Uneven grinds.

P

Painter75

Joined
Dec 13, 2013
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Hi. I am new to knifemaking and have been having trouble with keeping the bevels even on both sides. They are not off by much,,,it seems the right side comes out larger than the left. Left is perfect. I am trying to grind scandi using 11 degree jig that I made. Any suggestions? Thanks
 
I would guess that your jig isn't at a right angle before introducing the angle, or it is in your technique, you are holding the file differently or placing pressure on it differently (A file does flex under use depending on the pressure you put on it). Or your clamp part isn't flat. The angle somewhere is different when you flip the blade over.

Try adding or subtracting a degree on your jig to raise (less angle) or lower (more angle) your grind lines? You can get a cheap angle indicator in any home depot / lowes what have you. With it you can find the problem most likely.
 
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Thank you for the reply, I am using a 2 by 42 belt grinder. I did check the angle of my jig using a cheap indicator and it is good. As for my technique that mite be what's wrong I must be giving a little more pressure on the rite side I guess I'll just have to keep practicing I have been using cheap steel from tractor Supply. And was going to maybe try some wood. It's frustrating that one side turns out great then the other is always slightly higher. Thanks again I'm going to work on the pressure
 
After you grind one side, the other side will need adjustment to the jig to compensate for the presence of the bevel.
 
Get a drill bit the same thickness as your steel and lay them both on a flat surface. Use a black sharpie and mark the the entire edge. Run the drill bit along your intended edge so there is a line in the middle. Grind each side to the line
 
Use layout fluid or a Sharpie and scribe your grind lines. Putting the layout fluid over the whole surface will help you see where you're grinding differently, e.g. putting more pressure on the right edge and left spine.
 
I'm hoping you already know this, but the steel you are getting from Tractor Supply is weldable steel and won't harden.

Make sure you are clamping the knife to your jig with the tang of blade resting against the jig as the bevels will obviously change as you grind, the tang should not. Also, slight variations in how you clamp to your jig can also cause minute variations in the accuracy of the jig. Make sure you scribe a center line(s) to make sure you are grinding both sides evenly. I would assume this is where you are going wrong. It sounds as if you are grinding one side more than the other.

When you say 11 degrees are you meaning 11 degrees each side or inclusive(5.5 degrees each side)?

Chris
 
Hey thanks everyone I am going to try coloring the edge and scribe the center. I must be grinding the right side to far pass the center of the edge . Sorry it took awhile to reply I was glueing up some scales to a barnie garland blank I had. Thanks again for the advise
 
Thanks Chris I am grinding 11 degrees on each side. For a 22 inclusive is that correct? I have tried 15 degrees also with the same results like you said I must be going to far on the one side. As for the steel yeah I know it's not knife steel I just figured it was cheap and I could practice on it I even glued some scales to a few just to get a feel for shaping the handles. I have some 01 tool steel that I profiled but did not want to try the bevel until I get this problem I'm having under control .
 
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