New maker, bevel grinding advice

[comet_sharp]

Hey guys,
I have a 1x30 harbor freight and I have used it before to do knife repairs such as this. I only used the grinder to remove metal, quick passes and water dunk and almost no heat at all was generated, and I sharpen by hand on stones as I run a small hand sharpening business in my spare time from home.

But I am now wanting to make my own knives. I have cut a few 3 inch pieces of D2 to make some chisel ground marking knives for practice before I attempt to make a kitchen knife with the 52100 I ordered. I took the "toolrest/table" off because it was annoying and am freehanding the bevel. I have ceramic belts in 60/120/220 grit and just ordered a few different 400-800 grit belts of different kinds to see which ones I like the best. Now on to my question.
I noticed I can get a bevel I am pretty happy with at 60 grit but when I try to use the higher grit belts my bevel is extremely hard to keep from getting faceted. At 60 I can keep them pretty straight. Here is the first freehand 60 grit bevel I ever ground.

This thing just goes so fast and hogs off metal in the blink of an eye. I put my fingers behind the bevel, kiss it to the grinder softly till I feel the bevel go flat and then start my pass. I cannot keep it on the grinder for more than 3 seconds without it burning me so I give it a water dunk and repeat. A bevel as wide as the one above takes me many passes, even though it is only 1 inch wide steel. Should I just keep my bevel at 60 and work on finishing it after heat treat or do I just need more practice? I'd like to finish the bevel at least at 220 or 400 on the grinder before I do my hand finish but after hours of frustration today it seems I cannot get a bevel I am happy with off anything except for the 60 grit belt. Out of 4 chisel grinds I was about to get one consistent bevel up to 220 and the rest I left at 60 or took back down to 60 out of frustration. Will it be easier to use the higher grit belts after I get them heat treated or should I just keep practicing until I develop more muscle memory?

PS I KNOW I need more practice which is why I'm making marking knives but also wondering if anyone notices that it is easier to keep the bevel flat and consistent with the lower grit belt?

 

[Fochops]

For me, the lower grits allow for a "sharper" bevel line. As you move up in grit your touch should get lighter as well so not to disturb the bevel lines you have set, just to smooth out the grind lines from the previous grit. Muscle memory is key. Keep in mind a fast machine makes fast mistakes. You gotta fineness that thing!

 

[noseoil]

I've only made 2 blades, both D2, but do yourself a favor, don't send for heat treat & think you're going to change the shape or finish afterwards. It's just too hard once it's up around 59-60 to work with. Get your technique down first & have the finish nearly at 100%. If you're having trouble with the finer grits, make a bevel rest or a jig to help with the shaping, or practice more first with your freehand technique.

I'm sure there are others who know a lot more about it & can give better advice, but get things right prior to HT would be what I would say.

 

[Tenebr0s]

I sometimes find that when doing a small kiridashi-type bevel like you have there, it can be difficult to keep the bevel crisp and flat in the higher grits on the grinder. If you have low-grit DMT stones (I use the 120 grit lapping plate and up), it's pretty easy to polish little bevels. Then I go to water stones.

 

[comet_sharp]

Those kiridashis are beautiful Tene. I'm basically trying to make a western version using only 3 inch of steel so I don't waste too much was I learn to bevel grind. I love my stones and have done many repairs on my 140x atoma (next stone up is a 500 Beston soaker and is a little difficult to remove the 140x scratches but not impossible) and planned to used it while finishing my kitchen knives after heat treat. I'm a big fan of Robin Dalmans work as his kitchen knives were part of the reason I wanted to start making my own and he also takes most if not all of his bevels from the grinder to a diamond plate to finish by hand. I want to make extremely thin kitchen knives with convex edges and planned to flat grind/heat treat/finish on a slack belt then go to stones. First things first, I need to get good on this 1x30. If anything it'll just make me better when I move to a bigger/slower grinder. I just ordered .125" x 2" x 48" of 52100 and if I can make 5 bunkas with 5 edges I am proud of I won't know what to do with myself. I'd just be too happy.
Thanks for the responses.

 

[Tenebr0s]

Good luck with this journey! Kitchen knives are what I primarily make, and they are very, very difficult. But the challenge of making a truly great performer in the kitchen is what keeps me working at it. In appearance, kitchen knives can look so simple... But I doubt there is a style of knife harder to make well. Get a kool mist (or some kind of wet grinding system) and you'll save yourself a lot of pain (literally) grinding thin knives!