Here's that double grinder again

After reading the website in a kind of sick fascination, I actually feel kind of bad for him. Although, I think I feel worse for anyone who swallows what he says whole.

I will say that the machine is a little surprising to me given my general assessment of him. The main thing that makes it work apparently is that one of the top wheels is an idler, while the other is mounted to a cross slide vise. Good simple adjustment method.

Give me a sharp 36 Blaze, I'll profile and rough hollow grind a decent blade in 7 min. the old 1-side-at-a-time way.
 
True, true. What is that machine using for belts on the double grinding side? Little narrow things, can't really tell but the wheels seem to have a pretty round surface that the belt hugs. I wonder why it's built this way, it seems that 2x72 would be preferable.

It also kind of reminds me of Phil Hartsfield's grinding, the belt ran upward on a platen and he jammed the blade down against it into a wedge-shaped jig, IIRC.

If using a couple of Grizzly grinders, it seems like you'd have to reverse one and use the opposite side of the wheel to grind, also the 8" wheel is smaller than the motor housing, is it not? Might have to go with the 10" contact wheels on both grinders.
 
I watched the video and have been following the thread but haven't seen anyone touch on one seeming apparent issue (apparent to me).

While we all strive for bigger better machines and new innovative time saving ways to do things this machine and the "Icemans's" claims, to me at least, seem to rip at the fabric of what I understood custom knife making to be. If he can truly whip out a fully ground blade in just a few minutes I would be surprised. It seems to take a little of the soul out of it. ALMOST among the ranks of buying pre-ground blades and putting handles on them. (nothing against that as long as it is not misrepresented) Obviously he can't make all grinds and shapes of knives. The description had overtones of: "Look at all those other fools that take hours to finish a knife when I can do it in minutes, oh and by the way I charge much less than those other guys which makes me better somehow because they just can't figure it out"

I don't know the maker nor have I seen his knives. He may be a great guy with great products, I just don't know. Cool machine, conveyed with a slightly weird attitude. That's how I looked at the situation.

(steps down from his horse) :)
 
Wloch
Lets face it we knifemakers are mostly tool junkies, If we can get a tool that can possibly help us grind a blade quicker and more consistantly from the right to the left side then I would like to check it out.
I do ok matching the right and left sides of my grinds, but if there were a grinder available to make them identical it might speed up my process slightly.
It could and would never make obsolete my 2x72 single belt grinder but might find a place in my shop.
CW
 
Chris,

I totally agree. I have some tools more or less just to have them. I'm not denying it is a cool piece of machinery but just pointing out the peripheral ideas I thought were conveyed on his page advertizing the grinder.

Nathan
 
Yeah, as a maker myself I found the attitude a bit offensive. I'd be surprised if that machine turns out hollow grinds as nicely matching and ground as a lot of the work I see around here, for instance. I find myself perhaps being too negative about this topic, I'll just finish by saying that the grinds on any of the knives pictured did not impress me.

I will concede that it may speed up the rough grinding process. Thanks for the interesting link Sam, I'll try not to grumble on your post any further...
 
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I was going to make a machine vaguely similar to either of those (...it was back in the winter of '95...) but after running coarse Blaze belts at 5400 fpm, you learn how to rough in hollow bevels ridiculously fast, and that there is a lot of difference from one side of the wheel to the other (at least on the wheels I can afford) so set up becomes more critical. I make a bunch of little corrections for imperfections in belt, wheels, platens, etc, that still don't quite add up to perfect. I doubt I could get another machine (essentially 2 machines face to face) to really grind better, though it would be good at making multiple blades with the same imperfections.

I am seeing an advantage if you like to hollow grind and push the hollow back up the blade, I have not mastered that freehand...

Rough bevels in my shop are faster (when the belts are fresh that is... I use 'em right to the bitter, biittter end) than any other operation! Wish I could profile and especially finish faster! I often watch movies on a laptop while drilling holes!

I guess I could watch movies while hollow grinding blades?

It's a cool toy! Thanks for posting!
 
The grinder in the razor video is my grinder. When I was building it I thought it would be the cats ass, as it is, it is a good roughing tool. Now days I mainly use the tool for thicknessing materials for razor handles. The grinder does an ok job of grinding but it only does it one way. I prefer having more variability in my razor grinding I do most of my grinding on my single wheel grinder. I am thinking about taking it apart and making two grinders out of it.

It was one of those ideas that was better on paper than in practice.

Charlie
 
I've gotta agree with Salem and Michael. Rough-grinding the bevels isn't the time consuming part (though I don't do it in 7 minutes). What about all the sanding & polishing? Now you've gotta swap two belts and re-calibrate the machine if you're belt finishing? I hope those belts all wear at exactly the same rate.

In order to speed up my production rate I'd need to re-design the underside of my handle to be more compatible with my tools. That would be the biggest time saver. After that, learn to belt finish. After that? CAD drawings sent to a waterjet operator to get profiled & drilled blanks in batches for my standard designs would be the biggest time saver.


-Daizee
 
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