New knife maker building his first knife shop, whats my priority?

M

MiniOak

Joined
Oct 18, 2021
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Hi guys, new here on the forum and would love to know your thoughts.

Im currently setting up my first knife shop and I can't make my mind up of what to get.

What I've got: Drill press and Angle grinder.

My question is, what do you recon I should prioritize the rest of my limited budget on?
My budget: 1500 USD

The goal would be to have "complete" starter kit for knife making (chef's knives is the target), this includes heat treating.

Best regards,
Minioak
 
With a drill press and angle grinder and $1500 I’d say a build your own 2x72 with vfd and motor. Then files and lots of sandpaper.
 
I think a 2x72 is more valuable and send out for heat treating unless you want to stick with something like 1084 for a while. Heat treat oven quenching medium, dewar, etc will be more than your $1500 budget.
 
weo said:
are you planning on stock removal or forging?
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Stock removal, If I can combine the heat treat with some kind of miniforge that would be a plus. The workshop space is almost as limited as the budget. *thumbs up*
 
Is the 1084 very limited to its capabilities as a blade?
Jrmysell said:
I think a 2x72 is more valuable and send out for heat treating unless you want to stick with something like 1084 for a while. Heat treat oven quenching medium, dewar, etc will be more than your $1500 budget.
Click to expand...
 
Hehe, from what I've gathered so far, building my own grinder is abit beyond me at this moment.
Jrmysell said:
With a drill press and angle grinder and $1500 I’d say a build your own 2x72 with vfd and motor. Then files and lots of sandpaper.
Click to expand...
 
MiniOak said:
Is the 1084 very limited to its capabilities as a blade?
Click to expand...
Yes and no. There are many alloying elements that will modify specific properties of steel (hardness, toughness, machinability, etc), but 1084 is a very popular knife steel. especially for kitchen knives.
Now that we're talking about this, I'll suggest spending the $40 (+/-) for Dr Larrin Thomas' Book;

Knife Engineering: Steel, Heat Treating, and Geometry​

 
Thanks for the tip. I'll def. Look into that book.
weo said:
Yes and no. There are many alloying elements that will modify specific properties of steel (hardness, toughness, machinability, etc), but 1084 is a very popular knife steel. especially for kitchen knives.
Now that we're talking about this, I'll suggest spending the $40 (+/-) for Dr Larrin Thomas' Book;

Knife Engineering: Steel, Heat Treating, and Geometry​

Click to expand...
 
If you are serious about getting into knifemaking do not waste your time and money on that sander. It does not have the power needed nor the quality belts.

If you do not have the funds for a 2x72 grinder then build yourself a knife filing set up. You can find that on Youtube.

You will need to buy sand paper and that is not cheap, if you want heat treat yourself then buy 1084, it is a great high carbon steel. Build yourself a coffee can furnace and get some canola oil.

When you can get a 2x72 grinder and belts. This is the main tool of most knifemakers.
 
MiniOak said:

Ryobi 5133002858 Bandslipare och Tallriksslip, 350 W, Flerfärgad : Amazon.se: Bygg, el & verktyg

Ryobi 5133002858 Bandslipare och Tallriksslip, 350 W, Flerfärgad : Amazon.se: Bygg, el & verktyg
www.amazon.se

I have looked into getting something similar to this to cover the grinding part. Sorry for the swedish post but the picture tells you enough I'd recon.

Does any of you have any experience with these types of belt grinders?
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Hi MiniOak,

I have seen many questions about this style of sander on a local forum I visit. The general consensus seems to be that they are underpowered, and not very versatile. I have used something similar and I would not want to go back there again. Also the belts will cost a lot, because they are short - the most expensive thing about a belt is the joint, so you want a belt to be as long as possible so that you pay for the abrasive rather than for the joints.

As Jrmysell said you could consider building your own 2x72 grinder, it is doable, and a great experience. Or get one used. I would say that grinding chefs knives is more difficult than doing smaller knives, so you want decent equipment for that to give you a fighting chance.
 
My advice would be to not think about how to blow that $1500 but to simply just figure out how to make your 1st knife with what you currently have available. There is no substitute for just diving in. From there you learn your processes and what tools will benefit you in your process and work up from there as your skills and budge increase. Learning to make some of your own tooling and workholding is just as valuable as making the knives also imo. That said get a decent disk sander.
 
My experience, save as much of your $1500 as you can and buy or build a 2x72. That said, the need it now list:

0. A room or shed or yard space to work. It is very messy...
1. Work table or bench. Anything basic is fine. And a flat reference surface like some scrap granite countertop.
2. Vise and some plastic or rubber jaw pads. Dont be afraid to spend money on a good vise, it will be used a lot.
3. Files, rasp, saw rasp, bastard, mill, half round, rounds. The Shinzo saw rasp is worth every single penny multiple times over at $20-30. Buy it.
4. Abrasives for the angle grinder, cutoff wheels, grinding wheels, flap discs in 40 and 60 grit. Pretty cheap.
5. Sandpaper, start at 80 or 120 grit on up to 800 ish. You will need a lot, but $100 will get plenty for several knives.
6. Lots of scrap wood. You need sanding blocks and sanding platforms, all easily made from scrap.
7. Water and windex or simple green. In spray bottles. Use the water for coolant and rinsing, windex for hand sanding.
8. Steel and a professional to Harden it. You decide if you want to grind pre/post hardening.
9. Make some small paring knives with the angle grinder. It will make you appreciate the nicer grinders.
10. Consider one of the 2x42 or 2x48 grinders. At $200ish they are better than the angle grinder, but wayyyy cheaper than 2x72, so it is a good intermediate step.
11. You'll figure out all the rest of the many thousands of dollars in equipment over time.
 
I just found a 2x72 belt grinder for 1050 usd, it seems legit. 1,1kW 400V 1.5 hp.
Again, sorry for the swedish site. Picture in link.

www.slojdfokus.se

Bandslip BS1 - 1,1kW 400V

Bandslip för slipning i metall. Maskinen levereras med en platt slipplatta. 400V-maski
www.slojdfokus.se www.slojdfokus.se
 
By the way, big shout out to all of you. I really appreciate your time and answers, you guys are great.
 
Signalprick has good advice.
Go and make some knives. You'll end up needing stuff you don't think of now.

A foredom with a footpedal and forewards/reverse function will come in very handy.
 
idk If this has been asked yet....i didn't see it?

Are you talking about making knives as your FULL time job, or just to make knives for fun?

those are probably two separate paths.
alot of us have made knives with close to what you are starting off with.

JUST a file, and sandpaper can do it....... It's just SLOW, and not profitable. Yet still achievable and Fun.
 
MiniOak said:
I just found a 2x72 belt grinder for 1050 usd, it seems legit. 1,1kW 400V 1.5 hp.
Again, sorry for the swedish site. Picture in link.

www.slojdfokus.se

Bandslip BS1 - 1,1kW 400V

Bandslip för slipning i metall. Maskinen levereras med en platt slipplatta. 400V-maski
www.slojdfokus.se www.slojdfokus.se
Click to expand...
You'll want a variable speed that will cost another $416.-
Plus shipping costs plus import duties.
And you want belts to and they are not cheap.
 
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