Not nearly as easy as you make it seem...

When I used a 2x42, I would grind to close to the desired dimensions, then level the bevels on a diamond stone. The 2x42 runs so fast that a slight wobble would ruin a blade in an instant. I used blaze belts for roughing and norax for finishing, or at least as close to finishing I could get with my shaky hands. It takes time to develop the muscle memory.
 
kdogmcg said:
400 grit belts will take forever. The lowest i would go for primary grinding of bevels would be 80. I have always used 40 grit to start.
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That''s exactly why I recommended it.

It slows it down for him.

He needs to make a pass, look at it and see what it did, then repeat over and over.

If he's having problems 40grit and 80 will only get him there in a big hurry.
He's already doing that and needs to try something different.

Once he's good at grinding, then he can be more efficient.
 
I hear that, I would think going to 80 or 120 at most would do the trick. 400 is going to wear out quick, get really hot, and be even more discouraging IMHO.
 
lonepine said:
I share your frustrations. There are some gifted and talented people who can just put steel to a moving belt and grind a perfect bevel. That's not me. Grinding good bevels has not been easy for me. Below are things that have helped me. None of them are magic pills that miraculously enable me to make wonderful knives but they help me improve.

I bought a "Bubble Jig" to help me get and keep the proper angle while grinding. It still takes a steady hand to keep the bubble centered and one can easily screw up. It takes a couple blades before you get the feel of using it. I saw a major improvement in my grinds.

I also use a Sears 2X42. The sears belts are for wood. They can be used on metal but will not have much of a life. Invest in GOOD belts from True Grit or Super Belts. They will cut much better, with less heat, and last longer.

I've recently moved my grinder to a proper level for me. It had been on my work bench placing the grinding surface about chest high. It's now much lower, about belly-button high, and I can look down on the blank and better gauge the angle as I grind.

I'm also wearing leather gloves to keep me from burning my fingers. Without them I was holding the knife blank loosely and rushing because I knew it was going to burn me. With gloves I approach the grinder with more confidence and can better apply/present the steel to the belt. It would sure help if I could slow the darn motor down but that's not going to happen so I have to learn to work around it.

Are my grinds all pretty and flat, and even on both sides? Nooooooo... not exactly, but they're getting better and I'm having fun.

What sort of knife are you trying to make? Start small, something about the size of a kitchen paring knife. It will be less frustrating.

Good luck and good grinding,

- Paul Meske
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Best advice I've gotten was "wear gloves" I threw them on and didn't have to rush my grinds. Was able to apply more pressure and see better results. I was making REALLY good progress, then the one belt I have snapped and there goes my day.. lol
 
kdogmcg said:
I hear that, I would think going to 80 or 120 at most would do the trick. 400 is going to wear out quick, get really hot, and be even more discouraging IMHO.
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On O1, it's butter soft and that's how I learned.

There's no set belt recipe. No two do it alike
 
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I use a ~2x42
Getting ceramic 40grit and Trizac belts was a big game changer for me.
Don't be afraight to use pressure when grinding. Don't take multi facet bevels to a higher grit belt, try and flat bevels to the next belt. That helped me.
 
Yeah I threw some gloves on and applied alot more pressure it made a HUGE difference. Then my belt snapped. So my next task is put on the glass is just ordered and try and find some cheap belts
 
You need a ceramic platen and good belts. I use 60, 120, 220, and a 400 Gator. Be patient and take your time. Look at the knife after each pass to see what's happening. You'll learn how much pressure to add and where to add it. Just takes time. Good luck.
 
I'm with you Valknut! Putting hours in at the grinder trying to get something decent. Much harder than it looks!
I got bit by the knife-making bug!
 
I use a drill bit clamped to a flat surface & a magic marker on the edge to scribe 2 lines, about .040" apart, for a working mark as a guide at the cutting edge. Start at a steep angle (45 degrees maybe?) to get close to the scribe lines & then work to shallower cuts closer to the spine as you progress on the grind. Also, I use a block of wood on the grinding table to get a good offset, since my free-handing isn't anywhere near up to par yet. Grind with the scribe lines facing up & try to use steady, even pressure as you draw the blade across the belt slowly. I don't use gloves, so I can feel the heat as it enters the blade at the belt. If it's too hot to the touch, I dunk it in water & resume the pass. On un-tempered steel the heat isn't an issue. On a tempered blade the heat will destroy the temper in very short order, so I don't use gloves & work pretty slowly.

Will take a picture of my set-up & post it today. I'm using a 1" X 30" grinder to make an 18" chopper blade (1/4" X 2" with 5160, ugh!), Too many things to watch all at one time & too many mistakes to make all at the same time when things go wrong. It's a challenge to keep things working properly, but it's still a lot of fun!

Added the pictures:

OK, here's a couple of shots. It's training wheels still for me, but this gets a better grind now than I had before without the block in place. It lets me concentrate on one thing instead of a bunch of things at once. This is my third knife, so take what I say with a large pinch of salt & someone please correct me if I'm wrong & giving bad advice....
Block_zpsz58j9gbj.jpg


The tip of the blade, so far
Tip_zpsevkpsqca.jpg
 
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valknut said:
...and try and find some cheap belts
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I would say one of the biggest mistakes I made was being cheap when it comes to belts. Be frugal, but not cheap. Use VSM, Merit etc. but make sure you always use the best quality that you can. You will see a difference in grind quality, belt tracking, time spent grinding, cleanliness and durability. If you use the grinder to make your knives it is the focal point of your shop. I'm all for being frugal, but not cheap. I use Merit/VSM for roughing and finish up on Norton and 3M and finally on Trizact Gators. VSM is pretty good and a 60 grit will last rouging a few knives for me before being placed in the "profile and edge knockdown" pile.

Someone on here once said something to the effect of "use like its free". Personally i don't use gloves outside of rough and profile, makes it hard to feel what i'm doing. I find i can push harder with gloves, but not really in the best way. Usually i favor one side or the other when i wear gloves.
 
Blaster 6- you and me both brother!
I'd honestly rather do this freehand I mainly don't trust my 2x42 rest and last time I used a jig to file the edges it just made it worse. To each their own. But for your 3rd blade I'd say it's looking pretty good.
I know I'm SUPPOSED to use good belts but I'm only grinding on HD metal so I really don't want to spend 40 bucks on belts to use them on metal that won't even become a knife. Besides sears had a special going on so I grabbed 9 50gr belts for 5 or 6 bucks.
 
I agree with you on the freehand vs. jig. I didn't start with Jigs because i wasn't clever enough to make a good jig and would rather spend that time grinding anyway - now i would make a jig if i had time.

I completely understand saving money to learn the basics! You can use what ever belts you desire really, and you'll find what works for won't work for others. There are dozens of threads on that topic too. What you'll find is that belt selection can vary per type of steel you are using or material in general. AO for wood, Ceramic for hardened metal(and unhardened!) This thread: http://www.bladeforums.com/forums/showthread.php/1427284-cubitron-vs-blaze-vs-merit-ceramics has great advice and experience on belts.
 
Hey thanks for the info man! Well I just received my pyroceram glass I ordered and this is my first grind on it. Obviously not perfect but wow is it leaps and bounds better!
 
Haha just spend 10 minutes jb welding it up before you go to bed then in the morning it will be good to go
 
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