What tools to get for a complete knifemaking set-up...?

jeaulee,
hwanyeong to the blade forums,
If you or anyone else wanderers what a good shop was supposed to have in it...........
A KNOWLEDGEABLE MAKER
, all the tools in the world won't make a knife without learning the skill. There are many makers who make wonderful knives with NO power tools at all, because the know HOW.
The best startup shop is somewhere in the middle.
Stacy

Cody, send me an email, as I can't email you (you've blocked emails). - Stacy
 
Gentlemen
Stacy has made an awsome offer to a complete stranger.
Hats off to him.
Best of luck Cody.

Sammy Nine Toes
 
Stacy, I sent you an e-mail.

Thanks for all the other replies everyone. All of the replies have been very helpful and encouraging.

~Cody
 
jeaulee said:
Wow~ What a good post it turned out to be ^^ I was always wondering what a good shop was suppose to have haha

I'm a beginner as well, so this post is going to give me a serious boost in knife making :P
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I'm a newb also!
Just started buying stuff after I bought two books and did some reading.
I messed around with some mild steel and the bench grinder, it turned out very badly (design idea but also steel as well as grind work and basicly everything but I enjoyed making it and still enjoy looking at it in its crude form).

I can't say that every question or void of lack of knowledge is filled (I still don't know what I don't know) but I am learning!

I like pain, or should I say everything I have ever done in my life involves various levels of pain so I'm expecting some with making some knives. Oh well, I like to do things the hard way(not really just happens that way!!):eek:.
 
ok so i bit the bullet today and bought myself an 3/4hp 8" grinder with a stone and buffer wheel and with a stand (used, from some guy who used it a whole hour!) w00t! picking it up tomorrow from the guy.

So now my next purchase is something along the lines of a sander... I see people with all sorts of sanders in all shapes and sizes. most of what i see are horizontal table sanders with 4" width belts and 5-6" discs.

Do people prefer vertical sanders, or horizontal sanders?
what width belts are usually preferred?
 
The standard knife grinder ( it is a sander on wood and a grinder on metal) is a 2X72" unit. It is usually called a belt grinder. The 4X36 and 6X48 woodworking sanders will work, but have their limits. They are not made to take the wear and load of grinding steel. However, many folks on a budget get started with a 4X36 belt sander with a disc grinder on the side. Many are adjustable from horizontal to vertical. The smaller (and cheaper) 2X24" units are actually easier to use for knives. More metal working belts are available for 2X24,too. What you want is the most powerful motor you can get on one. Look at the AMPS, not what they say about the HP.
You will find little use for a bench (wheel) grinder in the knife shop. They run too fast and are not good for much more than a little shaping. The attached buffer runs WAY TOO FAST to be safely used. I have four bench grinders in the shop,from 6" to 12", and use one about once or twice a year.
Stacy
 
charcoal washtub forge. with or without the washtub :)

medium big file

decent vise

piles and piles of sandpaper

oil

beer.

wayne goddard's book.

did I say beer?
 
as for belt grinders. The HF 1x30s are tooo fast, but dirt cheap, modifiable for next to nothing, really damned dirt cheap, and you can get decent belts in 60 to 400 grits from abrasives resource.

If they ran at half speed, they'd actually be really damned nice cheap machines.

Grizzly makes a 1x42 for about $150, too. seems more powerful than the delta, but I haven't been able to put them side by side.
 
Cody has to get six years of knife making experience in before he can move on to "Beer Quenching".
Stacy
 
bladsmth said:
The standard knife grinder ( it is a sander on wood and a grinder on metal) is a 2X72" unit. It is usually called a belt grinder. The 4X36 and 6X48 woodworking sanders will work, but have their limits. They are not made to take the wear and load of grinding steel. However, many folks on a budget get started with a 4X36 belt sander with a disc grinder on the side. Many are adjustable from horizontal to vertical. The smaller (and cheaper) 2X24" units are actually easier to use for knives. More metal working belts are available for 2X24,too. What you want is the most powerful motor you can get on one. Look at the AMPS, not what they say about the HP.
You will find little use for a bench (wheel) grinder in the knife shop. They run too fast and are not good for much more than a little shaping. The attached buffer runs WAY TOO FAST to be safely used. I have four bench grinders in the shop,from 6" to 12", and use one about once or twice a year.
Stacy
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Ahhhhhhh so the bench "wheel" grinder was probably not the preffered method then:( Hhhhmmmmm, your not making this easy:D
 
stefanj said:
Ahhhhhhh so the bench "wheel" grinder was probably not the preffered method then:( Hhhhmmmmm, your not making this easy:D
Click to expand...

