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

I have a knife in my collection that was made by a friend. He found a piece of steel that he thought would make a knife, used a hack saw to cut it to shape, then using only sandpaper and his thumb and index finger for contact made a hollow grind.:eek::cool:
You guys and your fancy files have it made.:D
 
Well, I am sure glad I got one of your knives* you made before you started cheatin and usin these here new fangled machjines, eh!

*I use it most every day-thanks!
 
bikermikearchery said:
I have a knife in my collection that was made by a friend. He found a piece of steel that he thought would make a knife, used a hack saw to cut it to shape, then using only sandpaper and his thumb and index finger for contact made a hollow grind.:eek::cool:
You guys and your fancy files have it made.:D
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Did he get any blisters? That would take a long time to do...
 
Bruce Bump said:
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.
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Not me! I have taken wood and metalwork every year in high school, mandatory safety every semester. Of course I ace the safety tests without studying :D (sometimes I have to look if they want be 4" away from the blade or 3" :))
 
I had a very good laugh since i just finished my first blade ready for heat treat. Im laugin my @ss off about some one making 4 knives with no power tools .I just did one with the use of some power tolls and im suffering bad blisters from filling just one ROFLMAO . kellyw
 
When I got here and asked how to start, I was told to get the $50 knife shop, which in turn set me to starting with a hacksaw,files, and an old drill press. ...I still use a hacksaw for profiling, actually, and I've got a paragon. Guess I should look into this angle grinder thing, huh? :o ..I wouldn't recomend someone starting with a 200+ dollar budget go with just a hacksaw and files, but I know my starting budget was like $70, and it was enough to get addicted and waste the rest of my money :D
 
The hammer and forge is the most powerful profiling tool. If you are profiling with an angle grinder you have missed something crucial in the understanding of the function of tools. Yes I'm mean, blunt, whatever. 28 years ago I annealed a file, filed it into the shape of a blade, heat treated it, polished it, sharpened it, and I'm not ashamed to show it to people. It holds a good edge, looks nice and cuts well. 18 years ago I heated a piece of steel and profiled it with a hammer. And my ancestors smiled.

-Page
 
charlieridge said:
I think some of us are that poor! took me quite a while to get a decent grinder....
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Hell, I am not a newbie and I am still broke! It took me 8 months to get the parts and material to assemble my homemade grinder. That 2hp motor sure got lonely sitting on the floor for so many months...
 
sunshadow said:
The hammer and forge is the most powerful profiling tool. If you are profiling with an angle grinder you have missed something crucial in the understanding of the function of tools. Yes I'm mean, blunt, whatever. 28 years ago I annealed a file, filed it into the shape of a blade, heat treated it, polished it, sharpened it, and I'm not ashamed to show it to people. It holds a good edge, looks nice and cuts well. 18 years ago I heated a piece of steel and profiled it with a hammer. And my ancestors smiled.

-Page
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Now thats what knife making is about.
 
The funny thing was i had a side grinder went to the garage got it and a new blade and used it before i was finished my first blade lmao thats why i laughed so hard .
 
Would a benchtop grinder be better than an angle grinder to learn stock removal with? And does either typically yield better results?
 
Sawce, either an angle grinder or a bench grinder will help you cut profiles quickly. Neither will be easy to get nice bevels with.
 
Sawce said:
Would a benchtop grinder be better than an angle grinder to learn stock removal with? And does either typically yield better results?
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You will not learn "stock removal" with either tool, the skills you'll learn from those tools will not transfer over to a belt grinder in my opinion. The end result will come from how much care you'll put into using files and sandpaper to flatten and finish afterwards.

You may want to look into making/buying a Sen if you can't afford a grinder, it's basically a draw knife for steel. Used properly it will literally peel steel off of a blade.

"18 years ago I heated a piece of steel and profiled it with a hammer. And my ancestors smiled." Page that is very very eloquent. I feel a lot more "connected" when I have hammer and steel in hand rather than my variable grit/variable speed electric file and steel in hand.
 
James_Terrio said:
Sawce, either an angle grinder or a bench grinder will help you cut profiles quickly. Neither will be easy to get nice bevels with.
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When you say bench grinder are you referring to one with rotating wheels ?

If so , I would never use one of those to profile a blade , when , not if , when that wheel comes apart , I would not want to be anywhere in the vicinity.
 
I'm sure it's possible, but I've been using various bench grinders for 20+years and never saw a wheel come apart. It would suck bad if one did, though. I try to remember to always wear my face shield when using anything that rotates.
 
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"heavy stock removal" is kind of subjective... I was taught to never force the workpiece into the tool no matter what kind of tool it is. Forcing steel into a typical grinding wheel only grooves the wheel and burns the steel, and I suspect that might be how catastrophic wheel failures arise.
 
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