How to grind a hawkbill blade profile?

[Greebe]

I was curious how you would grind a inside curve like on a hawkbill style blade?

Specifically like the Spyderco Tasman Salt:

Thanks,
Greebe

 

[gomipile]

Very carefully. It is a lot easier to accidentally remove too much metal, or remove it in the wrong spot on a hawkbill.

On a knife with no recurve, you can lightly touch up the grind with a sweeping motion, only removing metal across a small area. If you accidentally use the same motion on a recurved portion of a blade, an adjacent part of the piece might hit the belt and get ground down accidentally.

 

[Greebe]

I wonder if you need to have a convex wheel on your belt grinder to get the inside curve on a hawkbill? That seems like it would be the way to go maybe. I didn't know if anyone here had done this profile before so thought I would see.

 

[John L]

I have ground a few and I split my 2 x 72 belt into either two or three belts. I then fracture the edges with a pc of steel to help in them folding over as in forming a rounded plunge. This helps in not digging in to the blade where you don't want it!! I also track the narrow belt over to the edge of my wheel and then use the edge of the wheel to increase width of grind rather than the edge of wheel forming the plunge and then using the middle of the wheel to extend grind. Kinda hard to explain...but easier to do. Just practice it a few times first!

 

[Patrickknives]

Its not as difficult as it may seem, I think the trick is to keep the curve perpendicular to the belt. This means rotating the blade as it passes over the belt. Keep the cuts light so you can see your grind line move up the blade. If the grind is uneven spend a little more time in that area.

 

[Greebe]

Thanks guys. Once I get my belt grinder project finished I will give it a try.