Which to buy - Outlaw II bs Northridge Grinder

Robert Amato said:
Looking to get my first 2x72 and looking for personal experience with the two of these. I know there is a ton of threads on grinders and definitely on Northridge, but very few on the Outlaw II and definitely none comparing the two. I also know there are a few others people really like, KMC, TW90, and more but I’m not interested in those. What’s everyone’s opinions on the two?

Thanks
Click to expand...
Check out our 2X72" grinder! Takes all the best aspects out on the market and combines them into one great machine with some innovative features. We also offer an in-house financing option to help you get started.

We will be showing them off at Blade Show West!

Thank you,
Thaddeus Hicks
 
They will ALL do what a Knifemaker needs! I would recommend going with the best deal you can find, and spend the other money on knife making materials.

On a side note......you could purchase a mini mill and ALL the material needed to build your own, exactly the way you want it....and STILL be far under the $3600+ price tag on some of these! And your knifemaking will be exactly the same, because there is one thing I can absolutely guarantee..... and expensive grinder will in NO WAY make your knifemaking “better”. In actuality, the addition of the mill will ADD much more ability to your knifemaking over “just” a belt grinder.

But to each his own. I understand that some are simply not interested in, or rather unable to build one. And of course I don’t make knives for the sole purpose of making money. I take an incredible amount of pride & accomplishment in the knives I make. And at times, even MORE SO the tooling and machines I make...FOR knife making!
 
Tin.Man said:
The northridge is fantastic. If you can get them to get back to you. I understand they are busy but damn hire someone to field calls and emails and return them in less than a month.
Click to expand...
I emailed them towards the end if July looking to buy one. They emailed back and told me they had so many back ordered that they stopped taking orders and if I could wait get back in touch in about 3 months.
 
Biggie357 said:
I emailed them towards the end if July looking to buy one. They emailed back and told me they had so many back ordered that they stopped taking orders and if I could wait get back in touch in about 3 months.
Click to expand...
Check out our grinder. We have 5 in stock and ship within 1-2 days of order. As an added bonus we are having a sale right now that ends on 9/16/18.

Our production is scalable and will always have stock or a 4 week lead time max.

Check out our website, instagram, or YoutTube channel for more information.

If you need more information send us an email at info@blackfoxknifeworks.com
 
I really like the look of the Outlaw. Looking closer though I would question the tension and tracking? The arm is extremely short and the spring is very close to the body. Most grinders tend to track poorly when the spring is not further out. I just purchased an Ameribrade. Can't wait to give it a workout.
 
Let me start by saying that I'm not a knifemaker. I've been thinking about getting into bit and spur making for a few years. A few months ago I started considering a 2x72 and I was gonna get a grizzly. Then a spur maker friend of mine started pointing out the issues I would have trying to do certain things. So I started looking at different much more expensive options. I looked at kit grinders but decided I'd be cussing myself if I didn't get everything just right and have all the options that I had now seen on other more expensive grinders. I narrowed it down to Reeder, BlackFox and Outlaw. I ended up passing on Reeder because of the way their machine tilts. I considered getting it anyhow and modifying it to tilt like the others but then I decided that just didn't make sense. Greg at Reeder was extremely nice to talk to on the phone and listened to my complaint about the way his machine tilts. He even asked me questions as if he was taking notes. Maybe if it gets suggested enough they'll change it. Anyhow, I was down to BlackFox and Outlaw. Thaddeus at BlackFox was also a great guy to talk to on the phone. I liked the looks of his machine but as much as I liked the clean looks of the vfd being housed in the base, I didn't like the vfd being in the base. I think I like the vfd being a stand alone type unit. He does have a contact platen that looks handy. Maybe it's ignorance on my part but I think it'd be a pain if you ever needed to get inside there. Maybe it would never be necessary. I probably picked the Outlaw cuz I'm from Tx and Matt is a bit and spurmaker so he understands what I'm trying to do. I must say that when my quest for a 2x72 started I never thought I'd spend almost $4k but my grinder shouldn't be my limiting factor now. I know it's not necessary to have a grinder so fancy or with so many attachments but it's gotta make things easier. My wife and I have a custom leather goods shop and we've learned that good tools make building stuff more fun which leads to better products and more of them. I ordered from Matt at Outlaw the second week of December and my grinder arrived yesterday. I have no complaints so far. I've played with it in the shop with all the different attachments and different belts and can't find any issues. I see some complaints above about the tracking. Well, mine works great. Maybe because it's new or my belts are new. Maybe it's because I'm so inexperienced with using a 2x72 that I don't know how to make it not track yet.(that was kinda meant as a joke) If anyone has any questions or would like pictures of anything on the Outlaw grinder, just lemme know. This forum was a bunch of help when I started my search for a grinder but there's not a ton of info on Outlaw. This is my first post but I wore the search button out a couple months ago.
 
If everything in my shop burnt down. My Northridge would be my first purchase. To me, that says a lot.
 
I owned 2 KMG'S and a TW-90. Last year I purchased an Ameribrade. I currently run a Pheer 454 now and very satisfied. It's very well built, super affordable, and attachments are limitless with it. Far better than original KMG and I could get 2 with $ left over for what I paid for TW-90. I do intend to make a base to turn it on it's side though.
 
Last edited:
Will @ Northridge tool totally made my buying experience better.

Yes i was on a waiting list for about a year lol

But once my spot came up he bent over backwards to get everything i wanted .
He even pulled the rests off their show model to make sure i had the newest coated work rests.

I cant wait to change my membership to knifemaker after this summer when my shop is ready.
 
Just gonna throw another vote out there for TW90. Best money I've ever spent as a knife maker. After six years of owning mine it's still by far my favorite grinder that I've used. Still has never wanted anything from me other than use. It's the grinder that made me hate springs and gas shocks. Also, never had a grinder track as well as the TW90. I recently bought a different grinder for the first time since the TW90 for a really good deal and immediately wanted to resell it.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top