Don't let that stop you. I have made hundreds of knives over the last 35 years, and I just bought my first belt grinder. I can finish a knife every weekend to a mirror polish with files and sand paper and still have time to go fishing. Knives and tools of iron have been being made for some where around 2500 years, electric motors only around a 100 years or so.
knmivesO-1-3001.jpg

The only power tools that touched these knives when I made them was a drill press. And before the drill press I drilled holes with a hand drill.
 
Let's hear a Hallelujah! Mike is right- okay, I'm tooling up something fierce, but I started wityh a 6 inch grinder and hacksaw for profiles- a couple files and a LOT of sandpaper. and a mapp torch.

Personally, IMO, just me thinkin- I think doing the first several knives with hand tools (as I've said before) is a great thing.

That being said, I wouldn't BUY a 6 inch grinder. I'd get a angle grinder for cutting and a cheap 1x42 with a fat disc if I was spending around $200. Less than that and I'd gety the angle grinder and more files :)
 
I made knives for 17 years on a 1 x 30 belt sander with the little side disc sander and a 6" stone wheel grinder. About 5 years ago I bought a 2 x 42 belt sander with a larger disc on the side from Lowes. That was definitely a purchase that I wish that I hadn't made, as it was actually so underpowered that I preferred my 1 x 30. For the first 14 of those years, I didn't know about 2 x 72 belt grinders. Then I found this forum, and met some "real" knifemakers.

I now have a KMG, and it really makes the grinding a lot easier. I haven't started up the 1 x 30, the 2 x 42 or the stone grinder since.

On a budget, I think the best option is the NWGS (No Weld Grinder/Sander) that Tracy Mickley designed. The plans for it are available in the "for Sale" threads. It can be made with the bare minimum of tools. Those that have used the plans and made this grinder say it is a very good grinder.
 
Stacy, I don't know you but with this post you can add me as one of your admirers. What an outstanding and generous gesture. You sir make knifemakers proud.

Cody, I do hope you follow through and find that you enjoy knifemaking, and knifemakers, as much as I do. I was very fortunate a few years ago to have a master knifemaker take me under his wing and show me the ropes. I still learn something new every time I visit his shop. There is no substitue for experience and learning to do things the right way. Good luck to you. By the way, what part of Indiana are you in?
 
Well it seems Cody has slipped back into his 15 year old shell. Tons of posting on W&C (where he shouldn't be) and all. I never heard back from him after I contacted him and requested to have his parents contact me. Oh well. He said he had ordered $50 Knife Shop. Maybe he'll get serious about making knives someday.
Stacy
 
Wow, somehow I missed this post when it first came up.

But as others have said, hats off to you for a absolutely first class gesture.

If it weren't for all of the knowlegable folks on this site, I wouldn't be making knives right now. There's so much to learn, and some of this stuff you can't get in books. I'm lucky to put out maybe one knife a month. I tend to go in spurts :D, in between a full time job as a neuro rehab physical therapist and a part time job as a home health PT, not to mention my fiancee. In spite of that, I would have jumped at an offer of that calibre when I first started (which was not long ago at all!). And even in 20 years, we all hope folks like you, Stacy, are hanging out here with your fellow knife geeks and sharing your knowledge and lending a helping hand to those who appreciate it.

Thanks and God bless!

--nathan
 
Wow, passing up on that amazing offer. Not cool.

Not to hijack the thread but I'm just starting, by that I mean I've done a kit knife and read a bunch since then. I got a book Step by Step Knifemaking by David Boyle, do you think that the $50 Knife Shop is a better book?

Also, do you have a recomended place to get steels?

Im glad yall have said that you dont need power tools as I got some files and planning on getting a vice as soon as it goes on sale.
 
If you are going to start with files, a hack saw, and sand paper, try 1070 for a starter steel. You can get it from Aldo Bruno.He sells it in the "Knifemaking Materials For Sale" forum. Other good steels would be 15N20, O-1, and 5160. Several knife supply companies sell some of these. The big steel suppliers are Crucible, and Admiral. If you haven't read ALL the stickies at the top of this forum, you should. Most questions are answered there, with links to most wanted info and sites.
Stacy
 
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