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The Newbies Arena Are you new to knife making? Here is all the help you will need.

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  #1  
Old 06-27-2009, 09:42 AM
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Connor Connor is offline
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Got jigs?... Please show them off!

Yes, another excited Newbie anxious to get started. I'm closing in on the completion of my belt grinder and soon will be grinding away grinning from ear to ear. What I will require soon are blade grinding jigs and holding fixtures. I'm looking for any available information or as many pictures as possible, no matter the task of the particular jig. If you have jigs you use or have made yourself, please share them?

Thank you in advance!




Connor
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  #2  
Old 06-27-2009, 10:42 AM
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B.Finnigan B.Finnigan is offline
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You just opened up a big ol' pandoras box. One camp has circled thier wagons with the "Do it all by hand" philosophy and the other with "use whatever is needed to get the job done".

As a result a lot of people probably have one or more jigs but are hesitant to post them.

I am one of them. Forums are a great place to learn but the rampant hyper-Opiniative tone at times very much detracts from the experience.

Last edited by B.Finnigan; 06-27-2009 at 10:48 AM.
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  #3  
Old 06-27-2009, 11:29 AM
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Connor, the best thing I can tell you is to mount your work wheel and flat platen as low as possible so that you're looking down at the edge of the blade and learn to grind by eye.

The lower the better, even between your knees as far as I'm concerned, so that your body is relaxed, but leaving room to move your elbows.

I sit on a stool at my grinders while I grind the blades.
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  #4  
Old 06-27-2009, 12:19 PM
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VictorCoelho VictorCoelho is offline
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I must try the stool Don!.....I grind my blades standing and that kills me!....Oh boy!....my back hurts!
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  #5  
Old 06-27-2009, 01:14 PM
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Ray Rogers Ray Rogers is offline
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I grind standing (no jigs) but I save my back by raising my grinder. I'm 6 ft tall and near blind but my grinder is high enough that I can get my face a few inches from the wheel (full face shield) while standing with my back straight and my head bent down slightly.

I don't care if you use jigs or not but I always recommend that beginners grind without them. It's a very rare occasion when you really need a jig for grinding but, when you do, use one. Until then, grinding without one will allow a lot more freedom and flexibility in your grinding.

The big advantage of using a jig is so that every grind is exactly the same. That's what you get whether you use the jig for that reason or not. Personally, I don't want to make all my grinds exactly the same way but, if you do, don't let anyone talk you out of using a jig.

BTW, it's usually wise for a beginner to start with a nice, simple flat grind on a smallish (about 4") blade. Many beginners feel intimidated by hollow grinds and seek help from jigs at first but flat grinds are easily done without a jig........


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  #6  
Old 06-27-2009, 03:55 PM
AcridSaint AcridSaint is offline
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I agree with Ray about learning without a jig but staying open to using one. Some very well known knifemakers have made many, many knives with jigs. Others have made many, many knives without ever looking at one. As far as I'm concerned, it's no different than the stock removal vs. forging argument. You do what you want to get the knife you want (or need).

Sorry, I don't have any pics of grinding jigs to show, I'm just a firm believer that using one is OK.


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  #7  
Old 06-27-2009, 04:03 PM
huntforlife huntforlife is offline
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Only jig I got is the one I dance when I actually do something right on a knife.


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  #8  
Old 06-27-2009, 05:11 PM
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This is great. Thank you all very much for the insight. It shows how much of a Newbie I really am, as I was under the impression that jigs were just an every day tool, such as the belt grinder, to an experienced knife maker. If it's one thing I am not, it's easily intimidated. I love to jump with both feet and get my hands dirty to gain the experience I am after, wether with or without a jig. I have been doing as much research as possible on the related tools and jigs others are using and have some interesting ideas. I try to absorb as much information I can and greatly appreciate the feedback and opinions of others. Please, keep it coming!



