Thanks to all: Grinding jig

F

Frontier Forge

Joined
Aug 25, 2002
Messages
138
Ok Heres the deal, Ive made a dozen hand forged knives some damascus some cable, and some high carbon. And probably a dozen kits Ive put together. I forge my own....and still have alot to learn. My starting grinder was a Grizzly and @ least it was cheap,still usefull as a buffer and a satin finish machine with a scotchbite in it. My new kmg is great in the short time ive had it..My problem now is my damascus billetsd are coming out great and there is a tremendous amount of time tied up in them to wreck them(truthfully it scares me).
Ive learned if you tie up to much time in a blade you often cant recoupe your costs. I took a wayne goddard class in WA. a year ago in hopes of getting grinding help, but the skill levels of the other student were so varied it was hard to get a one on one with him:(
Now i would love to swing by someones shop or have someone come to my humble shop..alot of maker now are charging for such services, not to mention i cant seem to round up any local makers let alone befriend any of them. I also have every book written on knives written in the last 12 years...Great basic info..but more geared to finshing....
I had hopped a gring jig would help, but really some instruction would be better.....Any ideas.....:eek:
 
I would get some cheaper steel to play with and make a pile of knives before you ruin all your good damascus. Get some O1 or 440C or something and make a half dozen knives until you have a better feeling for grinding. Just do some stock removal and practice the grinding. It's better to get some practice at freehanding before moving to jigs. Kind of like the old learning the slide rule before the calculator metaphor.

In the meantime look for opportunities to visit other maker's shops as you are doing. And stick around here asking questions! :)

Just my $.02.
 
Get ahold of Admiral steel, and get some 1095. It is cheap, and you can practice on that. You definately don't want to practice on really good stuff.
Get the grinding down first, then try the high zoot material. ;)
http://www.admiralsteel.com/
 
Don't know if you want advice from a rank beginner, but here's my tip for flat grinding.

Mark your blade at 1/4, 1/2, and 3/4. I use a caliper set at those intervals and trace using the edge. What you get is 3 parallel lines that follow the edge exactly. Then I trace lines on the edge of the blade at half way to center and center.

You see if the grind is half way to the center of the edge then it should be half way up the blade. Once that angle is started the rest is easier: you just keep grinding.

I think the pro's have done sooooo many blade their hands just know what the angle should be. They don't think about it so they don't teach it (at least not in any of the material I have).

I didn't see this in any book, it's just the way I do it. No knives yet but plenty of practice blades laying around the garage.

Steve
 
Frontier Forge,
Before you buy from Admiral Steel, check for Pacific steel which it closer to you (you're in Washington state right?). Buying steel from half the country away will kill you on the shipping charges.

Another option is to just go to your local junk yard and get some leaf springs from US made vehicles, made in the 50s and 60s. It's usually 5160 (or some other high carbon....), can easily be beat or cut into a rough rectangular billet, and can be had for alot cheaper than manufactured barstock. A metal cutting blade in a skilsaw makes short work of these...

Tim
 
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