Recommendation? Knife Grinders, Drill Press, Band Saw, Other tools

S

Sniper338

Joined
Jan 8, 2018
Messages
9
Hi guy, Im new here, and brand new to knife making. In fact I havent even made one knife yet. Im wanting to dabble in it and start it as a little hobby on the side, nothing more. I have a few blades I want to make, after that we will see if the bug bites.

As stated, I have never done anything, I dont have anything... So Im here looking for advice on knife grinders, drill presses, band saws, and other tools needed for making knives.

I have a small shop, So I am looking for benchtop tools. Not looking for $2500 grinders, $2000 drill press, or $1000 band saws... I need intro tools, or mid grade stuff that works great, and I could learn on..

Grizzly, delta, craftsman, coote..

yall get the idea... Help a newbie out please! Im still at the point I dont know if the bug will bite, so im low budget as can be..

help in steering me in the right directions starting out please!! Thank you!
 
I used a Craftsman 2x42 with a 1/3 HP motor, files and a granite surface plate with sandpaper (lots and lots of sand paper) for years and turned out a few good knives. That and a drill press and you're off to a good start. Buy tools as you go along. I recommend using steel that you can turn into a serviceable knife (even to practice grinding). Simple steels like 1080 and O1 are very inexpensive and can be heat treated at home with minimal equipment (torch, oil, toaster oven). Then use the hell out of it (or gift it to someone who will) get feedback and get better.

Read and watch, and, if possible, find a local knifemaker and, very respectfully, ask if you can learn from him (don't take it personal if they say no, and don't be an annoyance).

Most of all realize that making a knife is not magic, take a piece of material and remove everything that doesn't look like a knife. Patience and persistence and you may be surprised.
 
Sniper338 said:
Hi guy, Im new here, and brand new to knife making. In fact I havent even made one knife yet. Im wanting to dabble in it and start it as a little hobby on the side, nothing more. I have a few blades I want to make, after that we will see if the bug bites.

As stated, I have never done anything, I dont have anything... So Im here looking for advice on knife grinders, drill presses, band saws, and other tools needed for making knives.

I have a small shop, So I am looking for benchtop tools. Not looking for $2500 grinders, $2000 drill press, or $1000 band saws... I need intro tools, or mid grade stuff that works great, and I could learn on..

Grizzly, delta, craftsman, coote..

yall get the idea... Help a newbie out please! Im still at the point I dont know if the bug will bite, so im low budget as can be..

help in steering me in the right directions starting out please!! Thank you!
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All you need to start and make knife and to see if the bug bites is one good file and some kind of jig for file .But I warn you ..........they usually bite and they bite hard :D First when I start I was thinking to make one knife for me , for my son , friend . Today ... I probably live in the sharpest street in the world ...... I give kitchen knife to all my neighbors ... I spend all my free time in the workshop, working on new knife or on some new tool .Even less time I spent on fishing :mad:
 
I highly recommend the grizzly. I have made quite a few knives on it and it is a very nice machine for the price. If you make nice knives you can have it payed for in a year or less. Another great thing about it is that it is similar enough to high end grinders that if you ever can purchase a tw-90 or something, it will just improve your work. If you buy a 1 inch wide belt then later move up to a 2x72, you need to take some time to learn to grind differently.

If you get it, then I can tell you of a few simple mods that will help.

I don't think a bandsaw is a necessary purchase for new maker with a budget. Use a $15 angle grinder from harbor freight or drill a bunch of holes to cut out the basic knife profile.

Now on the other hand, a drill press I think IS necessary. I have a very old 12" delta so I am not sure of a good purchase for a new one. If you get one make sure it has speeds from about 400 rpm to 3000. As I have learned the hard way (destroyed many bits), you drill holes in metal at LOW speeds like 400-600 rpm for larger bits (about 3/16ths and up).

The bug will most probably bite. One way to see if you have the passion to make knives is to start with a file and a jig and an angle grinder to start the bevel and cut out the blank. This way it takes longer than a belt grinder (of course) and may test you patience and if you don't like it, you only invested maybe 30-40 bucks and if you want to heat treat buying a torch and 2 firebricks can be around $20
 
Not sure where you're located, but you might keep an eye on your local craigslist and other classifieds for a used drill press and other "general" power tools. You obviously want to be mindful of what you're looking at when buying used/older tools, but if you know what to look for, there are great deals to be found. An older American drill press may be better than most newer machines you'll get at a big box store, and possibly cost a fraction of the price.

As for grinders, if you can swing a 2x72 with variable speed, you'll be years ahead on the learning curve. Theoretically, you could build something like a NWGS with a flat platen for just a few hundred bucks and have something that can grow and expand with your making. If you don't have the tools or the patience, you could go with something like an Oregon Blade Maker chassis; Spend a little more and you can get a Wilmont LB1000, a Reeder (sp?) Products grinder, AMK, Pheer, or any number of other packages. There are more grinder options available now than there ever has been, and in the widest budget range, whether you're piecing one together, buying a kit, or a more "turn key" machine.
 
If you dont know if you will like it dont go all in. Either build the Aaron Gough file jig or buy a used 1x42 Craftsman. I made my first 3 knives with only files, then got a 1x42 and made another 15 or so then bought a 2x72.
For cutting out the shape a good hacksaw really is not that bad I could cut a profile out pretty fast. You could buy the Harbor Frieght port band pretty cheap...it is what I use now but you will have to modify it and build a little table for it.
Drill press is the same way buy a good used one on craigslist or a cheap one at lowes.
Good luck!
 
