and possibly taper it with the goal of lightening the knife. I plan to use a small clamp to secure 1/2" thick copper slabs to the ffg blade after storing them in the freezer overnight. I also plan to have a cold water bucket to dunk the blade after each pass on the grinder, and the belt will be wet. I'll be working on a cheap craftsman 2x48 grinder with the stock belt (I think it's around 100 grit). Does this sound like it will work to prevent heat build up? Should I even bother with the copper slabs, or will the wet belt/dunking in water be enough on its own?
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Grinding knife post ht
- Thread starter 91wm6
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You should be fine w/o plates just keep it cool by dunking it when it gets too hot to hold bare handed. Scribe a center line down both sides of the tang (edge) to give a reference line.
Great! Thanks for the help.
Stacy E. Apelt - Bladesmith
ilmarinen - MODERATOR
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Forget the freezer and the copper.
Grind with fresh belts and moderate speed. Make a pass and dunk in room temp water. Use bare hands and watch that you don't overheat the tip or edge. Those thin places may turn blue in a millisecond. A few small blue spots that are quickly dunked won't destroy the blade, but if a big area gets blue or the whole tip does, the blade may be ruined.
Make sure your belt type can stand being wet. Some cheaper belts have glue that will get gummy, or joints that will come apart if wet.
Realize that all this may be fruitless and the knife may be ruined. Unless the blade is completely disassembled ( no handle or guard), you have the equipment and grinding skills needed, and you hand sand it well after the thinning, the knife may end up really ugly. Also, you will not lighten the blade much by what you are describing. It takes a lot of thinning to make any real weight change. You may affect the balance, but without some details and photos ( which should always be given with a post like this one), it is impossible to say.
Grind with fresh belts and moderate speed. Make a pass and dunk in room temp water. Use bare hands and watch that you don't overheat the tip or edge. Those thin places may turn blue in a millisecond. A few small blue spots that are quickly dunked won't destroy the blade, but if a big area gets blue or the whole tip does, the blade may be ruined.
Make sure your belt type can stand being wet. Some cheaper belts have glue that will get gummy, or joints that will come apart if wet.
Realize that all this may be fruitless and the knife may be ruined. Unless the blade is completely disassembled ( no handle or guard), you have the equipment and grinding skills needed, and you hand sand it well after the thinning, the knife may end up really ugly. Also, you will not lighten the blade much by what you are describing. It takes a lot of thinning to make any real weight change. You may affect the balance, but without some details and photos ( which should always be given with a post like this one), it is impossible to say.