Maintaining accurate grinding angles

L

langchop

Joined
Jun 16, 2007
Messages
301
finally I have gotten to a stage where I am making my first couple of knives:

One thing that leaves me with some trepidation to start is how to grind away the 'primary bevels' for the blades and maintain them consistent and symmetrical . Im sure many of you guys do it by eye, but are there any tricks for the newby to grind those angles consistently, and even more importantly: flat. I have designed a little stand which can work in conjunction with my angle grinder, but I dont think the angle grinder is ideal for keeping the primary bevel 'flat'

Your help will be appreciated!
 
If you're just using an angle grinder, I'd recommend getting it as flat and even as you can with that, then using files to clean it up.
 
to help me keep straight lines i use a guide i made that clamps to the blade. its made from 2 pieces of 1/4" x 3/8" x 5" with a screw at each end. i dont have much strength in my right arm and my vision isnt too good so i have to use this guide to help me keep straight lines.
 
Something that helped me out was realizing that I don't have to set the primary angle from the very beginning. Start with a 45 degree angle on both sides to get down around a 2/32 edge. Then gradually start decreasing your angle and work the bevel towards the spine. As you work, gradually decrease the edge thickness to around 1/32. For the first several, work the bevel line all the way up to the spine for a full flat grind. After practicing for a while, you'll be able to stop your bevel where you want it for those nice symetrical grind lines. Don't lean in too hard, and use NEW belts for a clean cut. As you get near the desired grind line location, switch to a higher grit belt for more control.

Also, something that can help your plunge cuts is to get a hardened file guide and clamp it on the blade where you want your plunge to be. If you don't have one, use a magic marker to make a line on the edge of the blank where you want your plunge to be and grind consistantly from that line.

Good luck, and be patient.

--nathan
 
Thanks guys for the tips.. will keep them all in mind and try them all to see which seems to work best for my unsteady hand!
 
if you want to see step by step pictures of how i ground the collaboration-auction knife for vg, check out the links that can be found at my website. it shows how i started the grind up to the finish grind. (dialup will be slow since the pictures are quite big).
 
good stuff... had a look at those pics... Thats going to be very helpful so thanks a lot. now I know what people were talking about when they said they used a file guide/ guard when doing a plunge grind. I will have to make me one of those too.
 
i used mild steel but my disc is aluminum so it wont matter. if you are using a belt sander, you should use tool steel and harden it so the sides of the belt wont wear the guide. if you have any more questions feel free to email me
 
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