- Joined
- Oct 17, 2010
- Messages
- 2,424
One just arrived via USPS today, in a medium flat rate box.
For those that don't know about this, it's a DIY grinder kit designed over at Wilmont as an alternative to the GIB/EERF grinders, designed to streamline the build process and address some of the shortcomings of those original designs. As I've mentioned before, Chris and I spent a lot of time at the NC Custom Knifemaker's Guild meeting talking about the pros and cons of the designs, and he's addressing them directly not only in his fully built grinders, but now in these kits.
First impressions are great. They're offering not only the frame kit itself, but a complete hardware kit, which includes all the basic hardware along with a gas spring kit, adjustable handles, bump knob and a tension arm handle, and another package which includes a drive wheel and tracking wheel. While I only got the frame and hardware kit, the $561 complete kit seems like a serious bargain to me. Honestly I probably spent $100 just on hardware I *didn't* use, when I built my gib, and that doesn't include tooling or things I replaced later with mods.
Even if you don't buy anything but the frame itself, there are a complete (wip) set of instructions and a comprehensive hardware and requires tooling list. Which I would've killed for on my previous build.
The red anodized spacer plates give a sense of refinement, and looking through the build the whole thing looks more streamlined. The inline tooling arm slots are a big boon imho, and one of my major pet peeves regarding the gib.
I'll be starting the build tomorrow. So I'll post pics as I go along if anybody is interested. So far though, my opinion is that this is a fierce competitor with the gib, especially if you want to save yourself the hassle of figuring out all the hardware and tooling necesities, or trying to source hard to find handles and such locally.
In the interest of fairness I'll finish by stating that Chris Williams and I are friends, and I have a personal interest in this grinder based on the vain misconception that I had some minor influence on it's design, but I have not been paid or even encouraged to endorse it. I love my (modified) gib, but it took a lot of effort to get it to this point. I wouldn't trade that experience for the world, but some may like an easier road, especially the second time around.
Cheers all, and if you have any questions or requests, let me know.
For those that don't know about this, it's a DIY grinder kit designed over at Wilmont as an alternative to the GIB/EERF grinders, designed to streamline the build process and address some of the shortcomings of those original designs. As I've mentioned before, Chris and I spent a lot of time at the NC Custom Knifemaker's Guild meeting talking about the pros and cons of the designs, and he's addressing them directly not only in his fully built grinders, but now in these kits.
First impressions are great. They're offering not only the frame kit itself, but a complete hardware kit, which includes all the basic hardware along with a gas spring kit, adjustable handles, bump knob and a tension arm handle, and another package which includes a drive wheel and tracking wheel. While I only got the frame and hardware kit, the $561 complete kit seems like a serious bargain to me. Honestly I probably spent $100 just on hardware I *didn't* use, when I built my gib, and that doesn't include tooling or things I replaced later with mods.
Even if you don't buy anything but the frame itself, there are a complete (wip) set of instructions and a comprehensive hardware and requires tooling list. Which I would've killed for on my previous build.
The red anodized spacer plates give a sense of refinement, and looking through the build the whole thing looks more streamlined. The inline tooling arm slots are a big boon imho, and one of my major pet peeves regarding the gib.
I'll be starting the build tomorrow. So I'll post pics as I go along if anybody is interested. So far though, my opinion is that this is a fierce competitor with the gib, especially if you want to save yourself the hassle of figuring out all the hardware and tooling necesities, or trying to source hard to find handles and such locally.
In the interest of fairness I'll finish by stating that Chris Williams and I are friends, and I have a personal interest in this grinder based on the vain misconception that I had some minor influence on it's design, but I have not been paid or even encouraged to endorse it. I love my (modified) gib, but it took a lot of effort to get it to this point. I wouldn't trade that experience for the world, but some may like an easier road, especially the second time around.
Cheers all, and if you have any questions or requests, let me know.
