Knife Bevelling

P

Prakash

Joined
Apr 21, 2017
Messages
10
Dear Experts,

I am basically not a knifesmith but i have a passion of creating knife. I use c80 carbon steel and use a 50MM X 2000 MM belt grinder which is made from a local engineering shop as i dont get a ready made one in india. I use Ceramic belts for stock removal and beveling the knife. I am using a Jig for making a bevel.

Currenty i am facing a problem which is as below. The bevelling is not coming properly and not evenly. I have tried multiple times but i am unable to identify the root cause. The starting bevel is big but subsiquently it is not even.

Kindly gudie me is it because of the belt grinder or the jig. how ot fix the same / check the same so that the bevel is comming evenly.

please guide.
 
You will need to post some pics of what you are getting with your bevels before any possible advise can be given Prakash.

Welcome to the forum
 
Hi Prakash ji,

I have a great deal of experience with bevel guides. I make and sell the Multi Guide Pro. If you have some pictures or at least a description of the problem you experience then it may be possible to offer guidance how to correct. It would be most helpful to see your sander, the jig, and the blank with profile to assist in locating the trouble.
 
Hi Prakash,
Where in India are you from?
I'm from Mumbai and have made a belt grinder for making knives myself and am extremely satisfied with the results so far.

It would help if you'd upload some images of your grinder and what the issue is with the bevels not being even.

As far as the jig is concerned, I've simply screwed 2 pieces of plywood, put two bolts through it for controlling the angle and just clamp the knife onto it. It gives perfectly even and clean grind lines. I've attached a drive link to some images.
https://drive.google.com/folderview?id=0B5iHK8UlZuKWSjRxZ1Bta0tzSmc

One BIG thing that helped me a LOT was to attach a ceramic tile on the platen using some araldite standard, 2 part epoxy. Trust me on this one, your grind lines will never be what you what them to be unless you have a flat, even platen to grind on.
Hope it helps.
Please do let me know where you're from I India and from where you purchase your steel too.
 
Hi Tehemton,

I am from bangalore and i am basically a banker but i have a passion for making knifes. Your knife is very beautiful and the bevels are coming very accurately. I have 4 months experience in knife making but so far i couldnt successful in making a good and accurate bevel. Can you please guide me i will be very greatful. I an using a knife grinder made from a local engineering shop 50x2000 and using ceramic belts . I dont know how to attach the photos . how can i contact you. I buy steel basically carbon steel c80 / or en31 from brangloare. Is there any good alternative steel which matches like 1095. Kindly revert. My mail id is prabox@gmail.com

Regards
Prakash.
 
BelnapCustomKnives said:
Hi Prakash ji,

I have a great deal of experience with bevel guides. I make and sell the Multi Guide Pro. If you have some pictures or at least a description of the problem you experience then it may be possible to offer guidance how to correct. It would be most helpful to see your sander, the jig, and the blank with profile to assist in locating the trouble.
Click to expand...

sir,

I have attached the photos below. Kindly help me please.


https://photos.app.goo.gl/kNCWSLKUeVaMFlUS2
 
Prakash said:
Hi Tehemton,

I am from bangalore and i am basically a banker but i have a passion for making knifes. Your knife is very beautiful and the bevels are coming very accurately. I have 4 months experience in knife making but so far i couldnt successful in making a good and accurate bevel. Can you please guide me i will be very greatful. I an using a knife grinder made from a local engineering shop 50x2000 and using ceramic belts . I dont know how to attach the photos . how can i contact you. I buy steel basically carbon steel c80 / or en31 from brangloare. Is there any good alternative steel which matches like 1095. Kindly revert. My mail id is prabox@gmail.com

Regards
Prakash.
Click to expand...

below i have uploaded the pics
https://photos.app.goo.gl/kNCWSLKUeVaMFlUS2
 
BelnapCustomKnives said:
Hi Prakash ji,

I have a great deal of experience with bevel guides. I make and sell the Multi Guide Pro. If you have some pictures or at least a description of the problem you experience then it may be possible to offer guidance how to correct. It would be most helpful to see your sander, the jig, and the blank with profile to assist in locating the trouble.
Click to expand...
Sir,

I have uploaded the photos below.

https://photos.app.goo.gl/kNCWSLKUeVaMFlUS2
 
Prakash said:
sir,

I have attached the photos below. Kindly help me please.


https://photos.app.goo.gl/kNCWSLKUeVaMFlUS2
Click to expand...


