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.
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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:

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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
 
Still not entirely sure what you mean but maybe this?


image.jpg
image.jpg
 
Hengelo_77 said:
Get some good files for that money
They are slower to mess up with and you'll learn the process better.
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+1
if you can make a knife, (and finish it) using nothing but a hacksaw, some files and sandpaper, then chances are pretty good that you'll know whether or not you want to keep doing it, before acquiring equipment. Every knife maker needs those hand tools, so buying that stuff is no waste of money.
 
blizzard_beast said:
its unbranded aluminium oxide stuff which doesn't go beyond 1000 grit. Presumably I'd need higher grits for final polishing and sharpening?
Click to expand...
Not necessarily. My progression is 50-120-220-400 on the 2x72 then switch to hand sanding, 220-400-800-1000, sometimes finishing at 5000grit. You should be able to get high grits in sheets without too much difficulty if you want to go that high.
 
I should add that I grind entirely post heat treatment, initially for logistical reasons, but now that, and because it is what I am used to, after maybe a thousand knives (not really that many in the grand scope of a lifetime, but enough to be confident in my process).

If you do decide to try a single speed grinder, any grinding you do post heat treatment needs you to be hyper aware of heat management. I was fumbling around learning all this stuff on my own, and I ruined a couple blades early on when I was still using repurposed sawmill blades instead of actual knife steel (which I didn't even know where to buy at the time 🤣 ), and this is due to letting the blade get too hot.

I've seen comments online that it's impossible to avoid ruining the heat treatment if you grind post heat treatment with a single speed grinder and no mist system. My experience since those early blades disagrees with that assessment. In fact, it is not even difficult to avoid. However, you have to understand how frictional heat builds and spreads, and learn to manage this and keep it below tempering temperatures (the temperatures which can alter the steel matrix).

I use tactile awareness, and the grind and dip method.

When I start grinding, the blank is full stock thickness, and with more mass takes longer to heat up. The thinner I go, the faster the blank will heat up from friction, thus requiring more frequent dips. Never let the blade get hot enough to hurt your hand. If it never gets that hot, then you are well below temperatures that can alter the steel matrix.

Finer grits build heat faster than coarser grits. This is the number one reason that my highest grit grinding belt is 240 compact grain AO, before switching to scotchbrite for my belt satin finish.

This is a "poor man's knife grinding" process, and doesn't yield mirror polished blades, but is more than sufficient for working satin finishes on blades with exceptional geometry for actual use. So if your goal is ultimately to create high end art pieces that are going to pull in thousands of dollars each, then this method is not for you, and you will definitely want the variable speed grinders, and hours of hand sanding time on each blade.

If your goal is like mine, to efficiently create items with appealing designs, and excellent ergonomics, geometry, and performance, then this will do it.
 
And you’ll definitely want to install a carbide platen. Using the platen that comes with the grinder will lead to bad grinds in short order due to the softness of the platen and it deforming.
 
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