Why Angle Grinders are AWESOME (and why you guys are mean)

Some years ago....mid 90s...I watched a video called "The Persuit of Excellence".
One of the businesses featured was a European toy company that hired young
men to work in their shop making toys by hand. The goal was to make the best
handmade toys money could buy.
New hires would start out in front of a bench, with a vice, a file, and a chunk
of steel. The assignment was (using only a file) to shape the steel into a cube.
The cube had to measure exactly the same on all sides, be dead flat on all
sides, be truly square, and sized to specs. The finish had to be free of gouges.
This was the first step toward learning to make toys.

I believe there is no better way to get to know the carachter of the tools
and the materials we work with, than to start out with hand tools. At some piont
power tools must take over much of the work, but hand work should never be
put aside completely.
 
This is Mr. Munky's first thread in Shoptalk. The one where he said all he had was files, and asked about an angle grinder himself.

Munky88 said:
Ok, so i have a few questions before i start aquring materials for my first knife. which will probibly be about 4-4.5 inches.

For metal, i found a place to heat treat them. but they only do air quenching. so would A2 be a good choice for a first knife? is it easy enough to work with? I could also just get 1095 and find somewhere else. O1 and heat treating it myself is not an option. could also use cpm3v but that's hard to work, and likes to chip alot right?

for grinding, i would like to do a high sabre, borderline flat grind. but only have files. will this drive me to insanity?

and would you rather have an angle grinder, or a bench grinder and jigsaw? (cant find belt grinders anywhere cheaply)
Click to expand...
http://www.bladeforums.com/forums/showthread.php?t=580201

:)
 
After I bought some quality diamond files and expensive abrasive sheets I spent less time on my grinder. These days I use mostly these files and sheets. It goes a bit slower but I end up with a shape exactly as imagined. To remove grinding irregularities and mistakes at my belt sander sometimes result a different blade I imagined at the start.
But I have to admit profiling would take days if I didn't have an angle grinder. Without a band saw angle grinder is a must have for me. I did a knife 4-5 years ago using only a hacksaw and a file but it took ages just to profile. It would take less time now as I learned how to use them more efficiently...
 
EVery knifemaker knows we're getting filthy rich at this why would
we want to let the secret out?
Ken.
 
with only hand tools, a hacksaw and an assortment of files you can make a nice knife,k done properly it can be very accurate and clean. With an angle grinder you can quickly and easily roughout shapes and even bevels, with some care a reasonable level of precision can be acquired.

both on their own are a plausible but imperect solution, using both together gets the best of both worlds.

i know how you feel about missing out on tools though- it was about 6 months before i realised you could buy EXTRA LONG drill bits, makes my life a hell of a lot easier!:D
 
Russ Andrews said:
Some years ago....mid 90s...I watched a video called "The Persuit of Excellence".
One of the businesses featured was a European toy company that hired young
men to work in their shop making toys by hand. The goal was to make the best
handmade toys money could buy.
New hires would start out in front of a bench, with a vice, a file, and a chunk
of steel. The assignment was (using only a file) to shape the steel into a cube.
The cube had to measure exactly the same on all sides, be dead flat on all
sides, be truly square, and sized to specs. The finish had to be free of gouges.
This was the first step toward learning to make toys.

I believe there is no better way to get to know the carachter of the tools
and the materials we work with, than to start out with hand tools. At some piont
power tools must take over much of the work, but hand work should never be
put aside completely.
Click to expand...

That's a great point- engineering apprenticeships in the UK usually start out with "bench fitting~" where you make stuff like bevel guages and drill guages and dice and square in a square etc. all with hand tools, you learn to file to a 0.1mm tolerance and then you get to use the mills and lathes and stuff:D

it's a god way of understanding the proccesses and materials
 
When my brother and I were learning, as little
kids, how to make things, my dad would never
let us use power tools until we could do the job with
hand tools. He said when you realize how much
faster and easier power tools made the work, you
also realize how badly they can hurt you if you
aren't paying attention.

I've often wondered how he got so smart.;)

Bill
 
Bill Hoffman said:
When my brother and I were learning, as little
kids, how to make things, my dad would never
let us use power tools until we could do the job with
hand tools. He said when you realize how much
faster and easier power tools made the work, you
also realize how badly they can hurt you if you
aren't paying attention.

I've often wondered how he got so smart.;)

Bill
Click to expand...

Yes, my friend is missing a few fingers because he took his eyes off his table saw for a second while ripping a cut in high school. Part of it was youth, but it could happen to anyone who doesn't pay attention.
 
that is the new " Wheeler Fitness Sharpening system " , I didnt realize it was out yet !

Rumor is the next version will be variable speed ( based on a Schwinn 10 speed ), and will have options for :
a basket ( for tips ! )
a bell ( to ring when the knife is finished !)
a horn ( cause we knifemakers like to toot our own horn now and then.)
 
At one time I used a large angle grinder .IIRC it was an 11" wheel .Do I remember correctly ? It had awesome torque.But all I see on the internet is 9".
I recently took an AGRussell 10" serrated bread knife and made it into a 8" slicer , all in a few minutes with my 4 1/2 " grinder.
 
I took woodshop class in school every year and learned shop safety. The kids we are turning out of schools now dont have that kind of training it seems. Computers have replaced shop I think.

My pistols/knives have parts inside that can only be finished off by hand. I spend allot of time with a file and sandpaper but I cant imagine making the whole thing without electricity and power tools. Power tools are cheap now and I see no reason not to buy them. Are newbies really that poor? I mowed grass to buy some of my tools.
 
Are newbies really that poor?
Click to expand...

More like frugal , or perhaps on a limited income. It is easy to justify expenses if you are sure it is something you will either enjoy or make a return on your investment.

I used basic hand tools modifying production knives ( tools I have had for years , purchase when I was in my teens from $$ made from a paper route , mowing lawns , shoveling snow , raking leaves , etc ) , I reinvested all $$ made from modifying productions , into tools to make knives , and still continue to invest all $$ made from making knives back into the shop.

Some may enjoy the files and hacksaw method , some may enjoy the power tool method , some may combine both.
 
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