Should I even get a belt sander?

The belt grinder won't make you a knife maker. How much "earning" do you have? Perhaps you should try a knife kit? They are not quite as easy to make as it might seem. Well, that's what I've been told.
As well the grinder is just the start. There will be at least one good drill press, a metal cutting band saw, and then maybe a wood cutting one, a better grinder, and for most a surface grinder and a milling machine and a lathe. It can be a super activity that for some of us will demand all of our spare time, returns a huge amount in satisfaction but very little in money. Frank
 
Frank Niro said:
The belt grinder won't make you a knife maker. How much "earning" do you have? Perhaps you should try a knife kit? They are not quite as easy to make as it might seem. Well, that's what I've been told.
As well the grinder is just the start. There will be at least one good drill press, a metal cutting band saw, and then maybe a wood cutting one, a better grinder, and for most a surface grinder and a milling machine and a lathe. It can be a super activity that for some of us will demand all of our spare time, returns a huge amount in satisfaction but very little in money. Frank
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I may just buy some files and sandpaper. I asked about that once here and got some good info. cheaper anyway.
 
Frank nailed it. A fair warning; once you start buying equipment/tools, you'll always find something else you'll need/want. I'm already a couple grand in the hole and still need/want more.;)
 
Files and sandpaper are a great start. I always teach how to use them first to any of my students. Once they can do a decent job I then move them to the power tools. If money is really tight and you decide to get into this crazy obsession, you can get or make a disc grinder. I got by with one for over 20 years. I just recently made myself a kmg clone and am getting used to it. Frank is right though, a grinder is only one small part of a makers shop. I have a mill, lathe, surface grinder etc, etc etc, It only gets worse the more you get into it. Now 2 bays of my garage is not nearly enough room.
 
some makers can do fabulous work with minimal tools, your hands and eyes are the most valuable tools you have
 
I do most of my work with files and sandpaper. It obviously takes a lot longer to work that way, but I'm not trying to crank out knives in a hurry... I want my projects to take time. I also find the Dremel with the Flex Shaft attachment to be very useful (though you have to develop skill with its use, as it tends to get away from you if you aren't careful).

For handle making I do use belt sanders to do coarse shaping, but hand sandpaper to do all the finish sanding.

You can do much with the simplest stuff. Don't think you need to spend thousands, unless you're planning on making a career of it.

- Greg
 
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