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Originally Posted by Doug Lester
As hobbiests, we have no deadlines to meet so we can take months to finish a knife if we want.
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Well said Doug. I volunteer at the Kelgin Knife Maker's Co-Op, and a lot of potential signups get put off by the thought of having to invest a lot of money. We are always trying to stress that you don't need a ton of investment in tools to make a decent knife.
My 2 cents on grinders: in the co-op we have a Bader, a Grizzly and until recently a KMG. I'm not a professional knifemaker or anything - but I have used all three extensively. I like them all. A lot of people kind of poop on the Grizzly, but I think it gets a bad rap. I can certainly understand getting a KMG or Bader for precision work, or for desired setups that the Grizzly can't provide. But as far as bang for the buck for a hobbyist, I think the Grizzly is great. I have used it constantly for months, and haven't really had any complaints, other than the flat patten can be tricky.
I guess the way I look at it is this: Can you make a great knife on a Grizzly? Absolutely. Then why not start out with a Grizzly, and get some grinder practice. If you want to move up, get paid for your practice. Make knives on the Griz and sell them to buy a higher end grinder. Now what have you got? A great precision grinder with wheels that you can baby, and a Griz in the corner that you can abuse during hogging! It really ends up being a convenient setup.