Grind with edge up or down?

C

CShepherd

Joined
Feb 27, 2006
Messages
1,085
Hello all,

I have officially started my first stock-removal knife. I have a major question about technique. Do you grind your primary bevel with the edge up or down when putting it to the grinder? I've done a good bit of searching and haven't found an answer.

I'll try to post some pics of the knife in progress. So far I'm very happy with it. It's a small edc Wharncliffe blade with a 3 finger handle. Not sure what I'm going to put on it for handle scales. I'll wait to see how the bevel grinds come out first. If they're not so good then it will likely be oak or walnut. If the grinds come out good then I might spring for something more.

Thanks to all who respond. Any other tips or tricks would be greatly appreciated.

Thank you,

Charles
 
I grind edge up. That way I can see what's going on with the edge as I'm grinding. It also allows me to keep an eye on the centerline I scribe on the edge .

-d
 
I believe the majority of people grind edge up. When you are trying to make that radial turn at the tip of the knife, lifting and turning it off the belt, it is a more natural movement with the edge up; since that is the way most people handle a knife.

my02cents Fred
 
Edge up here too. I have heard of some people that do it, but don't know anyone personally that does it. I do know not to grind edge down while using a tool rest though, very dangerous and can ruin your blade quickly. -Matt-
 
I always grind holding the handle or tang with my right hand. So I grind one side edge up and the other edge down. I grind on a platen that is in a diagonal position with the belt turning away from me. It's not a common way but it's how I learned. I didn't have anyone to teach me so this is how I tought myself and I don't think I can change now.
 
I girnd edge up. The only time i lightly grind edge down is when i am actually grinding the spine to clean up the distal taper.
 
Harvey Dean grinds with his right hand, one side edge up, one side edge down. It seems strange to me, but he turned out some super nice blades on his grinding video.

I'm comfortable grinding edge up though
 
edge up for flat grind. for hollow i grind all in my right hand because i only have a 3 inch contact wheel so i have to do a lot of manipulating.
 
raylaconico said:
I always grind holding the handle or tang with my right hand. So I grind one side edge up and the other edge down. I grind on a platen that is in a diagonal position with the belt turning away from me.
Click to expand...

Same here. My reason is, the cheapo 4x36" Delta I have, you can really only get the belt close enough to the edge of the platen, from the right side. Otherwise I would have to make a 1" ricasso on everything. It takes some getting used to, but on the other hand, looking at the spine allows me to judge the angle almost better than edge-towards-me. Oh, and I don't rest the blade againt the stop once it starts to get thin, I'm leery of getting it jammed if I slip.

I thought this would really mess up my efforts to keep the angles the same on both sides, but so far it's going pretty well.
 
I grind edge up. It gives me better control over the grind and I can see what is happening near the edge better than edge down. The grind is easier to control, and that is important as one makes that turn towards the point.

The turn toward the point is one of the knifemaking moves that I do by feel rather than thinking about it too much. If I think about my grind as I move towards the point I end up screwing it up. I just grind mainly by feel for best result and stop and check things often as I grind. Once its been ground off it cannot be put back on again.
 
No tool rest will give more freedom, I sometimes try many differnt angles whenthe tool rest is off, but I do the majority of my grinding with a tool rest and the one set in stone absolute rule I have encountered in this business, is that you NEVER approach a tool rest edge down. It has had negative results every time I have seen it done, ranging from "oops" to all out disaster.
 
Edge up, no tool rest, EXCEPT for the initial start. I grind edge down with 60 grit to hog off a good bit of metal at first. I have heard it is a lot easier on your belts this way, and from what I have gathered that is true.
Matt Doyle
 
I do edge up, just starting out though so i might end up changing my ways, i am trying to over come the differances i get from side to side but i think i should be doing fine with a few more blades.

GibsonFan said:
Same here. My reason is, the cheapo 4x36" Delta I have, you can really only get the belt close enough to the edge of the platen, from the right side. Otherwise I would have to make a 1" ricasso on everything. It takes some getting used to, but on the other hand, looking at the spine allows me to judge the angle almost better than edge-towards-me. Oh, and I don't rest the blade againt the stop once it starts to get thin, I'm leery of getting it jammed if I slip.

I thought this would really mess up my efforts to keep the angles the same on both sides, but so far it's going pretty well.
Click to expand...

sorry to get off topic but GibsonFan, have you found really coarse blets for your 4X36, preferably ones that last but the corsest one i can find here is like 80 ish
-matt
 
I also use the Dean method of grinding , right hand up then edge down
as i do mostly flat grinds. before watching his video I tried edge up but on my weak left side had a real hard time controling the grind.But since switching to the Dean way it has improved my grinds a great deal.
 
I always knew there was something wrong with Dean! HeeHee!!! To save on belt wear, use and old belt to grind down to the rail road tracks that you have laid out for the edge. do this at a steep angle. This will keep the new grit from the new belt from being sheared off before it can do its work. Grinding edge down on a hollow grind, when going to finer grits, will make the belt want to grab, and roll over your grind line. Every time this happens, you loose blade thickness in the wrong area. If you grind edge up, it will continually crisp out the grind line. which is the mark of a well ground blade. I have taught this technique in the past to H. McBurnette, Sar, Kit Carson. and a few others. None world go back to edge down. Harvey McBurnett is now deceased, but made very nice knives thru-out his career. Mike
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top