need help grinding the main bevel my first knife

rogerxd45

rogerxd45

Joined
Mar 12, 2009
Messages
271
ok so i have ordered some 1095 steel and im getting ready to make my first knife but i cant decide what type of grind i should do for the main bevel. should i do a hollow grind or a partial or full flat grind or what spyderco calls a HAMAGURI grind here is a quote from their site about the hamaguri "Japanese for "clam" or "clamshell," it describes a blade ground with convex radiused bevels. Also called an Appleseed or Moran grind, it is often produced by grinding on a slack grinding belt."

here are some of the tools i have
-bench top 6" grinder
-1"x30" belt sander (harbor freight)
-1/2" drill press with a mill style x,y axis adjustable vice which allows me to slowly move the piece with a turn of the handle while the press is running. I was thinking if i put a grinding type bit in the chuck this would allow me to keep the blade alligned perfectly while i grind the bevel. i have no clue if this would work or not its just an idea i had
-wire feed welder
-oxy-acetylene torch
-dremel tool
-4.5" angle grinder
-bench top band saw

im not against buying some tools if i need them. I have been thinking about buying an 8" benchtop grinder that i can set up for paper wheels to use for sharpening. I think an 8" grinder would come in handy if i decide to do a hollow grind. im also not sure if an 8" wheel would be large enough to get a proper hollow grind

so any recommendations on what style would be the easiest to do for my first knife would be greatly appreciated. I would like to do a full flat grind but i dont know if i can with my belt grinder since the belt will flex and prevent me from achieving a perfectly flat surface and im not sure if there is a way to obtain a flat area of the belt that i can grind a full flat grind. I was thinking of holding a flat piece of metal or wood behind the belt which i think would give me a pretty decent flat surface.

what type of sander or grinder would a good choice to do a partial or full flat grind on a knife?

the knife im planning on is a small hunter with a 3" blade that will be very similar in shape to a benchmade hunt 15008 except mine will be made of a thinner stock
 
For a hollow grind your pretty much going to need a belt grinder and a contact wheel. I don't know about your grinder but you could make a flat platen and use it to do a high flat or full flat grind. Without making a flat platen you could get some files and make a jig. This is probably your best bet.
 
Youtube Aaron Gough, I made a jig based on his and just use a file. With the 1x30 its pretty difficult to get a good bevel. Especially if yours is as Grand as mine where the tensioner is messed up and the belts dont run straight.
 
viral said:
Youtube Aaron Gough, I made a jig based on his and just use a file. With the 1x30 its pretty difficult to get a good bevel. Especially if yours is as Grand as mine where the tensioner is messed up and the belts dont run straight.
Click to expand...

I just watched his video pretty neat jig. (I am also getting ready to make my first knife very similar in size as the OP)

Thanks.
 
Make a flat platen or file it.. Post a pic of your grinder and some of us might can help figure out how to do it. With a 1x30 it will take a while to grind it but it can be done.
rogerxd45 said:
whats a good tool to do a flat grind? i really dont want to do it by hand
Click to expand...
 
It can be done with your 1x30, and a jig makes it easier, I used to do mine like that a 3 or 4 years ago. So sisnce you don't want to use files, follow these below steps and watch the videos in order ;)

First of all make the jig that is in this first video:

[video=youtube;iNVFZC3FOkI]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iNVFZC3FOkI[/video]

Then make a larger work rest like this guy did:

[video=youtube;OBjAe4OYQco]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OBjAe4OYQco[/video]

Then watch how "Gavko" used to freehand his grinds here (which were pretty clean!) on his trusty old 1x30 in his tiny lil room:

[video=youtube;9ATukKnCbbE]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9ATukKnCbbE[/video]

Also, just JB weld a piece of ceramic glass (or even just plain ceramic like many guys do) on top of the stock flat platen that comes with the 1x30 and that will give you a true flat surgace to grind against.

Hope this helps... I know it's easy to be impatient and not want to use files when you are just starting out, but they really do work great if you know how to use them and doing it by hand this way (just using a plain old file, I mean) can help you build a foundation as a knifemaker about the geometry of the knives bevels etc. and it helps build character as well ;) Good luck and have fun, and don't give up, even the jig takes some practice to use.

~Paul
My YT Channel Lsubslimed
 
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