Northridge vs tw 90

T

Teppojutsu

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Jan 18, 2015
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Ok so I think I got the grinder I want narrowed to these 2 .

I have greatly considered the tag 101 as well (it's running for 3rd choice )

I have though long and hard about a KMG . That said

Does anyone have much experience with the northridge?

I did search it and found the few threads , any updates?

Also if George from Northridge sees this any ideas when the pro packages will be ready?

As for the tw 90 It comes with most of the features I want out of the box ready to go . And is my first pick but at this point I really like some of the things Northridge has to offer and their production capabilities seem pretty awsome .

Granted the tw 90 has been around for longer (yes I know Bader and kmg have been around longer and are solid)

Any feedback is welcomed as I'd like to order a grinder by the next month or 2

Thanks PRIII
 
I personally use two GIB's. If I were going to buy a new 2x72 grinder and price was not a factor, I'd go with the TW-90 in a heartbeat. It is incredibly smooth, comes with a good bit of kit, has a fairly small footprint, and flips to horizontal. I would not even consider a grinder that doesn't flip; it is very useful. I do about 1/3 of my work with the grinder in horizontal. The Outlaw and Wilmont grinders will flip to horizontal as well but, they are not as smooth or refined as the TW-90. The Maximizer also flips but it is quite pricey and I've been told it's finicky and does not come fully equipped (i.e. each work rest is additional). I checked out the Outlaw at Blade and I think they are on the right track and a good value for the money but, it's not a TW-90.

I will mention the only down side I see to the TW-90. The flat platen is not compatible with the KMG which has somewhat become the standard for length and bolt spacing. If you want to add one of Nathan's coolers or radius platens, you'll wait a lot longer to get one for a TW-90 than one that fits a KMG.

Bob
 
I have two TW-90's and am very happy with them. I have had no experience with the Northridge.
 
At this point, the TW-90 is a proven design; it is considered the Cadillac of grinders.

In contrast, the NR is relatively new and unproven "in the wild."

When considering not only performance but also resale value, it seems foolish to choose anything other than a proven design, especially if they are the same price.
 
Go with the TW-90.

The NR doesn't seem to come with a decent tool rest.
 
I recently purchased the North ridge. I'll be honest I 've not got the time to put it through the paces yet! Busy time in my life helping my daughter. Enough said on that you help your kids when they need it. With all that said what little I've used my NR grinder I'm totally impressed. This grinder is well thought out and a IMPESSIVE grinder. I couldn't be happier with my purchase. All grinders started out as new and have to in the minds of consumers to be with worth it! Imagine as a car manufacturer getting into making cars. You trust what's out there but they have incredible inherit problems but you keep buying them because they are established car manufacturer's. The North Ridge Grinder is a well thought out, well engineered grinder with only the best compents, used or manufactured in the USA by a small company wanting to make the very best knife grinder in the business. I honestly think this will be the grinder that all knife grinders will be compared to in the future. It's that good!
 
Quote "The NR doesn't seem to come with a decent tool rest. " Have you looked at their web site? It comes with a basic tool rest like everyone else has for the economy minded folks but has a optional tool rest and a horizontal option that both combined is comparable to or better than the popular extremely expensive TW model.
 
TW-90 first choice, TAG 101 2nd choice in my opinion. That being said I use a GIB like Ranger Bob's and a KMG that is heavily modified. Larry


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P.Brewster said:
At this point, the TW-90 is a proven design; it is considered the Cadillac of grinders.

In contrast, the NR is relatively new and unproven "in the wild."

When considering not only performance but also resale value, it seems foolish to choose anything other than a proven design, especially if they are the same price.
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This is well put and exactly what I've gathered.

From all the videos I watched the tw 90 seemed to be the smoothest running ( I base that off the SOUNDS I hear in the videos ) the kmg is also smoothe and quiet .

The factors for me are the tw comes with a lot of features and has a proven track record.

The northridge is very attractive on price (don't know how much the pro costs) But doesn't quite come with as much kit as the tw .

I do like the the production capabilities that Northridge "seems" to have .

In my head if you have some of the best machines producing the grinders you "can" get a "better" end product? Is this a flawed way of thinking about it?.

The only thing that is semi "scary" to me about the northridge is that it is a start up company.
But at one point in time so was the tw90 and now it's the Cadillac of grinders.

I'm just wondering if the northridge will be the Rolls-Royce of grinders?.

Just to be clear I'm not looking for the best so I can say it's the best .

I'm looking for the best so 2 years down the road I'm not saying to myself I went a different route.

And I know there are baders running since the 90s and kmg l a little bit after.
I actually remember when I first got into making besides Bader, Wilton and kmg where pretty much it (don't think the 2x72 grizzly was even on a radar at the time)

I really wish someone had both a tw 90 and a northridge
 
I guess in the grand scheme of things plenty of masters have done
master class work with their baders (I know they are built for industry) and kmg .

I know it's up to me and not the grinder so Mabey a different point of view.

Which grinder won't require me to f u@% with it for the longest amount of time . Lol :)

this doesnt includes mods and upgrades Which are inevitable

Thanks the everyone

PRIII
 
The other issue with the TW-90 is that it's got no ass. Sorry, but 2hp just doesn't cut it for me. You can, and I recommend getting a 3hp Wilmont with a large rubber coated drive wheel (eliminates belt slip when loaded). Only person I know that can stall them is Jim Crowell.

