Need help......ending the grind at the ricasso end

M

miden

Joined
Sep 9, 2005
Messages
835
Hi Guys,
I hope someone can help me here.

At this stage, I only do hollow grinding.

I always battle to get it looking good where the grind ends at the ricasso side. Any tips there? I can never get the 2 sides to match and seldom get a good looking radius.

I have not made many knives but up to now when I grind I do not pay too much attention to this section in the beginning. I start the grind here and progress to the tip so I sort of "slide in", leaving enough meat to try to fix it later.
When I get to the finishing stages (finer grits) I grind towards the ricasso area, opposite to the way I was roughing out but as I say, I am just lucky if I end up with anything half decent because I invariably dip in or roll over.
If it does look good I feel it is just luck because it does not feel as if I have any control at all and it is nerve wracking to say the least. With the rest of the grind I feel like I am in control. I am sure you seasoned guys know what I mean and getting it right regularly has got to be more than luck!

Any advice will be greatly appreciated. I am quite happy to practice, practice, practice but I thought there may be some way to develope the gutfeel.

Thanks,

Mike
 
Try resting the spine of the blade on your tool rest when you cut the plunges in.

Lots of guys poo poo this, saying it's not "real grinding" but I'm not exactly sure how. There are still plenty of axis the body can move through and f' the whole thing up.

Tim Hancock showed Mike Vagnino. Mike Vagnino showed me. It just takes one more variable out the equation.

Most people think I only flat grind... but I was just showing a friend how to hollow grind last night. It's all good :D

Also, you don't need to drift your belt way over. In fact, I don't drift it over much at all. About 1/16" at most (if at all).

Also, it heavily depends on what belt you use. I like to cut my plunges in very close with a 120X Norton ceramic hogger, and then just continue to refine it with subsequent belts.

If you were around here I could just show you :)
 
Hey Nick, we meet again.

I agree, I do not understand how using a rest is not "real grinding". I have managed to make a few royal f....ups even with the rest.
I also use Norten Ceramics belts so I guess it has a lot to do with my lack of experience.
So if I understand correctly, you do NOT grind towards the ricasso area, you just get it right grinding AWAY from the ricasso?

Yeah, I so too wish I lived closer to you, I could certainly use a bit of "eyes on" help, so much more informative.
Thanks for the advice, I will try it for sure.

Mike
 
Mike-

When I grind, I first apply the blade to the belt a little ahead of where I want the plunge cut to start (closer to the tip). Don't push on it, just apply the blade to the wheel and get a feel for where it's at. If you just BARELY make contact, and even with a 60X belt running all out, you can just be lightly scratching the blade and not actually grinding away.

Once you get it "seated" then apply the pressure. That's one aspect of hollow grinding that is a bit easier than flat... you have that groove from the wheel to ride in.

Anyway, I typically do the above, and get the blade situated about 1/2" ahead of the plunge cut. THEN slide it back into the plunge.

From the plunge, I make a clean pass all the way out to the tip. You don't HAVE to do full passes every single time. But in order to get a clean, smooth grind, you are better off to limit short passes, and try to maintain full passes if you can.

Grinding is definitely one of the arts of this gig. When I first got into it, I heard people all over the place saying that after 5-8 blades I'd have the hang of it.

HA! I wish!

It's been almost 10 years since I got my Burr King, and I'm finally at a point now where I am not a nervous wreck walking up to the grinder.

You already mentioned that part about practice :)

Let me know if I can muddy it up any more Mike! ;)
 
If you really want to cheat :D make a sacrificial belt stop out ot two pieces of steel that is held in place with a bolts. Just like a file guard. Put it on the blade and set your plunges. It will at least get your plunges established in the exact same spot on both sides.

You can screw it up from there, but its harder to do so.

I dont have a picture of a files guard , might be one on one of the knife supply websites.

Practice , practice, practice.

Mark
 
If you learn an easy way...let me know :) Also, just make em....thats the only way to get better. GEt cheap mild steel and try to practice on that. I should do that but I like to practice on a knife and get my nerves all worked up for some reason ;)
 
At a minimum mark the edge with a pen or piece of tape so you can come to the same point on both sides. If you are relying on the radius of your wheel to radius the plunge cut, you need to make sure the wheel is symmetrical on both sides!

Practice, practice, practice . . . then do flat grinds where it's easier to clean up by hand using files/EDM stones. :)
 
Thanks for the advice Nick, Mark, Blgoode and Gator. Much appreciated once again.
I will try all that you guys have suggested.
If I ever find an easy way to do it I will definitely share it :D :D

Mike
 
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