Newbie grind question

T

Technohedge

Joined
Sep 9, 2018
Messages
84
Hi Guys, first time knife maker here looking for a bit of advice from the pros!

Ive been putting together the first blade and had a bit of trouble with the grind consistency.

I use a homemade linisher, seems to work well. Made a grinding jig to set the angle of the blade.

The issue I have is as you can see below, the grind dosen't stay consistent as I get to the point of the blade. I have trouble maintaining the angle thats required on this area. Are there any tricks/rules to this?



Its just a standard scandi grind

cheers
 
You need an angled rest so you can freehand but keep a consistent angle. Adventure sworn uses a sled style jig and angles the platen.

For scandi you want 12.5 degrees a side traditionally. With the sled style jig you pull the butt of the handle towards you, the kicker is how much it takes practice.

For the first method you keep the bevel in contact at an a angle and rotate the handle down when you hit the belly.

I made almost 50 scandi blades first year i started making. Got good at them but learned a lot if beginners think its an easier grind, simple yes easier not sure I agree. Has a lot of little nuances.

Ill post a picture of the two different jigs tomorrow.
 
So what I'm hearing is that i have to rotate the knife handle towards me as i get to the curve of the blade?
 
This is a subject that will get some people's backs up. There are folks that will argue to the death recommending the use of jigs and tell you not to listen to anyone else. A jig is only one tool in your tool bag. Don't rely on it as your only tool. They are fine if you understand what you are doing already. My own recommendation would be to learn how to grind freehand first so that you understand the subtleties of steering the grind, correcting mistakes, different grind geometries etc. Then you can use your jigs more effectively. If all you know is the jig you will be locked into whatever results it wants to give you. In my shop I tell my tools what I want, not the other way around.
 
i4Marc said:
This is a subject that will get some people's backs up. There are folks that will argue to the death recommending the use of jigs and tell you not to listen to anyone else. A jig is only one tool in your tool bag. Don't rely on it as your only tool. They are fine if you understand what you are doing already. My own recommendation would be to learn how to grind freehand first so that you understand the subtleties of steering the grind, correcting mistakes, different grind geometries etc. Then you can use your jigs more effectively. If all you know is the jig you will be locked into whatever results it wants to give you. In my shop I tell my tools what I want, not the other way around.
Click to expand...
Learn how to grind freehand...............is easy to say :) Well , what if I can t learn and I still want to make some knives ? I agree that is best to learn to grind free hand .Till I work on my setup with jig someone will already grind both bevel ..... I try many times , I can grind one side perfectly . like I have hundreds year experience but when I switch to other side...........grind start to look like some monkey from zoo do that . Simple I can t learn to grind that side ......and never will learn. I think that this is not problem only with me .....one side prefect other catastrophic ......... Fortunately I understand the subtleties of steering the grind, correcting mistakes , so I can tell to my jig what I want and I can grind perfect bevel from both side that way .Actually now I have a jig that even monkey from zoo can grind prefect both side :D For more complicated grind ......I keep my file jig ready .File jig don t make mistake ;) So if it is sin to work with help of tools to try to make what I want ...........................
 
Last edited:
Yea Im keen to learn freehand, what I tend to do is freehand it first and learn what I can, then finish it off with the jig if it looks rubbish.

Even with freehanding though one needs to know what to do with the tip of the blade section
 
Im all for grinding freehand, and agree its a skill worth honing. However if your goal is scandi grinds, ive yet to see it done freehand. Too small of bevel and needs to be precise, since sharpening you lay the whole bevel on the stone.
 
Natlek and Technohedge,

Like I mentioned, I'm not against jigs. The thing to keep in mind is that there is a learning curve to jigs as well as grinding freehand (or on a work rest). In the time it takes to learn how to use and set up a jig you could be well on your way to learning how to grind by hand. It is not an elitist position. I'm not saying that people who don't grind by hand are not "real knifemakers" or any such nonsense. I encourage it because of the freedom and confidence it offers you when you learn how to do it. This is a real asset, creatively speaking. It can be a necessity as well in terms of functionality. Different types of knives require very different edge geometry depending upon many variables. Some blades require a varying geometry in different sections of the same blade. A jig will not deal with these situations effectively. How do you deal with the tip? Watch a video, read a book or a forum thread, have someone show you. However you learn, once you've got it you will never forget it. Learning to do the "monkey from zoo did it" side is the same way. Make the effort to learn it. It will come. Then you will never forget it. I'm not saying it's easy but like learning a language it has its rewards once you get the hang of it.
 
Last edited:
Natlek said:
Learn how to grind freehand...............is easy to say :) Well , what if I can t learn and I still want to make some knives ? I agree that is best to learn to grind free hand .Till I work on my setup with jig someone will already grind both bevel ..... I try many times , I can grind one side perfectly . like I have hundreds year experience but when I switch to other side...........grind start to look like some monkey from zoo do that . Simple I can t learn to grind that side ......and never will learn. I think that this is not problem only with me .....one side prefect other catastrophic ......... Fortunately I understand the subtleties of steering the grind, correcting mistakes , so I can tell to my jig what I want and I can grind perfect bevel from both side that way .Actually now I have a jig that even monkey from zoo can grind prefect both side :D For more complicated grind ......I keep my file jig ready .File jig don t make mistake ;) So if it is sin to work with help of tools to try to make what I want ...........................
Click to expand...

Are you selling the monkey jig? :)
I get what you are saying, I definitely have a strong grinding side.
I learned free hand but would use a jig, no problem. It just won't do all the grinding styles I use. But for flat grinds, what the heck. Use it if you get great results.
In the end a great knife is what we are after.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top