Tools you wish you would have bought starting out

Brock47 said:
Speaking as a 6 month old beginner, not necessarily in any order:

A good variable 2x72 grinder is the core of the shop. Having a grinder that will do everything you need it to do is just beyond words. I picked up an Esteem from Brett M and never looked back. I love it. I picked up a 14 inch wheel and am please with it, although I've not been interested in hollow grinding to a great extent yet. I may have jumped the gun on that one but an waiting to see if I get more interested in it. Think through upgrades. It is probably best to just get the basic flat grind down before you venture off.
Quality dial calipers. I love the convenience of digital calipers for quick and easy conversion from mm/inches/fractions, but I have both types.
A good quality drill press. I picked up an old Craftsman 100 and 150 and put in new bearings (quality) and belts, and got them pretty much free except for my labor by parting out things I didn't need on them.(Craigslist). Figure out how you want to clamp your work down for drilling. This is a must for safety. Could be a cross-slide vise which is what I use, or 123 blocks or both.
Carbide file guides. These will save you a ton of frustration on the grinder. I have a pile of scrap blades because I overshot the plunge learning to grind. Having the guides helps you focus on other issues while learning to grind. When mine wear out I will be getting another set, no question about it.
Some kind of machinist blocks for getting a work rest square. I don't use a rest for grinding bevels, but I do use it to profile the shape initially. Having it square is important.
A good carbide scribe with height adjustment. I went with the cheap block scribe to start with and while it is usable and helpful, the height adjustable scribe is quicker to use and easier to be precise with. (eBay).
A portable band saw with a table to mount it to. You can get a Swag table, but I just built my own from oak and metal. I started with an angle grinder, and it's just not a pleasure to use to cut out a blade. One skip across the surface in the wrong place and you trashed the blade. I have a porter cable porta-band and it works great. It's old, but American made and will probably last me through my knife making career. They can be had for 150 to 200 off Craigslist.
A good magnet to hold the blade against to grinder helps when surface grinding. I used to also use it for bevel grinding to give more to hold onto, but have since learned you can just hold it by hand and do very well. It's just a matter of finesse and it will come with practice.
A surface plate (which I have yet to get) can help with scribing, and some types of sanding.
Build a good knife sanding vise or clamp. Nick Wheelers hand sanding videos show this contraption which is just angle iron bolted or welded together. I built one and love it.
A wood band saw for cutting handle scales. You can get away maybe using the portable band saw for a while, but having a dedicated wood saw is nice.
Good lighting. This can make a huge difference at the grinder and for hand sanding. Very important.
Dust collection and respirator.

Craigslist and ebay have been great for providing good deals on these items for me. I buy and sell a lot so it was easy for me to get my stuff. I've also picked up quite a bit of stuff at garage sales for next to nothing compared to retail.
I hope this info is helpful.
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Thanks for such a detailed response! Lots of good info in there
 
blsdmf said:
Do a lot of people just go the mini mill route? To me it seems like the more logical choice to start with, based on exactly what you said, it's multipurpose. I have an old drill press but feel that I will want a mill once I start doing folders.
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i was looking at 400+$ drill presses at the time cause i wanted it to last and be of good (maybe not great) quality the mini mill went on sale and the multi use part just cant be talked aout too much. remember tho the mill only gets you in the door tooling costs more less never end. like i think i said i have been doing this over 10 years and still dont own a drill press. i thouhgt about selling the mini after gettign a bridgeport but the little bugger is jsut too handy for small drilling milling and fly cutting scales.
 
Haimer 3D Taster. ...if I could go back in time... for the money the most useful good thing ever. completely not relevant to most folks here though


I can tell you the worst bang for the buck was a nice big plasma cutter. I've probably used it three times in ten years?


Yeah, get a good 2X72 and start making knives. Get a horizontal bandsaw, a good old US made mill (why fool with a drill press?*) and I'd be good-to-go.






*seriously, if someone gave me an old drill press I'd drag it down into the woods and cover it up with leaves...
 
A good 2x72 with easily changeable tool bar and good belts with change a new knifemakers life.
 
