Pushsticks

Matthew, you might very well be right. In Nick's videos I've seen him using a push stick made of some type of plastic.

In my original post I should have said that I've tried PVC, HDPE from a cutting board, a chunk of Teflon, Delrin as well as wooden push sticks. After all this experimenting, my personal choice and one I've seen Nick Wheeler using, is that of the thumb. Granted, if I was wanting to hog thick metal with a 36 grit belt, it wouldn't take much effort to take off a thumb, but this is something that I avoid. I choose to slowdown, use a new 60 grit belt and let that belt do the work where I don't have to apply a lot of pressure to remove metal.

Also, most of my bevel grinding these days is post heat treat, so I'm trying to keep the heat down. Using my thumb gives me instant feed back as to how hot the blade is getting.

I think you will agree that arguing over what type of material Nick Wheeler uses for push sticks is quite silly. How about instead you tell us and the OP what you use and why?
 
I've tried using a push stick the way Salem describes, and I can never make it work for me. Can't make a rest work either.
I use a little scrap of maple as a push stick for profiling though.
 
So NC do you use the work rest and use your thumb to apply pressure or just free hand?

Lanternnate: this is the rum Hancock video I was referencing in the OP. About the 14 min mark he starts using soap stone as a push stick. This is the guy that taught Nick wheeler.
 
Hey Chuck,
I think you’re just kind of missing what I was trying to say. I had no interest in arguing about this - in fact, I wasn’t! I pointed out that Nick uses Teflon because I know Nick uses Teflon, and I know this because he’s a friend of mine and we’ve talked about it. It’s an important point because pvc has a material failure temp of just shy of 300°, and off-gases some really nasty shit when it does, where Teflon’s failure temp is twice that.

I didn’t bother sharing any more input because I don’t use a pushstick, I freehand grind, and the thread is about pushsticks. :)

...well, except to heckle John April, of course. :D




NC Biker said:
Matthew, you might very well be right. In Nick's videos I've seen him using a push stick made of some type of plastic.

I think you will agree that arguing over what type of material Nick Wheeler uses for push sticks is quite silly. How about instead you tell us and the OP what you use and why?
Click to expand...
 
lanternnate said:
Ok, so I’m curious now. Does anyone have a link to a good instructional on using a push stick if someone wanted to try it?
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Here is a good example of Nick using his Teflon :D Push Stick to grind bevels. Grinding starts at minute 6:00.

valknut said:
So NC do you use the work rest and use your thumb to apply pressure or just free hand?
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Valk, I've tried just about very method seen on these forums. I tried using a extended work rest and a push stick like seen in the video above and it works fine. In fact I would actually recommend that method if your hogging metal off a thick forged bowie Like Nick makes. A 36 grit belt is nothing to play with. It's just personally after trying everything, I keep coming back to grinding by hand. It gives me the most control when I have my elbows locked to my sides and use my whole body to guide the blade across the platen using my thumb to apply pressure while my hand is twisting the blade into the platen. It's what works for me. Now, if free handing is not working for you yet and I say yet as it takes practice. You might want to try using a pin as a work rest and your thumb as a push stick as below:
 
NC Biker said:
Here is a good example of Nick using his Teflon :D Push Stick to grind bevels. Grinding starts at minute 6:00.


Valk, I've tried just about very method seen on these forums. I tried using a extended work rest and a push stick like seen in the video above and it works fine. In fact I would actually recommend that method if your hogging metal off a thick forged bowie Like Nick makes. A 36 grit belt is nothing to play with. It's just personally after trying everything, I keep coming back to grinding by hand. It gives me the most control when I have my elbows locked to my sides and use my whole body to guide the blade across the platen using my thumb to apply pressure while my hand is twisting the blade into the platen. It's what works for me. Now, if free handing is not working for you yet and I say yet as it takes practice. You might want to try using a pin as a work rest and your thumb as a push stick as below:
Click to expand...

That's pretty dang smart might have to try that. So far I'm liking the push stick and work rest. I'll eventually get to folders so I'm not too concerned to gru ding big fat blade a anytime soon.
 
valknut said:
That's pretty dang smart might have to try that. So far I'm liking the push stick and work rest. I'll eventually get to folders so I'm not too concerned to gru ding big fat blade a anytime soon.
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So you think that grinding small blade for folder is
easier then grinding big blade ?
 