The TW-90 is super smooth, tracks nicely, has slick tensioning and flipping mechanism. It's an exceptional grinder. For me though, it's just not as versatile. I run one, and am adding another, dedicated horizontal (it's mandatory for folder work IMO), so I rarely flip my TAG-101s, and I agree that it's not a very elegant mechanism. On the other hand, the 3 tooling arms indexed in line, and the incredibly useful tool rest design, allows me to always have that feature on hand (simply turn the tool rest out of the way, leaving it in one slot), along with building tooling I can add and remove from each grinder with minimal fiddle factor. For me, all that, coupled with the added hp, makes it a no brainer, but I've also got 2 surface grinders, and a disc grinder to go with the 4 Wilmonts.

If I had to have only 1 grinder, it would be a TW-90 with a SG attachment and I'd beg Travis to upgrade me to a 3hp motor and VFD. Since space is less important than time, I keep multiple grinders setup with the tooling I use constantly, and accessory tooling for dedicated operations, like a special angled plate I have to dovetail bolsters and handle material the same each time, etc.


It's pretty difficult to determine what grinder will be best for you without spending time on all of them. I haven't used a northridge or outlaw yet myself, but every other grinder currently or previously on the market I have. Most people do some research, and then vehemently defend the choice they made as the best one. I built my first couple, used a bunch of them, and finally settled on what I thought would be the best for my way of making knives. I'm very happy with that, and always wish I was on a TAG when I sit down to a TW, but it's a Ford/Chevy debate ultimately. Good luck.
 
Well put thank you !
That's another reason the northridge was in my mind with the Baldor motor.

But I did see in Travis's videos where he bears down pretty good on the grinder to cut a profile out of some stock . And it didn't seem to bog down.
Being a novice I probably wouldn't notice ANY machines short comings

Except my old square wheel which was ridonkulous :)
 
If I had to have only 1 grinder, it would be a TW-90 with a SG attachment and I'd beg Travis to upgrade me to a 3hp motor and VFD. Since space is less important than time, I keep multiple grinders setup with the tooling I use constantly, and accessory tooling for dedicated operations, like a special angled plate I have to dovetail bolsters and handle material the same each time, etc.

I totally get this with experience in production in my jobs

It's always nice to have dedicated machines that way they are always ready to go saving time in measuring and set up.
Space isn't a problem for me either but I'm in no position of needing production capability ....yet

I can only hope to be in a position where adding another grinder is necessary to keep up with my customers :)
 
LCoop said:
Quote "The NR doesn't seem to come with a decent tool rest. " Have you looked at their web site? It comes with a basic tool rest like everyone else has for the economy minded folks but has a optional tool rest and a horizontal option that both combined is comparable to or better than the popular extremely expensive TW model.
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I would love a video of you grinding something so I can hear it
 
I was also considering a Northridge around a month ago or so, along with 3 other models...Pheer, AMK and Esteem. There were three reasons that I didn't go with the Northridge. First, it was a new grinder model with no track record, secondly, all of their option pricing was not in place, and third, they wanted 500 bucks for the tilt option...500 bucks for a hinge!! This made me seriously think that once the other option prices became available I was going to get raked. Long story short....I purchased an Esteem grinder from Bret Matthews. Check out reviews here on BF...I've never read a single negative comment about the grinder or about Brett. The man goes above and beyond to satisfy his customers. Once you get into the $2500 plus price range you'll be happy with any grinder that you might purchase, they're all good machines. And don't be fooled by 1600 to 1700 dollar base prices, these are meaningless because you're going to want to add options like VFD, bigger motor, small wheel attachment, hollow grind wheel, etc. Look at the option prices carefully, and the quality of the options. This is where the true pricing of the machine comes into play and another reason that I'd decided on the Esteem...good quality, reasonable pricing. Just my 2 cents.
 
I had access to 6 Burr Kings in my last knife shop, and a friend had a KMG and TW-90. The TW-90 wins hands down. Its super smooth, and the tilt function is excellent. I would not hesitate in buying the TW-90 if I had the disposable cash. And my friend was so impressed he bought 3 for production use.

Its well worth the money.
 
TonyRV2 said:
I was also considering a Northridge around a month ago or so, along with 3 other models...Pheer, AMK and Esteem. There were three reasons that I didn't go with the Northridge. First, it was a new grinder model with no track record, secondly, all of their option pricing was not in place, and third, they wanted 500 bucks for the tilt option...500 bucks for a hinge!! This made me seriously think that once the other option prices became available I was going to get raked. Long story short....I purchased an Esteem grinder from Bret Matthews. Check out reviews here on BF...I've never read a single negative comment about the grinder or about Brett. The man goes above and beyond to satisfy his customers. Once you get into the $2500 plus price range you'll be happy with any grinder that you might purchase, they're all good machines. And don't be fooled by 1600 to 1700 dollar base prices, these are meaningless because you're going to want to add options like VFD, bigger motor, small wheel attachment, hollow grind wheel, etc. Look at the option prices carefully, and the quality of the options. This is where the true pricing of the machine comes into play and another reason that I'd decided on the Esteem...good quality, reasonable pricing. Just my 2 cents.
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I half agree ... the tilt stand imo is a lot of machining work in a very nice a professional way (you have to admit it's professionally made) 400 bucks doesn't go too far in a machine shop just my opinion I fully respect yours.

I did send an email last night asking for a price on the pro model with the articulating arm .

I get where your coming from being it's a startup company .
But beings the amount of investment he has in tooling (not to mention supposedly buying the last of the "good" Baldor motors)
I hope he is in it for the long haul.

Like I said totally can see your point of view :)

I'm just looking to buy once cry once. We shall see what northridge has to say
 
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