just starting - suggestions

D

Drache

Joined
Apr 29, 2001
Messages
16
I have ordered Wayne Goddards $50 Knife Shop. While I wait for it I a looking for a good belt sander. I am running on a budget of about $200 for the grinder. Can someone point me to an online site with good belt sander (maybe with a disc sander) in this price range. I have found some, but don't know exactially what I am looking for (1" wide, 2" wide, length of belt, rpm/fpm?) any help is appreciated.

also, is there any other knife making books that would be helpfull for a beginer?

thanks for your help, more questions will follow I'm sure.

~Drache~
drachefire@yahoo.com
 
Like you I am just starting out myself. I bought a bench grinder and will get a disc sander to add to it. I have heard this is fine for starting out it will at least help grinding down a knife and help me get the hang of what is going on, later I will probably get a belt grinder for more advanced knives, but for now I'll be happy with a disk grinder. Rob Fink also has a beveled disc that allows you to grind longer pieces, I have not used it but I hear it works good.

I got the grinder off UBID for $32 total and I can buy a flat disc from www.kovalknives.com for around $16 and Rob Fink's beveled disc for $50-$55 (Worth the price) ((EDIT)I have not bought Rob's disc grinder yet I am just throwing the idea out there)

I also have a set of Cobalt drills from Sears for $20, a Black and Decker jigsaw for $20, and two great files one flat with double and single cut sides for $10 and a $5 round file both from Home Depot.

I don't know your level of experience but there is a link to jonesy's tutorial for making your first knife, it is a good spot to get a few ideas on knife making and get you started.

Until I get the hang of it this stuff should do good for me.
 
If you have a Sears close by, they have a decent combo grinder for less than $200.
Mark
 
I have been looking for 2" belt grinders (it seems that is what everybody is using) and I found a Craftsman on the sears site (thanks for the tip Gouge) for $199.99. It has a 2X42" Belt, an 8" disc sander, and one HP motor. There is a picture at

http://www.sears.com/data/product_images/tools/large/00921528000-dlv.jpg

Has anyone used this one? I feel like I am asking too many questions about the same thing, but I don't want to get it if it wont work. thank you for your help,
~Drache~
 
Here's a thought. Harbor Freight has a 6X48 belt / 9" disc combo for under $200 when it's on sale (a few time a year). At least one famous knife maker, Lloyd Hale, ground his bowies on a Sears equivalent, so it can be done. Also, I'm pretty sure that you'd find more grits in 6X48 than in 2X42. Someone correct me quickly if I'm wrong on that!

Dave
 
Drache, I'm a newbie, and I started on a Sears machine, and then I got a Grizzly G1015 knife belt sander. My advice is to save an extra 125 dollars or so and get the Grizzly. It's on sale for $275 + $48 shipping. The Grizzly has a fairly strong 1-HP motor that can do profiling with a coarse belt, 2x72, adjustable tracking, platen, 8" contact wheel, and buffer. You can grind gradual transitions by tracking the belt off the edge of the platen. Good quality 2x72 belts are easily found at knifemaker supply stores, and they work longer and are more cost effective than the aluminum oxide belts for the 2x42, 1x42, and 1x30 sizes. I drove myself crazy trying to do good grinds with the Sears and I had to stop the machine often for fear that the little underpowered Sears motors would start throwing sparks and burning up. This is just my opinion though, if some big knifemaker has better advice, then please just ignore me (I'm just a newbie :D ).
 
I'm also a newbie and I have a craftsman 2X42 1hp grinder like you are looking at. I used it grinding blades when I was first starting out. I had no problems with it being underpowered and it is a decent machine for what it is. Belts are a little harder to find and the grit selection isnt as great as 2X72 belts. I just recently bought a grizzly grinder and other than some problems getting the tracking adjusted right I'm happy with it. I now use the grizzly for grinding the blades and the craftsman for profiling and handle work.
 
Thanks everybody, I really like the Grizzly, but wont have enough money for it for a while, like income tax day (and I want one now!) So the final choices for right now is the sears 1HP motor 2 X 42 and 8" disc or the Harbor Freight 1HP, 6 X 48 belt and a 9" disc. They are both the same price, the later comes with a stand. Which would be better? a wider belt and bigger disc better, or a thinner belt and smaller disc?

Depending on how much I get into knife making I will probably get one of those nice Grizzlys. for now I just want something to work with. I probably need to make a forge for heat treating too, that will be my next adventure.

~Drache~
 
People argue all the time as to how you're going to get into knifemaking with the cheapest/easiest route.

