Help! Angle for scandi grind

S

stan.maxwell

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Feb 21, 2015
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I just got a KMG grinder and I'm just starting out making knives. I've made a jig out of two angle iron brackets that hold the knife blank in place. Now my question is at what angle do I set my platen too?. I have a digital angle finder but i am stuck on what angle I should sit it at. I read some where it should be set at 34 degrees? Any help would be greatly appreciated. Thanks.
 
Welcomet o Bladeforums.
Knifemaking Q/A belongs in Shoptalk, moving this thread there.
 
I'm not sure what you are asking?

The platen can be at any angle you are comfortable grinding at. Most set the platen at vertical ( 90°).

The work table or jig can be set at the desired bevel angle. If doing a 34° ( inclusive) scandi grind, set the table at 17° to the platen.

If using a digital angle gauge, set it on the platen and zero it. Now set it on the blade, work table, or jig and adjust to read 17°. Grind the blade on both sides and you will have a 34° scandi edge.
 
My work bench is not adjustable, its the standard KMG Grinder work rest. The jig is also not adjustable, its just two pieces of angle iron screwed together to hold the knife upright. So to use this jig I figured I'd need to adjust the flat platen to desired angle?. So I'd set the platen to 17°?. I'm not even 100% sure 34° is even the right angle. Thanks Stacy.
 
It all comes down to what you want the angle to be at.. If you want the knife to be a more heavy user (i.e. a lot of battoning or chopping etc.), then a steeper angle is what you'd want. If you want it to be used for more precise work (i.e. whitting, carving etc.), then a shallower angle is want you'd want. Also the angle is relative to the thickness of the bar stock you're using. I think 15 or less degrees for 1/8" - 5/32" thick stock is pretty standard, although it's been a long time since I made a scandi knife, so I may be wrong on that. What type of steel are you using and what is the thickness of it?

~Paul
My YT Channel Lsubslimed
 
5/32 01 tool steel, I'd be making your typical Bush craft "woodlore" clone knife. Although I do want to do some scandi carving knives. Thanks Paul
 
11-12 degrees per side for scandi. That's with 1/8in thick stock. If you're gonna use it hard do 12 or so. If you want a real good cutter/carver go 11 or even a little less
 
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Stan if you go back to shop talk look for a thread that I started yesterday titled "grind angles" there is a picture of the chart that was in the link I posted. Again not sure exactly if it's what your looking for as I'm still very new to this but hope it helps
 
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