Right hand vs. Left hand grinding.. (strong vs. weak)

[Battle Creek Knives]

When I grind it seems I have much more control of the blade with my right hand, grinds come out better seem more even and overall are easier..

Not so much with my left hand and seem to struggle evening up the sides, does anyone else have this problem?? does it go away after a while..? after experience?

right now I have ground 12 blades completely freehand, 3 of them were done with a 1x30 sander which seemed way more easier to use for some reason I now have a kmg 1.5hp, while you'd think it should be easier I'm finding it more difficult to even up my grinds..

Am I alone here??

 

[Starvin]

I had the same problem but the other way around (my strong hand was better at applying pressure).

Do you use a tool rest? My grinds became more consistant when I started using one since I don't have to work to hold the blade steady. One hand is just applying pressure to the blade against the grinder and the other is just drawing the blade across. I still have a strong and weak side but it's not as pronounced.

 

[dperk]

Am I alone here??

NOPE!

I am much better holding the tang in my strong hand, keeping things level. When I switch, I have a hard time keeping the blade flat against the platen. I have only ground 5 blades so far, and I think I'll only finish 1 of them.

To me, I feel the taller grinds are harder and the 5/32 is harder than the 1/8. Do you notice any patterns similar?

 

[james terrio]

You are not alone. It just takes practice. Grind however is comfortable for you, and however you can best see what's going on at the point of contact. Whatever works, man. I look like a complete moron when grinding, sometimes bent tea-over-asskettle to hold the blade in my strong hand while watching it with my (opposite) strong eye. No one who matters is judging you on how you grind, only on the results.

 

[fast14riot]

I don't have a belt grinder, but a disc grinder instead, and I found that starting the knife with my weak (left) hand it was easier to match up in the end. Instead of try to match a decent grind with a weak hand I work at getting better grinds with my weak hand and match them with my strong hand. Make sense?


-Xander

 

[rick c]

Rob,

Grind the week side first then your strong side you have more control to matching your week side.That is what I do.

Good luck Rick

 

[Patrice Lemée]

How about grinding one side edge up and one side edge down so you always use your strong side? Not an easy thing to do but I am still learning both ways to see which one I like better. As of now I still mess up either way.

 

[cbr900son]

I had that problem but started using my hips more to go back and forth and it seems to be going away. A forum member once told me a good stance is very important to grinding.

 

[Salem Straub]

I'll second that, a solid stance, elbows locked in, grinding a little above navel height, shifting weight to move the blade, helps take strong side/weak side out of the equation. It helps one be more deliberate at the grinder to eliminate variables with stance and arm movement. And grinding well takes lots of practice. Keep it up.

Try grinding with a push stick. It can help.