What's the trick to achieving a nice, straight grind line?

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Jul 4, 2010
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hey guys. I've been working on knives for a long time know and I've gotten some functional pieces done. Here's the problem...

All my grinds look kinda wacky, and by that, I mean they're not straight. Usually I flat grind 3/4ths of the blade, but the grind line never looks even, it's always wavy and distorted.

I see a lot of guys, like this guy:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ExzctlKKmOM
Who seem to make knives like there's nothing to it. Their grinds are always even and non-distorted. How do you achieve this?
 
practice...... Keep your elbows tucked in to your hips and move from your trunk not your arms. keep all movements steady and even. pretend your'e a robot
 
Practice. You probably won't find a secret that makes the wavy line suddenly straight, you hit on the right technique and see an improvement, then try to duplicate that technique until it becomes your new grinding style. It's a gradual progression and one of those things that seperates an old hand from a rookie.
You can clean those up with hand sanding. Sucks to admit you can't get it perfect on the grinder though.
 
Be a robotic machine. Seriously. Ya gotta stand the same way everytime; hold the blade the same way, at the same angle, etc...

Oh yeah, practice. ;)
 
You can make sparks for a few months or years gaining experience at ginding steel OR you can fabricate/purchase a simple jig that will enable you to grind to closer tolerances than any free hand operation.
 
what size belt sander are you using and what make? a 1" belt is not the best for knifemaking but it will work if you practice a lot. a 2" is the best all around since it has a wider footprint compared to the 1". stay away from jigs or you wont learn anything ;)
 
Practice and more practice. Do your grinding when you are in a good mood, and not in any kind of a hurry and use fresh belts.
 
I'll go out on a limb and say... practice!

I still "cheat" and draw-file to clean up my grinds sometimes, especially on recurves. I don't imagine that would be very helpful if you're doing hollow-grinds though.

I also use layout fluid or a Sharpie a lot, it makes it very clear exactly where you're grinding. Plenty of light helps, too.
 
Don't rush and don't start if you won't have time to finish the aspect you are working on, ie; roughing out, bevels, finishing etc. If you think "well I have 20 minutes I can get one side done..." don't start, you won't get into a rhythm and the next time you go to work on that grind it will end up different.
 
Patrice Lemée;9863865 said:
Since nobody said it yet, I'll do...PRACTICE PRACTICE PRACTICE! ;)

patrice, your post gave me a good laugh :D. and i'll repeat what i said last in my above post. STAY AWAY FROM JIGS. THEY WONT TEACH YOU A SINGLE THING!!!!
 
nobody else has said it so I will . Pay attention to when and where you put pressure on the blade while grinding . And as others have said , watch and keep the same angle .
 
Practice.

Seriously, practice as often as possible.
 
What does everyone think of the bubble jig. Good idea for a beginner or no?
 
I would give freehand an honest shot before trying a jig. Some guys like jigs, some don't. I don't have an opinion either way, but I believe that starting out with a jig may handicap your learning curve for doing it freehand. The basic techniques should be established before adding something like that, IMO.
 
What does everyone think of the bubble jig. Good idea for a beginner or no?

I haven't tried one but it looks pretty cool. It's not really a jig because it doesn't hold the knife or the tool for you, just gives you a clear indication if you're holding steady at the angle you want.

As for fixture-type jigs... why not just buy a CNC machine then (other than the cost difference of $10K or whatever, naturally)? Then again, I sometimes use a Lansky for finishing edges so what the heck do I know :eek:
 
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