I have been experimenting with 3D printed handles for holding blades while grinding the bevels. The photo shows my second prototype. The idea is to use one handle to hold a range of tang sizes using different wedges. The blue part below the tang that sticks out of the handle is the wedge and has a little shelf since this tang is not as tall as the hole in the handle. The handle has a through hole so that a piece of steel can be inserted from the back to knock the blade loose when done grinding. The blade is held very firmly and it is not possible to remove it by simply pulling on it. It seems solid, but I haven't used the handle for grinding yet, maybe I'll get to that tomorrow.
There are still some issues with tolerances on this prototype, the holes are smaller than they were designed by quite a lot and the wedges are bigger. The model is parametric, so I can easily adjust things. I'll probably print a few wedges for this handle to experiment with the tolerances and then make another handle that will fit the full range of tang sizes I typically use. If this handle works well and there is interest, I'd be happy to provide the CAD model (it is in OpenSCAD) or the STL files.
There are still some issues with tolerances on this prototype, the holes are smaller than they were designed by quite a lot and the wedges are bigger. The model is parametric, so I can easily adjust things. I'll probably print a few wedges for this handle to experiment with the tolerances and then make another handle that will fit the full range of tang sizes I typically use. If this handle works well and there is interest, I'd be happy to provide the CAD model (it is in OpenSCAD) or the STL files.
