Pheer or Kalamazoo 2x72"???

B

Bishop415

Joined
May 28, 2012
Messages
15
Hey guys,

I started making knives last autumn on a little Rockwell 1x42" grinder that I picked up on Craigslist for $100.00. In mid January, as I was about halfway finished shaping my fifth knife, the grinder went tits up on me in a very loud and decisive manner. So now that I'm thoroughly hooked on making chef's knives, I've spent the past several months scouring Craigslist and Ebay for a decent grinder that won't cost me a million bucks, and I think I've narrowed my choices down to the Pheer, model ph 327 1 hp x 8, or the Kalamazoo 2FS72M. I really like what I hear about the Pheer; it is clearly a superior grinder to the Kalamazoo, and I am hugely in favor of spending my money with a guy who hand-fabricates machinery over a larger manufacturing company. However, my budget is such that the ±$230.00 difference between the two is a serious consideration. Please let me know what you guys think. Should I shell out the extra cash, or will the Kalamazoo suit my needs? Somebody talk me out of this $230.00.

I've attached a few photos of my third knife so you'll have some idea of my skill level.

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I would eat mac and cheese for a month and buy the pheer. Seems like a good deal even though I haven't heard of them. I have heard multiple people say they wish they never bought the Kalamazoo.

Love those handles!!
 
I have the Kalamazoo 2x48 that I bought back in 1990, it still runs pretty much the same as it did when I got it, ok a bit better really, I scrapped the guard, welded on a piece of 1x2 channel as a platen and have been using it ever since. Hard. Now that is not saying it is a great grinder, that is saying it is a Baldor motor with a drive wheel and an idler wheel stuck onto it. You will notice I said drive wheel not contact wheel. It is a hard rubber wheel on the bottom and an ABS plastic wheel on top. You will notice I did not mention platen when describing the machine as shipped. The bent sheet metal thing where a platen should have been was not big enough to extend out enough to support the belt which is why I made a platen for it. Back then there were not really many grinder choices, there was either Bader, Burr King or Kalamazoo. With that in mind it was some of the best money I have spent, 23 years divided into $279 comes out to about 11 dollars a year, but there are better machines out there and my next grinder purchase will be a Bader B3

-Page
 
If you sell any of your knives, that difference in price will be paid for in a hurry. Flexibility is a good thing on a belt grinder. I've never worked on either machine, that being said. :)
 
Im thinking of the Pheer myself as ive also heard good things about this grinder. I just wanted to say that is one fine looking blade youve made there !
 
I would look into another option. This guy sells wheels on eBay and has a website now that doesn't quite have all details filled in but the grinder looks really stout. Much more so than the pheer. He has a post on Ed caffrey's site sating hat his site is up. I don't know him but I would at least check it out. I think the design is much more stout than the pheer. Also with the pheer I think that you can end up with a used motor and vfd. I wouldn't want that unless I knew where they came from and had details. His site is diygrinder.com.
 
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i dont think he sells the 327 anymore. its the 427 which is a little more money but its an awesome machine
 
Excuse my English :), but you have not tried it: http://belt-grinders.eu/ to see? This is my good friend, recently moved to the Czech Republic and opened a firm. They had problems, but now all is well.
UPD: He said that he is registered here, I can ask him to answer your questions if you are interested.
WBR, Shakdo.
 
Hey guys, thanks a lot for the advice and for the compliments on the knife. My Pheer 427 arrived last week, and I am very happy with it. The motor and drive are both new, and the whole thing runs tight as a drum. Jose is making a hell of a machine, and his price beats the snot out of any other grinder in its class.

Also, to anyone who is interested in one of these machines, but isn't sure about buying from an individual machinist rather than a larger manufacturer: Jose Navarro is exactly the kind of stand-up guy that I wish I could deal with in every business transaction. He does exactly what he says he's going to do, and he delivers a great product without a bunch of BS. He is the type of independent maker that we should all be going out of our way to support.
 
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