Grizzly Knife Grinder

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Hey one more question....Bikermike, what is that your knife is resting on..how does it work? Can you just pass that along the wheel and it keeps your knife in the same position? Thanks!
 
Okay this is an old thread, and I feel stupid asking but I can't quite get a straight answer. I am looking for a decent grinder mainly for sharpening knives and tools, maybe doing small amounts of metal shaping. The grizzly just seems like the belt speed is way too fast for sharpening knives... is this correct?
can't believe how freaking expensive it is for a few steel wheels mounted to a damn motor! I really don't want to spend 1000 bucks for sharpening machetes and big knives I can't handle free hand. The speed is really my concern, I current don't own much for a grinder, just something not worth mentioning!
 
The Grizzly is as fast as any 1750 RPM grinder with an 8" direct drive wheel.
If you know what you are doing, it will sharpen very well.
Any variable speed machine will cost much more.
 
i have a grizzly, and am able to get great edges on it. Its all about technique and not letting the belt overheat the blade. For me it has been a great entry level grinder....will likely step up soon, but the grizzly is a decent all grinder for the money IMO.
 
I modded mine to variable speed, but even stock it was a good sharpener. I wish I had bought a kmg, Wilmot or tw90 though.
 
The Grizzly is a good grinder. It is not without its drawbacks but a decent machine nonetheless. Some people do a mod similar to the one in the thread below which will greatly help tracking of the belt. You can sharpen well on the Griz but as was mentioned technique is key. Use light pressure and keep the blade cooled. Folks who get a Grizzly eventually step up to better machines but they usually keep the Griz around too because it is a useful machine. I stepped up to the TW-90 but I still have and use my Griz.




http://www.bladeforums.com/forums/showthread.php/1289987-Grizzly-2x72-grinder
 
Same here-I got a Bader B-3 six or seven years ago and I still use the grizzly for buffing and a suprising amount of grinding, as well as commercial sharpening. The fact that you can hop from platen to contact wheel to slack belt is a pretty useful option.
 
Overall, the Grizzly is the most machine FOR THE MONEY that you will find. It's a compromise in all respects, but as Mr. Bensinger said- it has a 1750 RPM buffer, fixed platen, large contact wheel, and available slack portion without any changes being made. I have a Hardcore 2 X 72 also, but when my very old Grizzly went south I ordered another without hesitation. I usually leave a coarse belt on the Grizzly, and a very fine belt on the Hardcore.
 
I combined mine with a cheap shopsmith off Craigslist for variable speed. A few shims under the grizzly and a lovejoy coupling on the shaft. It gets the job done until I can afford something better

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This is what I'm working on now.
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It's a ridiculously hard working tool, but probably wasn't designed by a knifemaker- It's not that well set up for what we do, though you can do a lot with it if you work with its limitations.
I've been running one daily for 6 or 7 years, the only problem I've had is with the switch, and that was simple to fix myself.

If I quit making knives tomorrow, I'd still have one in the middle of my fab. shop just because it's so handy for everything else.
 
Wow thanks dudes.
As you were saying you can sharpen pretty well, as long as you have good technique, for example using light pressure... there in lies an issue for me. If I wanted to do convexing as well as V grinding, if I have to use light pressure, i'm not sure if i'll be able to get the belt to slack out enough for the convex, because you need a bit more pressure.

Maybe the grizzly is perfect because I mainly wanted to buy it for my father, since his grinder is terrible and he needs something, but I also wanted to be able to stop over and grind off edges on machetes and my friends knife, without sitting down at the Edgepro and going through all of that. Thanks for the info guys!
 
The Grizzly has infinitely adjustable blade length (within limits.) you can set the belt tension however you want.
 
for convex grinds, i take the flat platen off and push in right above the wheel. variable speed definately helps with convex though
 
I wanted to come back to the whole purchasing a grinder thing.
Been using my Edgepro apex for quite a while, and I absolutely love free hand sharpening BUT, I mentioned I wanted a grinder for quick repair work, and sharpening things like big machetes, axes and sometimes knives.
Well I ended up not getting the grizzly, but I did get the harbor freight 45 dollar belt sander, with some leather belts and some different grits.
I know I sound like a nub now but, man this thing does more than what I needed. It doens't need to be bolted down, doesn't vibrate all over the table and it really does a good job of sharpening, especially convex. There is a whole company/web site based on these grinders called "theedgemaster"
I am very pleased, the grinder is not as fast as I was afraid of. Sharpened many knives to hair popping no problem with heat!

I have decided this winter I am buying the Kalamazoo 1sm 1x42 grinder though. I want a bigger grinder, however the belt speed on the kalamazoo is almost half the speed of the grizzly. Looks perfect for me. Does anyone have a Kalamazoo? Its only like 260 bucks as apposed to 500 for the grizzly.

Thanks for the help as always, and grind on!
 
It's a simple push to maintain and pull to disconnect single pole switch. I don't know what else you are wanting to know. Could easily be replaced with a simple single pole light switch wired off to the side in a electrical box.
 
Just order a new switch from Grizzly. They have them in stock.
 
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