I think you'd be best off to get a couple good files and 3 feet of high quality steel and make a few blades with that before you start spending too much money.

To me, it's not wise to buy tools in the present time if you know they're not what you ultimately want. It may satisfy part of the urge, but it will in fact only put you further away from the finances needed to buy what you REALLY WANT.

If you can't see eye to eye with me on that, then I'd recommend the 6X48 out of those two choices as it's a mahine that will still have many uses even after upgrading to a 2X72" machine i.e. flattening stock, handle material, tapering tangs on wide blades, etc.

There is a wealth of information out there.

Another book to look for is "How to Make Knives" by Loveless and Barney. Go to Amazon.com and look up knifemaking, you'll find all sorts of books. Unfortunately you most likely won't be able to check them out at libraries as they are stolen 90% of the time.

The BEST thing you could do is find a knifemaker close by and ask him politely if you could watch him work sometime. Proper etiquette is to watch carefully, and you'll learn more than you can handle in your first visit! :)

Just another viewpoint,
Nick
 
Originally posted by Drache
Thanks everybody, I really like the Grizzly, but wont have enough money for it for a while, like income tax day...snip
~Drache~
Click to expand...

Drache,
Here is a cheaper option - Go to the Amazon.com web site, and buy the book "Wayne Goddard's $50 Knife Shop" (On sale for about $13)

Go to the Grizzly site, and order the 10" contact wheel for their knife grinder - the contact wheel is $67. Then build a copy of Wayne's grinder (Plans in the book). If you have a motor hanging around, you should be able to do it for about $5 - 10 after the contact wheel

That's what I'm doing, to replace my 1x42
 
I agree with Nick, you can spend a lot of money making knives, on steel, handle material, guard material and not to mention the money you'll spend on machinery,belts, drill bits, sandpaper,etc,etc.Unless you have a bunch of money to spend, start slow and buy good equipment as you go, or build it. Buy quality and buy once its a lot cheaper in the long run.
I started making metal removal knives back in the early 90s using a 3 X 18 hand held belt sander, files and a hand held drill, oh don't forget my bench vise. Just to see if this is something I wanted to do or just throught it was something I wanted to do. As time went on I learned more and more from my primitive equipment, so I built a 2x48 belt sander then I cobbled together a 2x72 belt sander, man from what I started with I was s**tin in tall cotton, and it was just this year that I upgraded to a coote grinder, thats like going from an old VW to a cadilac :D , just take your time and learn as you go, your starting on the ground floor, enjoy the ride to the top, every day is a learning experience. Patience, practice, persistance, practice, dedication and did I say practice. Then sell ,Buy, sell , Buy.:D

Bill
 
2x42 with disk sears has a nice one they should go on sale soon for the holidays..i see you got a lot of advice..
 
Drache,

I used a 2 x 42 sears unit for over 3 years. I made a better platten out of 2 inch angle iron and made a small tool rest. The large table makes profiling easier.I made over 150 knives on this unit before the motor burned up. I could have prevented burning up the motor had I blew it out occasionally. THe larger belt on the harbor freigt model will cause more friction and heat, Id stay away form it.
 
I've gotta go with Nick although I started with the cheap now is better than good later, plan. I have gone through several cheap grinders and built one that is much better than I am. Try a knife with files alone and a little fine grit sandpaper. Get your feet wet and sell a knife. Buy good equipment from the start. Files aren't bad at all. I just finished one for the fun of it and it was fun. I had forgotten the feeling of doing it with hand tools.
Good luck!
 
I didn't mention starting with forging simply because you will need a forge, an anvil, a hammer, tongs, quenchant, etc. While most of this stuff can be made or bought cheap, you have to have it one way or another to work. I highly recommend you try it sometime simply because it's fun... but to begin with all you need is a hack-saw, some files, sand-paper, something to clamp the blade to while you work on it, steel/handle material, and a lot of patience!

You can get a local machine shop to cut your steel to length and hire out a professional heat-treat sevice.

This is starting from the ground up, absolutely ground level...but it will work if you're willing to sweat a little. Most of us started this way.

This forum will help you by leaps and bounds though...so stick around! :)

Nick
 
Thanks for the suggestions, I will try a few knifes by hand before I get any equipment. Does anyone know if the 'one brick forge' is good enough to forge blades?, it seems that most people use it for heat treating, maybe I am wrong and is there any other kinds of cheap forges to make?

"$50 knife shop" should be here any day now. I will also get some more books from Amazon.

thanks,
~Drache~
 
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