How do you do sweeping plunge lines

J

J. Hoover

Joined
Jul 2, 2006
Messages
1,782
I have been playing with sweeping plunge lines and even though I'm getting better I just believe I don't have the right dog hunting. How do some of you do yours?
 
I hang the belt over the edge of the platen by 1/4", then with some light pressure, I grind the bevel, and I screw them up all the time. I seem to spend a lot of my time correcting them and keeping them even. Hope this helps.
 
Run the belt off the platen or wheel if your hollow grinding and try that the farther you run the belt over the more it will sweep out and make that round look. Also the stiffness of yoru belt will have a bit to do with it and like every thing practice has alot to do with it.
 
Thanks fellows, maybe I'm doing them the right way, just need more practice. I'm having a hard time getting them to match. I appreciate the help.
 
A friend of mine showed me a platen he uses, it's thick hardened steel with a 45 deg. bevell on the edge. He runs the belt over the edge and uses the bevell to make a neat "chamfered" plunge. On a couple of knives I've (I flat grind almost exclusivly) used the contact wheel verticly to blend the plunge line after flat grinding normaly. Hope this helps.
 
I just go slowly and then clean up with files and sandpaper. It's always tempting to try to devise a special radiused platen or something which I know some guys do, but at the end of the day I think freehand is best. Why? For me, the aesthetics help dictate the ideal radius for any given blade, and there's no *one* radius that will look right on every one. If you go and make a special platen, the radius may look just right on a mid-sized fighter but will look way too big on a small dagger or way too small on a big bowie. Free hand gives you compete control of the outcome, which I find rather desireable :)
 
This can be easily done freehand (after a bit of practice) with a rounding hammer and forge.
 
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