I'm Throwing Away My Jigs

crocogator106

crocogator106

Joined
Nov 16, 2012
Messages
994
Let me start off by saying I am a Noobie at knife making. That being said I have been making knives for only a couple of months and have had some good results and some bad ones. I had been doing only one knife shape and made a grinding jig copied from the one in CJS Knives YouTube video....and it worked great. I thought I needed a jig because I lacked the confidence (and perhaps) knowledge to freehand my grinds. Last night I was starting a project for a friend if mine who is a Scoutmaster and wanted some simple knifes to give to some of his graduating scouts and as a final project they are going to make some leather sheaths for these knives. I told my friend not to expect anything great with my knives and I agreed to do them at cost. If nothing else I would get some valuable hands-on knowledge throughout the process.
Well I put one of these "new" knife shapes on my jig and it would not work. The grinds were all off so I thought "What the heck" and started to freehand grind the blades. I started off shakey but about the third knife everything just kind of clicked. To my surprise I was grind decent looking plunges free-handed....who would have thought:). Anyway I am tossing my jig (and plans to make others) and free-handing only from this point. I do want to get Fred's Bubble Jig to keep me straight and level but I'm free from the jigs! It's amazing what losing your fear and just grinding will do...thanks everyone on here for all their help and advice!!!
 
Once you learn to grind freehand you won't go back...... There was a time when using a tool rest while grinding was a hot button topic amongst knifemakers..... Won't even get into what those guys would've thought about a CNC.

Edited to add..... Grab $10 worth of the big paint strikers and a cheap 120 ao belt to practice.
 
Awesome! Im jig free as well, never felt so much freedom! Lol
Im addicted to my plunge guide though!!:p
Greg
 
Congratulations on becoming jig free! It really does free your knife making creativity up. Plus, I'm no longer looking for my jig when I start grinding! Good luck and keep practicing, it will get easier and then you'll start trying different things. That's when the real fun/frustration will begin :)
 
Thanks for the encouragement guys. I will have alot of finish and touch-up work and sanding to do on the blades but I have real satisfaction in my progression so far.
 
I'm down in your neck of the woods doing a favor for a wife's friend... You live near Citronelle don't ya?

BTW Batson's is in a few weeks....first weekend in April.
 
Will Leavitt said:
I'm down in your neck of the woods doing a favor for a wife's friend... You live near Citronelle don't ya?

BTW Batson's is in a few weeks....first weekend in April.
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I'm not sure where Citronelle is. I'm about 45 miles North or Auburn (I-85) and 45 miles South of Anniston (I-20).
 
It always amuses me how Knifemakers feel dirty if they use a jig. Like they are cheating. Every other type of craftsman or artisan uses them and brags each time they come up with new cool jigs. Each time I visit my Uncle Ray's shop I marvel at all the jigs, fixtures, and patterns he has stuck in corners all over the place. He died 7 or 8 years ago now, but we have left the shop just as it was so that you can still learn from Ray every time you're there.

I use jigs for my Scandi grinds. I freehand the convex and higher flat grinds. If I thought I could make it easier faster and better with a jig though, I'd be on it.
 
Jigs are great for specific tasks, but don't replace the hand-eye coordination needed to use a grinder in general.
I agree that there are some tasks that would be very difficult without a jig....like grinding perfectly even plunges. A simple carbide filing/grinding guide makes that task a breeze.....but the person still guides the operation by hand-eye skills.
 
I could not agree more Andy. Everyone is different. Use what works

-Jim
 
Mitchell Knives said:
No one NEEDS a jig.

Learn to grind freehand first, then decide if you want to try a jig.
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Before we start throwing tools in a pile and setting fire to them does it make seance to ask why? When I read this I think of the picture of the smith in Pakistan, holding his work in the forge fire with one foot while hammering the steel with his small hammer. This man would rush into the jig burning fire, trying to rescue something useful. Casting aside any tool is throwing away one more possibility, one more way to approach your work.

Tom Lewis said:
Good decision. Jigs limit what you can do. Freehand gives unlimited possibilities.
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Jigs and fixtures do not limit what you can do at all; they add to your skill set. You will never hear this from a welder, carpenter, surveyor, machinist or any other tool centered job. I only hear this in the knifemakers world. Why is that?

Bigblue17 said:
Except those(me) who lack the full use of one hand/arm.:grumpy:
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We are not all the same, thank God, each of us is singular, we are not all alike with the same possibilities as Bigblue has pointed out.

This is not a plug for my invention; its a plug for working smarter. Don't limit yourself by saying no; do not constrain yourself in your rush to be creative.

Happy grinding, Fred
 
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