Grinding tip struggle. (updated Pic)

I dont do scandi grinds, but i suppose if i did being that they are a very rudementary grind i would use a jig on my machine... and intern not a monkey, but a simpleton with no character.
 
Make the best knife you can with what you've got.

BTW - I think drill presses, mills, and bandsaws are nothing more than motorized jigs. Further food for thought - the BubbleJig is actually a guide and no jig at all.

EA
 
I have done a few scandi's and find them very difficult to keep at the proper angle throughout the entire blade. Especially on the curve of the cutting edge. They may look fine but the mistakes become blatantly obvious when trying to sharpen for the first time on a stone.

I agree with Rick 100% that throwing a blanket statement "Real Knifemakers don't use jigs. Your tool rest could be considered a jig when you think about it. I have a jig I used once to do a scandi, and it didn't eliminate all of the issues associated with that style blade.
 
Rick Marchand said:
What is wrong with a jig?..... I don't get it. Many good makers use them.... especially for Scandi grinds.

this config seems to get past the tip problem...

IMG_09y78_op_776x643.jpg

DozierGrinder0725-03.jpg
Click to expand...

how does the jig on the top pic work?? place the blade on the top of the bar?? did you make that?

i need something as I've just finished my first knife and pretty much made a really decent grind go bad.. After heat treat I was working the edge and my grind is getting further off and pretty much sucks at this point... Its passable for my first 'finished' knife but its been a learning curve.. thing is this is for the necker contest, its sharp as heck but I'm not happy with the tip at all and I've managed to make the bevel much larger.. :)

I intend to send it in anyway as I have no intentions of winning I simply entered so it would put a flame underneath me to finish a knife !!! the only chance I've had lately to work on a knife is when I come up for air..
 
It is essentially an angled tool rest. The blade sits flat on the bar which allows you to swivel it at the tip. As long as you stay perpendicular to the cutting edge the bevel will remain constant. The guys to talk to are Andy at Fiddleback Forge, Dan Koster and BMK in this thread. Those are not my pictures. The top one is BMK's and the bottom one is Dan Koster's.

unknown craftsman...
grind4.jpg


Rick
 
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I don't like the narrow tool rest. Once you get near the tip, then the rest of the blade is just hanging off the edge. I MUCH prefer to have enough size to the tool rest that I can securely lay the blade on it. I have ground about 150 scandi blades, ALL freehand and I would gladly put them up against anyone else's grind... But if I were to do more of them, I would use the tool rest that I built to do clip grinds on my blades.

It's got plenty of width, and I can adjust it to any angle I want. :)

216.jpg


217.jpg
 
That is a whole lotta steel being held up by just that one handle. :)

And here I was gonna use a Vice, set my clip level with a height gauge, and clamp to a sine plate, then surface grind.

This is much easier, Thanks Nick!
 
If I were doing a scandi grind, I'd absolutely use a jig. There's no way of getting around it for a consistent angle.
 
Nice 1 Nick. It's hard to argue against the advantage of a jig for really short grinds like your clips or even a scandi. For me, there is not enough surface area to feel the grind or hold the angle.
 
here's a pic of the knife I made, I couldn't get my camera to cooperate on mac so I'll have to take another up close and personal of the edge itself once I find out who's been didling with the camera function..

IMG_2597.jpg
 
richard j said:
real knifemakers dont use jigs though ;):D
Click to expand...

:mad:

Not alot of love for the blade grinding jig here huh? I use one alot, and it's something I feel like I should be ashamed of admitting because of some of the folks here. Jigs here and there for everything else, but you're a fraud if you use one for blade grinding. :rolleyes:

Anyway. Sorry if I'm not a "real" knifemaker. I'm still using my jig and having alot of fun making and completing knives, and making the most out of my materials instead of filling my rusty fail bucket.

Here's one that's completely jig ground. Full flat grind. Had a blast doing it. (My first sale here on Bladeforums.)

tradtanto.jpg
 
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It is nothing to get worked up over, Josh. Some things were said in jest, others with underlying less-than-honorable intent. Jigs are just another tool/process/service at our disposal... just like forging, grinding, files, taps, toolrests, sanding paddles, outsourced HT, cryo, laser/waterjet, mills, etc... the list goes on. Different makers hold certain ideals that suit the way THEY make knives. It is in human nature to try and validate/defend your particular philosophy or "way". We just have to step back, be honest and ask ourselves "Is my way the only way?"...... the answer is obviously NO.

We are trying to shift the mood in Shop Talk to avoid insults, thread drift and general bad vibes. As Stacy suggests, it's fine to point out disapproval but avoid contributing to the problem.

Rick
 
Sure thing Rick. After reading the Serge/Steven thing, I sure don't want to see any more of that. I'm going to continue having fun with this no matter what.
 
Josh,

Rick nailed it: A jig is a tool like any other tool.

Beautiful knife BTW!

Jeff
 
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The way I see it if it helps, do it. There's no loss of "honor" because you turn out a consistent grind a different way. I'll use what ever advantage I can get, personally.
 
Scandi's aren't about grinding skill. They are about economy and efficiency. I've yet to take a hand done Scandi to a stone and not see high spots. I use a jig for them. I have one where you move the knife. and one where you move the jig itself with the knife clamped in. I like both, and both work fine.
 
I don't use jigs, and anyone who does is a big fat BABY! In fact I don't use my eyes either. I keep them closed. If you have to rely on your eyes rather than your sense of touch then you're no knife maker. Sometimes I only use my left (non-dominant) hand to make complete knives because if you have to depend upon your dominant hand, well, there's just no hope for mankind. Sometimes I use my feet (both of them though), but not so much lately because I hurt my shoulder and it hurts too much to stand on my hands for the three or four minutes it takes to grind a 17 inch bowie out of 1/4 inch c3u1vm-t2 steel.

I haven't actually finished a knife yet, but I would never sink so low as to do or use anything to help me make a better knife.

;-) ;-) ;-) ;-) ;-) ;-) ;-) ;-)

- Paul (Tall Tale) Meske
 
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