Nathan the Machinist said:
Haimer 3D Taster. ...if I could go back in time... for the money the most useful good thing ever. completely not relevant to most folks here though


I can tell you the worst bang for the buck was a nice big plasma cutter. I've probably used it three times in ten years?


Yeah, get a good 2X72 and start making knives. Get a horizontal bandsaw, a good old US made mill (why fool with a drill press?*) and I'd be good-to-go.






*seriously, if someone gave me an old drill press I'd drag it down into the woods and cover it up with leaves...
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What would be a good made in USA Mill that would be on the smaller side of things?

Butch: What kind of mill do you have?
 
For me it was a 2x72 grinder, a Olympic Square Wheel, still have it still runs great at 5700 sfpm.
I didn't wish, I went to the bank got a loan and bought it. This was 1977. I've since added another
Square Wheel, and a Bader B3 with all the wheels from 14" down.
Ken.
 
Not a tool but ceramic belts if I had a do over instead of trying all the other offerings on the market. Cheap belts are very expensive.
 
12345678910 said:
I like the dials, easy to read, no batteries

Vernier scales, forget it.
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Almost everything I use is Vernier. Secondary market is CHEAP because no one wants them, and I have no trouble reading them.

In fact, my vote for most indispensable tool is my Mitutoyo height gauge. I use it ALL the time. I wuv it!!!


...AND,because it's Vernier, I got it cheap! Knowing how much I use it, now, I wouldn't hesitate to drop what they ask for it new, though. Truly adore that device.
 
Fred.Rowe said:
Not a tool but ceramic belts if I had a do over instead of trying all the other offerings on the market. Cheap belts are very expensive.
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That brings up a great point, what brand of belts does everybody use? It seems to be the consensus, as with most things, to invest in good quality belts.
 
I have had them from the beginning, but drill bits don't occur to most beginners.


If you have 1/4" pins, drilling a 1/4" hole won't pass the pin.

If you're tapping Ti and want to go sightly larger hole.



I like having full set of numbers, letters and fractions

I'm thinking about a set of metric bits too- but that's not sensible for knifemaking unless you live in metric land
 
I just recently switched from Norton Blaze belts to the new 3M Cubitron 984 F ones for a variety of reasons, one being that they don't leave lots melted glue on your platen. . Like Fred said, cheap bets will break your heart. I have found exactly ONE line of cheap bets that is okay and that is the bluish grey Hermes fine grit ones. All of the other Hermes belts that I tried were crap, but for some reason that line is okay. Not great, but okay.
blsdmf said:
That brings up a great point, what brand of belts does everybody use? It seems to be the consensus, as with most things, to invest in good quality belts.
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One thing I haven't seen mentioned is a good, complete first aid kit. Eyewash, bandages, tourniquet, and the knowledge of how to use them.
 
my mill is a HF mini mill that has belt drive upgrade (totaly worth it ) mine had the tiltable collem but i have only used the tilt 1 time in the last 10 years (other then to help tram the mill out) it was one of the deals that it was on sale and i had a coupon (only way i woudl get one )
as for belts since super grit is just up the road from me i use the deerfoos belts they carry in 50-120 grit and the cheap 220 J flex all of mu cleanup/finish belts are 3m gators
 
There are two drill presses in my shop, one is designated and never changes position, the other a multi speed floor model from Delta which gets a lot of exercise.

As to belt choice I also use the 3M 984f in 36 and 60 following up with green Gators in 120 220 400 600. The 984f's are the best ceramic belt I have used. Long life, excellent tracking, refracture well and don't glaze or clog if used properly.

Fred
 
Fred.Rowe said:
There are two drill presses in my shop, one is designated and never changes position, the other a multi speed floor model from Delta which gets a lot of exercise.

As to belt choice I also use the 3M 984f in 36 and 60 following up with green Gators in 120 220 400 600. The 984f's are the best ceramic belt I have used. Long life, excellent tracking, refracture well and don't glaze or clog if used properly.

Fred
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Based on what I've read through a couple of other forums I'm going to try the 984f's for 36 and 60, and klingspor 312 jflex for 120-400. Does anybody have experience with the VSM ceramics? I've seen mixed reviews. About half the price of the 984f's, which worries me slightly but might be good to have some cheaper belts around for my first few grinds? Thanks again!
 
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