Which "cheap" grinder for a new knifemaker?

B

bladefrienzy

Joined
Nov 6, 2004
Messages
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Hello All, I have been searching for a new grinder for awhile since I went to get the 2" Craftsman and found out they had discontinued it. All I have is a 4 x 36 in my shop, and it is going downhill fast, worn out from overworking it I would imagine. Anyway can a guy get anything under $200 to get started? I have been filing and sanding blades, but with all the o.t. I work I will never finish anything. Also if ya have a used one your gonna get rid of let me know. I'm really chomping at the bit to get started on this and can't seem to find anything under 4 or 5 hundred bucks. Thanks, Steve
 
A cheap grinder will only cost you more in the long run. It seems that you are serious about your work, and have already encountered problems with your present grinders. If your serious about your work, go out and bite the bullet and get yourself a serious grinder. Your grinder will be the centerpiece of equipement in your shop. I bought a single speed Wilton 2 X 72 square wheel grinder. It worked really well except for one thing - I couldn't control the speed of the grinder. So I went and spent more money and bought the Variable speed motor for it and installed it. The great thing about being able to slow down the grind speed is control over your work. Controlling speed greatly improves the quality of your work, the quality of your own knifemaking satisfaction, and it speeds up your ability to make great knives. :thumbup: Slow speeds are nice to prevent burning of handle materials, or heat treated steel. It will save you time by using quality tools, great for people short on time. Check out the grinders offered by reliable knifemaking supply dealers, buy the machine and buy only good quality grinding belts. The cheap ones don't last and cost more in the long run. I have been using my Wilton grinder for 20 years with no down time or expensive parts to replace. The machine is built! You will have nothing but frustration if you buy cheap stuff. Bufford.:cool:
 
You get what you pay for when it comes to grinders for the most part. The KMG made my beaumont metal works (Rob is a member here and posts often, too), is specifically made for knifemaking and has endless attachements and options. its not cheap, nor are any of its caliber, though. There is a large jump when you go from stock multipurpose grinders to dedicated grinders. You can get a grizzly 2X72 and it fits somewhere in the middle. The higher end ones, expect to spend 1200+ after all is said and done.....the great thing is that high end grinders lose very little value as time goes by. you could buy a KMG and sell it 6 months from now basically for what you paid.....not many people have that kind of loose change hanging around, though.....
 
I've got a Kalamazoo grinder I purchased from knife and gun finishing supplies. For the bucks it isn't a bad unit at all. The Grizzly line is said to be good bang for the buck also.

STR
 
The Grizzly 2 X 72 is the first step up to a "real" grinder, and is an exceptional value. If you have your own motor, the Kalamazoo may be cheaper.
Bill
 
Thanks Guys! I will check out both the Kalamazoo and the grizzly. I do appreciate good tools, I am a carpenter and cabinet builder/installer as well as a former mechanic, but this is still a hobbie and I can't spend $1,000 or near it on a hobbie right now. But the Grizzly and Kalamazoo seem in the "right" range for where I am at right now. I really just modify existing knives and do kits mostly, but I am starting to grind out a few, working on a convex ground wsk style knife at the moment and the old one is really shot, I gotta help start it with my hand to get it going.LOL But it'll probably last a while for handles and such. Thanks again guys, Steve
 
Steve, for the kind of work you are doing the Kalamazoo 2x48 will work great and save you some $. These are not bad units at all. I use mine for all my upgrade work and handle finishing. I've used it to grind some knife blades but I didn't buy that unit for doing that. From what you describe this is the unit for you. K&G Finishing is great to deal with too. Mine came with a pretty nice Baldor motor on it. It looks to me like it could be upgraded easy enough and for that matter the motor could be snagged later to go into a different unit like the better Grizzly.

STR
 
Sounds like you need a starter capacitor for your motor. If that is the big problem $8 will put you back in production. Of course if the whole thing is worn out get a better one. Can you get by with repairing the one you have and saving your lunch money for a year to buy the $1000 one?
 
The knifemakers know about grinders -- and many of them started out with cheap ones. :cool:

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Build your own, upgrade to KMG/whatever later, when you know
the hobby is there is stay and you are making money off it.

Search this forum for countless :) posts of mine on this very subject
 
Still using my Koval Pro-Cut. Its been a great investment.
 
I use a Craftsman 2X42 and will porbably "upgrade" to the 4" version that's replacing it. I'd love to have a variable speed grinder and I wish I could afford a real belt sander, but I will never be able to afford the $1200.00 and up grinders, so I'm stuck with the cheap garbage for the forseeable future. I know people who have built their own and still spent $600 or $800.00, nope, still can't afford that.
 
I built mine for $250. If you're a good scrounger and have some mechanical aptitude, you can build one very affordably. I had posted a photo of my grinder, but I can't find that thread now...
 
Wow, $250.00 I could do, would love to hear about how you did it. I plan on buying a Burr King when I win the lottery.
 
Here is some good info on the Griz. GrizzlyG1015@groups.msn.com
You can make knives on a Griz with a few simple mods. A glass platen, a brace to the arm, and a tension adjuster. You can see most of them and a lot of good tips at the above site.
Learning to grind on a simple machine makes you appreciate the better one when you get it.
Take Care
TJ
 
$250 is a lot for an HMG.

You can build one much much cheaper, including the motor.
With my design, it will also function as a buffer !

Start off with HF's buffer/grinder combo: $109. It goes
on sale every now and then. Plus there's a 20% off coupon
that HF gets out every other week.

Let's say it is $90.

Some angle iron, welder and 2Hr of work and you're done.
If you don't have a welder, can not borrow one than bolt
the design together. Little bit more work.

The only pieces that'd require work are:

- drive wheel. I turned my own out of some alum
- 2 tracking wheels. I turned my own, but recently I
bought a few for $1.99 a piece from surpluscenter.

Afraid be not, go build your own.

Look for my posts on specifics.
 
A question for the Grizzly owners out there.

Can you move the arm and platform on the stock machine to do hollow grinding or do you have to modify it somehow? I've seen a lot of posts with homemade platforms on them so I was under the impression you'd have to make something for it. I've been really tempted to try one, but usually try to save up and get the good stuff if I can.
 
http://www.cootebeltgrinder.com/

That's the least I would go with on a grinder. Anything less is wasted money that you'll have to spend again to get the right one you should have gotten to begin with.
You can mount any motor you want on this, an AC unit with three speed pulleys for now, or a variable speed in either AC VFD, or DC variable speed. The grizzly you can't upgrade at all.
Get the Coote set up for 8 and 10" contact wheels when/if you buy it and that will cover most things.
 
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