Natlek said:
So you think that grinding small blade for folder is
easier then grinding big blade ?
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No not at all.
I'm the text was messed up. I ment to so I'm not concerned with grinding big fat blades because it's just not something that's for me. I think the push stick and work rest way might be easier for smaller blades
 
i have tried the technique but in my case the hand that is pulling the blade across the belt cannot seem to pull perfectly straight, so i end up cutting into the blade with either side of the platen. with two hands on the blade i can better judge the pressure on each side of the platen. i am sure it works well but there is a learning curve to it. to others it may come naturally.
 
valknut said:
Like most new guys I've had a heck of a time trying to grind free hand. I'm just having hard time grasping the "how". If your grinding the same angle how does that walk up the grind? Or do you knock down the apex of the last angle (make sense?) I've watched every video and read a ton of threads. And ground ALOT of steel. Just can't quite seem to get it together. Tried this way and it turned out WAY better
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The problem you're experiencing is due to the fact that you are NOT supposed to grind the same angle throughout the grinding process. The way I and many others do it is to grind the initial edge at 45 degrees or so and walk that up the blade. So every pass means the angle becomes more and more acute. Once it reaches the spine (on a full flat grind anyway) you're done. Therefore on a full flat grind the thickness of the steel and the height of the blade determines the angle- not you
 
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john april said:
i have tried the technique but in my case the hand that is pulling the blade across the belt cannot seem to pull perfectly straight,
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Yeah, and not only straight, but you have to pull at a constant speed. Freehand you lock your elbows to keep the blade straight and shift your weight from one foot to the other for constant speed. Both methods can be learned with practice, which I guess is the key to any grinding.
 
Kevin McGovern said:
The problem you're experiencing is due to the fact that you are NOT supposed to grind the same angle throughout the grinding process. The way I and many others do it is to grind the initial edge at 45 degrees or so and walk that up the blade. So every pass means the angle becomes more and more acute. Once it reaches the spine (on a full flat grind anyway) you're done. Therefore on a full flat grind the thickness of the steel and the height of the blade determines the angle- not you
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That makes way more sense!!! Man I was going from 45 to flat lol or close to it.
Is it you tang holding hand that adjusts the angle?
Thank you
 
valknut said:
That makes way more sense!!! Man I was going from 45 to flat lol or close to it.
Is it you tang holding hand that adjusts the angle?
Thank you
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The way I do it, yes. I use my "tang hand" to adjust and hold the angle and the other hand to support and add grinding pressure. It is difficult to feel the flat bevel on the belt at first, since it starts out small. So at this point check the grind after every pass to see what you did. Once it's 3/8" high or so, I can feel it ( and feel if it is flat against the platen) better. Once you can make your passes evenly, you just apply a little twist of the blade so you rotate the edge towards you. I like to have like 1/32" of space between the edge and belt all the way across for much of the grinding. So I can be sure I am walking it up. Once I have the bevels athe height I want, I will go back to set the edge if it's too thick. But usually this isn't necessary, since I leave the edge maybe half the thickness of a dime prior to heat treat. (Again, on most blades). I find it easier to grind a high and thick chopper due to the fact that since the grind is so high, it is really easy to tell if it's flat just by feel, once it's established. Hope that helps. I know it's hard to see and feel, one reason that good light, especially from above shining down on the platen face, is critical.
 
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Alright for me that's probably the best description of free hand grinding I've read. It makes ALOT more sense now. Basically you knock the edges off until you get to the angle you want
 
Kevin McGovern said:
The way I do it, yes. I use my "tang hand" to adjust and hold the angle and the other hand to support and add grinding pressure. It is difficult to feel the flat bevel on the belt at first, since it starts out small. So at this point check the grind after every pass to see what you did. Once it's 3/8" high or so, I can feel it ( and feel if it is flat against the platen) better. Once you can make your passes evenly, you just apply a little twist of the blade so you rotate the edge towards you. I like to have like 1/32" of space between the edge and belt all the way across for much of the grinding. So I can be sure I am walking it up. Once I have the bevels athe height I want, I will go back to set the edge if it's too thick. But usually this isn't necessary, since I leave the edge maybe half the thickness of a dime prior to heat treat. (Again, on most blades). I find it easier to grind a high and thick chopper due to the fact that since the grind is so high, it is really easy to tell if it's flat just by feel, once it's established. Hope that helps. I know it's hard to see and feel, one reason that good light, especially from above shining down on the platen face, is critical.
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Kevin McGovern Kevin McGovern Wow man I tried it that way today and man it made a HUGE difference. That was like my "AHA" moment. I have some refining to do but it was WAAAY better. So thank you for your help man
 
I tried the Teflon push stick and quit using it because I have more control and better feel of the pressure with a couple fingers. My grinder runs at 4500 sfm but I usually grind much slower and use a glove to keep my finger cool. My 2 inch work rest is closer to the wheel than the thickness of a credit card and I have never had a jam or pinch. I guess everyone has their own method of controlling their blade. Larry

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