Recommendation? Looking for info on a few grinders

J

Jesse Lange

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Oct 2, 2020
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Hey everyone,

Yes, this is yet another grinder thread...

I'm new to the hobby (started last fall), and am taking a 2 week ABS knifemaking course at the end of March. After the course, I'll likely upgrade from my 2x42 grinder to a big boy grinder.

Since I want to buy/cry once, I'm looking to go top of the line, and I've got things narrowed down to:
TW-90
Wilmont Quattro
Gibson 72 Deluxe
Brodbeck (probably the Mega Package).

Any reviews or comparisons of the above would be really helpful.

I'm having trouble finding much about the Gibson, but 84 Engineering in Australia makes them and Alec Steele sells them in the US. It made the list because of the carbide face plate and some other features that looked really promising. Does anyone have any experience with this grinder?

Of these grinders, what would you buy?

Thanks,
Jesse
 
I really like this one ...............
VaFzfip.jpg
 
Of the grinders you listed, only one has ratcheting belt tension. To me that is a huge bonus. I would not consider buying another grinder without it. I've ground on several different grinders and the TW90 tracking is by far the most stable and offers great fine-tuning. It comes fully assembled and ready to go. The only other grinders that I know of with ratchet tension are the Northridge and Burr King. I've never heard a bad word about a Northridge grinder. They did have issues early on with shipping times simply because they were overwhelmed with the amount of orders they received. The owner is a stickler for quality and holds very tight tolerances on his machines.
The Burr King is an absolute fabulous machine ( I have two of them), and is the most versatile grinder on the market. The first problem with the Burr King is that you need tools and time to swap from one attachment to the other. It's more than just swapping a tool arm. The attachments are very well thought out and well made. They are tough industrial machines. They are also the most expensive option of all the grinders listed.
 
Thank you for the detailed responses.

I did look at Northridge briefly, but clearly don't know enough about them. The main things that made me drop them from the short list were the fact that the contact wheels on the platen aren't rubberized, the lack of native tilt functionality (I don't know if the tilting stand is a good solution or not), the lack of return wheel(s) on the small wheel attachment, and only 2 arm slots (not allowing for greater separation between arms). Given that I am relatively inexperienced w/ knifemaking, I don't know how big of a deal these things are, but not following common designs which I've been led to believe are superior (such as the small wheel return wheels) caused me to second guess their overall design. I do however really like the tight tolerances etc. What are the main reasons to go with Northridge?

The Gibson 72 by 84 engineering, which Natlek shared a photo of, doesn't have ratcheting tension, but is on an infinitely adjustable cam. Do you see any negative to that vs ratcheting? I also like that they have the same style drive wheel tracking control as the TW90, and the carbide faced platen is definitely a cool feature.

I did look at the Burr King, but what dropped them from my list was the time to change tooling.
 
If you are lookin to buy the best right off the bat, its TW90 or Northridge. Ive got a Tw90 goin 8 years now without issue. My only complaint is Travis hasn't been innovating the last 5+ years with new features/attachments while everyone else has been doing so. As to the northridge, ive yet to use one, but everyone i know who has loves it, and the reviews from makers have been stellar on its quality and functionality.
 
I agree that contact wheels on the platen are very good, and I'm betting Northridge would gladly add them. I wouldn't want a grinder without them either. The tilting on the Northridge is great, I think it's better than my TW90. I'm not sure what you mean by return wheels. I also don't see an advantage to greater seperation between tool arm slots.
 
J. Hoffman said:
I agree that contact wheels on the platen are very good, and I'm betting Northridge would gladly add them. I wouldn't want a grinder without them either. The tilting on the Northridge is great, I think it's better than my TW90. I'm not sure what you mean by return wheels. I also don't see an advantage to greater seperation between tool arm slots.
Click to expand...

The return wheel or wheels (some small wheel attachments have one on either side) keep the belt in contact with as much of the small wheel as possible to prevent the belt from forming a large angle as opposed to hugging the wheel. Here is an example from Wilmont:

upload_2021-3-3_8-16-51.png
 
Jesse Lange said:
The Gibson 72 by 84 engineering, which Natlek shared a photo of, doesn't have ratcheting tension, but is on an infinitely adjustable cam. Do you see any negative to that vs ratcheting? I also like that they have the same style drive wheel tracking control as the TW90, and the carbide faced platen is definitely a cool feature.
Click to expand...
Noting negative , it is better solution then ratchet .
 
Jesse Lange said:
The return wheel or wheels (some small wheel attachments have one on either side) keep the belt in contact with as much of the small wheel as possible to prevent the belt from forming a large angle as opposed to hugging the wheel. Here is an example from Wilmont:

View attachment 1519947
Click to expand...
I have a wilmont tag (premium model prior to quatro) with that small wheel attachment and it's amazing. I wouldn't use any small wheel attachment without that contact wheel on top now :)

That being said my choice would be Northridge so day if I had to buy a grinder today
 
razor-edge-knives said:
I have a wilmont tag (premium model prior to quatro) with that small wheel attachment and it's amazing. I wouldn't use any small wheel attachment without that contact wheel on top now :)

That being said my choice would be Northridge so day if I had to buy a grinder today
Click to expand...
What do you see as the pros and cons of the Wilmont grinders? I've heard really good things about them.
 
Jesse Lange said:
What do you see as the pros and cons of the Wilmont grinders? I've heard really good things about them.
Click to expand...
Well the tracking is perfect, comes w/ contact wheels on the tilting platen, the tool arm is amazing (love being able to swing it out of the way, and I mounted magnets to mine so I can swap out different fixtures when needed). I have the older model with the flipping plate (which is a pain). But even on the Quattro the flipping mechanism just doesn't seem as nice as NRT's (which has a piston to balance everything perfectly). Everything about NRT screams quality from what I've seen. Wilmont is quality too, just not as nicely finished/as much time spent, mainly in the small details. Although I will say that Chris has amazing customer support if you ever need anything. I've had mine for about 6 years and use it daily, and have needed a few wheels and such - Chris has always more than come through.
 
Bob Duguay said:
J.Kenton how do you like the round lock down knobs? Or would you rather have the lever type?
Click to expand...

On the tooling arms I really like them. Work great and feel good to use. I put some on my rat arm in that video and I think they are to large in diameter... kinda get in the way sometimes on the one closest to the grinder when in use. I'll probably change that one back out.
 
J. Hoffman said:
Can you post a video or pictures of it? The website didnt show much.
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They say it's never too late....... 🙂 I'm sorry I didn't answer in time, I somehow overlooked the question.... I have not picture or video from that grinder but you can see on this video how cam work.......... it have infinite tension adjustment, that s why it is better than ratchet :thumbsup:
 
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