One thing many knife makers are doing to help them during bevel grinding with that type of jig is to mark the bevel line on the side of the knife with a scribe. Also marking the centerline of the blank along the cutting edge. This way as the grind progresses you will be able to see what areas to focus on.

See this video. It is the type of guide that I make.

This video shows how to mark the bevel lines at 4:30 time in the video.
 
Thanks sir, for the exiting info. I would try to make the jig as you have shown but i still feel that there is some issue / alignment /fine tuning to me be done in my belt grinder . I am not sure how to fix it. Its local made with 1 HP motor and 50x2000 belt.

Regards
Prakash.
 
The best advice I got here was to try and grind freehand. Thank you Thank you.
I have no problem with people grinding with a jig ,I mean as long as you are happy - things are good right, but every now and again try one freehand and grinding will eventually come to you. I do think the bubblejig would be a great help in learning to grind freehand.

I did find it interesting that it took 8 1/2 mins to grind with the jig and 1 1/2 to do freehand. I know the blades were not the same size but

As for your grinder what is it doing that you don't like? 1st thing try more pressure on the belt tension
 
Hi Prakash,
I'm fairly new to knife making and the images you saw included my third knife onwards. (I used the file to make my first two knives).
From what I can see, you're not applying even pressure and grinding with an even speed. Take your time while grinding. It helps to have a slower belt speed so that you can correct your mistakes and learn how to grind first. My setup runs at really slow speeds. (2000sfm).
Also there's a lot of material on YouTube and on this forum that helped me tremendously. Most of the makers out here help you out and are extremely talented and humble at the same time.
It's natural to wanna think that there's something wrong with the grinder, but as long as the belt tracks we'll and doesn't wobble too much(my belt wobbles about 1/16th inch) , your grinder is working perfectly fine.
I recently connected to one of my favorite makers on Instagram to ask about grinding my first recurve blade on a flat platen and he gave me some really good advice. Take your time, go slow, and know what you're trying to achieve.
Even with the jig, it's easy to mess up. Start with a 45 degree grind initially until you are almost at the center line. Then pull your grind up towards the spine slowly, in small increments. Use tons of permanent marker ink to track your grinds and layout. It helps to identify mistakes and imperfections.
Some research on YouTube should be a good place to start.
 
I'm with Spalted... I tried a jig on ONE knife. I didn't like the results nor did I want to be dependent on a jig. Not saying one way is better than the other, but watch some video on free hand grinding. Do about 12-15 blades and you will see significant improvements.
 
It depends. On folders you almost have to use a jig to hold on to something.
If you're just going for a straight flat grind with a normal drop point design, a jig can help you establish a bevel fairly quickly and accurately.

I learned on a jig but now freehand or sometimes just use the work rest to support my hand.
I tried sliding the blade, I tried using a push stick. Neither one felt comfortable to me.
You have to figure out what works for you. Try different things and don't ever be afraid to change your methods.
 
True about the folder blades , hard to hold and grind something that small. I made a folder jig that basically makes it a foot long where I can hold onto it but I still grind the blade freehand.
 
Spalted said:
The best advice I got here was to try and grind freehand. Thank you Thank you.
I have no problem with people grinding with a jig ,I mean as long as you are happy - things are good right, but every now and again try one freehand and grinding will eventually come to you. I do think the bubblejig would be a great help in learning to grind freehand.

I did find it interesting that it took 8 1/2 mins to grind with the jig and 1 1/2 to do freehand. I know the blades were not the same size but

As for your grinder what is it doing that you don't like? 1st thing try more pressure on the belt tension
Click to expand...
My experience with belt grinder now is around three hours , but I think that physically it is impossible to grind faster freehand then with jig .At least from what I have tried so far . With jig I can push very hard on blade without worry of temperature build up in blade and grind that side in a few pass without cooling between pass . . .I can not do the same freehand , after the first pass blade is too hot to hold in hand . I'm talking about 40 grit and 6400 SFM and annealed steel . . . .On hardened steel , jig again have advantage ............it soak part of temperature from blade and allow one pass more :D
 
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