using diamond plates to grind a blank

R

Rsq

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Aug 7, 2011
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I went home this weekend and ground out the shape of a nice tanto from an annealed piece of m390. I want to start grinding the blade, but all I have is a file (which is taking forever) and a fairly worn out dmt coarse. I am considering buying an xxc, if it would be effective for this. I would have use for it later, so I'm not worried about it being a sunk cost just for this knife (if it works, I have a few other projects on the horizon). I dont have access to my power tools now, theyre all at my folks house. I'm in a small apartment that I share, so I can't use real equipment here. I am ok with taking some time to do this, and the precision of taking it slow might be good, since it is easy to mess up with a wheel grinder-- but files are frustratingly slow. I'd like to see some progress.

anyhow, before I do this, I'm wondering if this is a terrible idea. do you think the xxc is suitable for this? or will I wear it out before I get anywhere?
 
maybe a local machine shop will let you use their belt grinder/linisher
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One would hope but the chance of that here in the U.S. is very slim. I would suggest picking up a harbor frieght belt grinder .They are less than 100 bucks with extra belts and the extended warranty ( that you really should get!) Plug it in out in the car port and grind away.
 
The xxc will work but it'd still be frustratingly slow.

Do you have enough space for a harbor freight 1x30" sander? For half the price of that diamond stone you could get the sander, extended warranty, and plenty of belts. I ground my first few knives on one of those little sanders and they turned out great. If anything it'd be worth buying one just to profile your blanks.
 
Files are much faster than any diamond sharpeners I know of. Embrace draw-filing. Start with a double-cut, then a single-cut smooth bastard file, and perhaps clean up the scratches with the DMC.
 
A big 10 or 12 inch Bastard file is very coarse and will hog material in a hurry.

Then you can go to finer files


Especially if the material is soft annealed, no need to use the DMT
 
The key is QUALITY files.

I think most of us start off with old, worn out files that were in our Dad or Grampa's tool box (or nowadays a lot of folks are starting with crappy Chinese files) and it convinces us that files are slow and hopeless.

But quality files AND proper use will remove a lot of material in a hurry.

This whole thing makes me think of the saying, "Youth is wasted on the young." Many of us don't develop really good skills with files until we've been doing this for years and already have a belt grinder.

Do a little reading on proper use of files and it will really help you out. I made my first several knives with nothing but a hacksaw, files, sandpaper, and drill press.

I have several different diamond stones, and there's NO WAY I would opt for any of them over files to shape a blade.

Best of luck :)


edited to add:

My personal recommendation for progression-

Don't even start until you have the blade held down securely to a solid bench.

Start with a 12" or 14" second cut, half-round file. Make sure it's fitted with a good handle! Only bear down on the forward stroke! Don't drag the file back over the work on the return stroke, you WILL only dull the file.

Use the round side first. Most people think the round is only for filing curved surfaces, but that's not the case. The round side puts a smaller surface area in contact with the steel, which means it will bite in faster/deeper.

Keep a file card or wire brush VERY close by and handy so you can constantly clean the file. If you don't, you'll quickly learn about "pinning." This is where filings get caught up in the file teeth--- they will gouge the hell out of your work! So keep the file clean.

Once you get most of the bevel knocked down with the round side of the second cut file, turn it over and work on roughing the flats---- flatter. ;)

Then move to a single cut file and draw file the blade. Draw filing is best done with a single cut file. The file is held by grasping it firmly at both ends and alternately pushing and pulling the file sideways across the work, at right angles to the line of stroke. You can get a very flat surface AND a nice finish with draw filing.

:)
 
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+1 on using files. Even cheap files (e.g. HF) work well... they just don't last long.
 
Thanks! This is immensely helpful. I think I will try this. I have a belt sander and other power tools, but I can't have them in my current place (theyre in storage at my parents' place). It's just too tight, and using them would be disruptive. I'm going to make a trip to the hardware store later today to pick these up.


NickWheeler said:
The key is QUALITY files.

I think most of us start off with old, worn out files that were in our Dad or Grampa's tool box (or nowadays a lot of folks are starting with crappy Chinese files) and it convinces us that files are slow and hopeless.

But quality files AND proper use will remove a lot of material in a hurry.

This whole thing makes me think of the saying, "Youth is wasted on the young." Many of us don't develop really good skills with files until we've been doing this for years and already have a belt grinder.

Do a little reading on proper use of files and it will really help you out. I made my first several knives with nothing but a hacksaw, files, sandpaper, and drill press.

I have several different diamond stones, and there's NO WAY I would opt for any of them over files to shape a blade.

Best of luck :)


edited to add:

My personal recommendation for progression-

Don't even start until you have the blade held down securely to a solid bench.

Start with a 12" or 14" second cut, half-round file. Make sure it's fitted with a good handle! Only bear down on the forward stroke! Don't drag the file back over the work on the return stroke, you WILL only dull the file.

Use the round side first. Most people think the round is only for filing curved surfaces, but that's not the case. The round side puts a smaller surface area in contact with the steel, which means it will bite in faster/deeper.

Keep a file card or wire brush VERY close by and handy so you can constantly clean the file. If you don't, you'll quickly learn about "pinning." This is where filings get caught up in the file teeth--- they will gouge the hell out of your work! So keep the file clean.

Once you get most of the bevel knocked down with the round side of the second cut file, turn it over and work on roughing the flats---- flatter. ;)

Then move to a single cut file and draw file the blade. Draw filing is best done with a single cut file. The file is held by grasping it firmly at both ends and alternately pushing and pulling the file sideways across the work, at right angles to the line of stroke. You can get a very flat surface AND a nice finish with draw filing.

:)
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