Looking to dip my toes into making knives - is this 2x27 belt grinder decent for under £50/$65?

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blizzard_beast

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Jun 12, 2006
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From the research I've done it looks like a 1x30 sander is the go-to recommendation for a broke hobbyist, but what do y'all make of this? It's £46 in the UK which is quite a bit cheaper than the 1x30 sanders which go for something like £70-£90 in the UK, e.g. something like this.

Would the 2x27 sander be a better bet? A fatter belt would make things more efficient, but from what it looks like there's no way to adjust the angle on the belt side - am I missing something here?
 
Yes, a 2X72" grinder would be the better option, but The last link shows a 686mm belt - isn't that only around 28" (inches)? You didn't say, but are you in England? Europe? There are MUCH better options for knifemaking. Looking at Aliexpress with a search on "1500W 2HP Belt Sander Grinder" will turn up several belt grinders in the $500USD range. While these are not "great" they surely would be better than the two you linked to.

While you can make some really nice knives with nothing but files, a good belt grinder does help. Even the 1X30 can help and I've seen some nice knives turned out with those, just slower and more work. Other folks will be chiming in with their ideas also I'm sure.
 
I would recommend sticking with grinders with common belt sizes so that you have easy access to correct grits for knife making. 1x30, 2x48, and 2x72 are the most common. A gentleman on this forum recently made a fantastic Winkler-style knife using a 1x30 belt grinder. Many start with that size grinder. I'm toying with the idea of making at least one knife, just for the experience. A 1x30 is my choice.
 
I use a 2" x 42". Much better choice than a 1" x 30" in my opinion. Much less likely to gouge your bevels on a wider belt.
 
What he said. Stick with common sizes like 1x30. You can get 1x30 belts in multi packs on Amazon for a reasonable price.
A 2x42 or 2x72 are definitely better, but more expensive
 
Ken H> said:
Yes, a 2X72" grinder would be the better option, but The last link shows a 686mm belt - isn't that only around 28" (inches)? You didn't say, but are you in England? Europe? There are MUCH better options for knifemaking. Looking at Aliexpress with a search on "1500W 2HP Belt Sander Grinder" will turn up several belt grinders in the $500USD range. While these are not "great" they surely would be better than the two you linked to.

While you can make some really nice knives with nothing but files, a good belt grinder does help. Even the 1X30 can help and I've seen some nice knives turned out with those, just slower and more work. Other folks will be chiming in with their ideas also I'm sure.
Click to expand...
Yup I'm in England. Looking for something on the cheap just to get started so those Aliexpress grinders are out of my price range at the moment. The first grinder is 50MM X 686MM (2"x 27") and it looks like name brand belts from 40-120 grit are readily available, but beyond that its unbranded aluminium oxide stuff which doesn't go beyond 1000 grit. Presumably I'd need higher grits for final polishing and sharpening?

My other concern with the 2x27 grinder is that there doesn't seem to be a way to finely adjust the angle of the belt side compared to the 1x30 grinder.

grinder.jpg
 
The pic is similar to my grinder. I grind with 36 grit, 120, then 220/240, followed by scotchbrite. I angled my grinder to suit my grinding style (horizontal), and modified the housing by cutting parts away so the thicker 36 grit belts and scotchbrite belts would fit. From the look the pic, I could use that grinder to do everything I do now.
 
blizzard_beast said:
there doesn't seem to be a way to finely adjust the angle of the belt side
Click to expand...

Do you mean belt tracking? The black twist knob near the top of the pic does that.
 
I wanted to find the mods I did for you. My first 2" x 42" grinder put in about five years of constant use before it needed to be retired, at which point, I pulled out the backup I had sitting in a box, modified it the same way, and went right back to work. I "documented" that process.

David Mary

Post in thread 'What's happening in the David Mary Custom shop?'

Well this is new. When I touch here I get a little shock, even with the machine turned off. Not when it’s unplugged though.

Probably my grinder has degraded past being able to be used safely. I have run it hard for over five years.

image.jpg

Just as I was about to do final belt satin finishes on all these. Let’s see if I have anything lying around I can use instead….

Maybe this will do:

image.jpg
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So maybe this is an idea for you. This is your recommendation from a broke professional. 🤣
 
David Mary said:
Do you mean belt tracking? The black twist knob near the top of the pic does that.
Click to expand...
On the 1x30 grinder there's that little tilting table that can adjust the grinding angle from 0-45 degrees. Can I do something similar on the 2x27 grinder? It looks like I can move the little metal table on it to the upper mounting point and then adjust the grinding angle with the plastic knob on the side. Might seem like an obvious question but I just wanna make sure. 😁

grinder3.png
 
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