Get out NOW! Go buy yourself the nicest knives that you can find. You'll have gotten off cheap!

....otherwise, see you in a year or so when you have two grinders, buffers, milling machine, a couple of band saws, and fingers that are all cut up, ground down, and have grinder rash for a new skin tone.
RUN!
 
You really don't need a file jig to file blades. I have done it free hand for years and can cut a pretty straight line. Start low budget and advance your equipment as you gain skill. Patience will be the biggest part to making your first knives look great, not machinery.
 
really as I learn and watch tons of youtube videos... The more I tend to see that cheaper sanders/knife grinders just arent set up or built to be able to do all kinds of grinding. cheap stuff aint made to make knives, and ita just eat belts. And you cant get real good belts for cheap smaller units. 2x72 is just pretty standard and the industrys just based the hobby off that.

Looks to me like its better to just buy once cry once and buy a real knife grinder. Hard to just go out and drop $2500 though. Ill look for used ones if anything. Hell I may just not do it and buy me the knife I want. thatd be way cheaper.
 
I think because of the amazing results the pros get using grinders has kind of skewed people's thoughts on what equipment they need to make knives. Files, an old craftsman drill press and a lot of hand work made most of my knives. Probably over 90% of the knives I've made were filled. They may not be show pieces but they look pretty good. If you can get on imgur search for 2wheeltodd10. That will give you an idea of the hand filing I'm talking about. I could have probably never made a recurve shape on a belt grinder but I can with a file.
 
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Sniper338 said:
really as I learn and watch tons of youtube videos... The more I tend to see that cheaper sanders/knife grinders just arent set up or built to be able to do all kinds of grinding. cheap stuff aint made to make knives, and ita just eat belts. And you cant get real good belts for cheap smaller units. 2x72 is just pretty standard and the industrys just based the hobby off that.

Looks to me like its better to just buy once cry once and buy a real knife grinder. Hard to just go out and drop $2500 though. Ill look for used ones if anything. Hell I may just not do it and buy me the knife I want. thatd be way cheaper.
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Not to be a D or anything but you asked advice and then shoot it down once we gave it. Saying you cant get good belts for cheap grinders is not true, I can get the same belts for my 1x42 as I can for my 2x72. Youtube away and good luck.
 
Sniper338 said:
really as I learn and watch tons of youtube videos... The more I tend to see that cheaper sanders/knife grinders just arent set up or built to be able to do all kinds of grinding. cheap stuff aint made to make knives, and ita just eat belts. And you cant get real good belts for cheap smaller units. 2x72 is just pretty standard and the industrys just based the hobby off that.

Looks to me like its better to just buy once cry once and buy a real knife grinder. Hard to just go out and drop $2500 though. Ill look for used ones if anything. Hell I may just not do it and buy me the knife I want. thatd be way cheaper.
Click to expand...
Learn first one grind and complete first knife .There was many different thing you will must learn to make knife . Bushcraft knife have simple grind and are good for start learning.....good luck :thumbsup:
 
Sniper338 said:
really as I learn and watch tons of youtube videos... The more I tend to see that cheaper sanders/knife grinders just arent set up or built to be able to do all kinds of grinding. cheap stuff aint made to make knives, and ita just eat belts. And you cant get real good belts for cheap smaller units. 2x72 is just pretty standard and the industrys just based the hobby off that.

Looks to me like its better to just buy once cry once and buy a real knife grinder. Hard to just go out and drop $2500 though. Ill look for used ones if anything. Hell I may just not do it and buy me the knife I want. thatd be way cheaper.
Click to expand...

I don't think anyone here is intending to be discouraging, but many are suggesting that a simple start would likely inform later purchases and possibly even save money in the long run. I'm just a beginner as well. I did not know (and still don't) know how far that I'll take this but I don't regret a modest purchase of 2x42 belt grinder. As far as eating belts, I'm not sure that there is a metric for comparison because there are different qualities of belts and different sizes of projects. Before making a proclamation about industry standards, check out websites like Tru-Grit for availability of belt sizes not just Amazon or Grainger.

In my 'real' job as a professional photographer I have faced this questions numerous times at the workshops I have led regarding different levels of equipment purchase. I have had beginners quote myriads of technical information, specifications and opinions gathered from magazines or the web instead of hands-on experience. Photography is also a pricy hobby for many while it is a profitable business for me. My budget and requirements are naturally different. I wouldn't feel that I could responsibly recommend someone dive in at the top level of equipment when they don't even know how much or how long they will stay with their hobby. However, I have counseled new photographers about incremental investments as others have done here for bladesmithing. I would weigh some of these comments with the same weight as the information from youtube.
 
Well, there's a lot to be said about buy once, cry once, and the learning curve would be dramatically reduced on a variable speed 2x72 that was designed with knife making in mind, vs. say, a single speed 2x42 or similar. Also, if you by a $2k+ machine and decide it's not for you, chances are you could recoup most of your cost on the resale market. On the other hand, there's much to be said about starting on the lower end, getting a little more "bang for the buck" and then upgrading down the road. I imagine that if you can make a decent knife on a single speed 2x42, you'll be cruisin' when you upgrade to a "real" grinder.
 
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