Connor
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  #9  
Old 06-27-2009, 07:33 PM
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David Broadwell David Broadwell is offline
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I made a drill jig once. Hated it!

I have attached a picture of my favorite jigs, my hands.The blade in the picture of the finished knife is the one I'm grinding, and it couldn't be done with a jig. It's just too complex.

Ray is correct, using a grinding jig will limit you and hold you back, so you're better off learning to grind freehand. In the long run you will develop more skills if you aren't dependent on fixtures and jigs. It is what will set you apart from a knife factory.

Ray, the last picture shows what happens when you get your head too close to the grinder. I thought I was a few inches away, but it turns out I was much closer.

David
Attached Images
File Type: jpg BillsSH7.jpg (69.8 KB, 207 views)
File Type: jpg BillsSH55.jpg (113.6 KB, 171 views)
File Type: jpg Hollow(head)grinding.jpg (143.4 KB, 197 views)


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  #10  
Old 06-27-2009, 08:51 PM
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.....DANG Dave!! ...took you a little longer to get away from that thing than you think huh? Thats why I wear a hat.... ouch.


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  #11  
Old 06-27-2009, 09:18 PM
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Ouch!!! Dave, I will certainly remember that response!

On another note..... NICE BLACE!
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  #12  
Old 06-28-2009, 02:30 AM
CWKnifeman CWKnifeman is offline
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Dave, it's normally my fingernails and finger tips tha get to close. you've got to be more careful when you reach down to pick stuff up off the floor.
Hope that you are OK! It's acidents like that, that I don't make Gut hooks on a knife any more ( Make the Zippers by themselves).

Learn to grind by HAND, once you do you'll never have to worry about jigs except to assist you in doing other things.

Scribe the center lines and lines about 0.015" on both sides of it. Gring to the outer lines at the blade edge and work towards the spine, do one side then match the other, ( practice on weldable steel then go to the steel that you are going to use for the blade). I say this because you need to see how the grinder is going to react and cut to start with. As you become used to how the grinder cuts, just grind and grind some more ( the more you grind the better your grinds will be). ONE THING TO ALWAYS REMEMBER IS TO LET THE GRINDER AND THE BELTS DO THE WORK, YOUR JOB IS TO GUIDE THE WORKPIECE INTO THE GRINDER. You will do this by adjusting the pitch and angle you hold the workpiece. Prior to starting any plung cuts or first grind on any piece is to break the edge on any steel while gring the blade this will save you mutilpe belts (to do this just run the edge on a slack part of the belt while the grinder is running just to take the sharp edge off of the steel). This will save you on belts and keep you from jumping when the belt acidently catches the belt and the belt breaks ( it will sound like a gun going off and I really mean that).
Just a few notes of help.
Curtis Wilson


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  #13  
Old 06-28-2009, 03:12 AM
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Andries Olivier Andries Olivier is offline
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Not really a jig but a cool tool nevertheless. It's a self centering jawchuck that fits into the lathe for turning square objects. I actually made this device for pipemaking but it is also helpful for making knifeparts. No more changing from three to fourjaw chuck. I simply do all my work in the threejaw. Another neat feauture is that I can move it from the metal turning lathe to the wood turning lathe without adjusting the workpiece. It will grab hold of anything between 3mm and 90 mm.
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  #14  
Old 06-28-2009, 09:54 AM
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Ray Rogers Ray Rogers is offline
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That's quite a boo-boo you have there, David! When mature men such as ourselves are possessed of such distinguished physiognomies we owe it to our public to guard against such imperfections as that belt rash you have there. That is why I wear a full face sheild as in the picture below. You can see the damaged that repeatedly pushing my head into a 60 grit belt does to the sheild:



For those occasions when I forgo the shield such as when I'm using one of my bandsaws I always have my cap on. I like to think of the bill of my cap as being similar to the curb feelers one might find on a Cadillac :



Another gorgeous knife you have there. I especially like the handle treatment........


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  #15  
Old 06-28-2009, 01:57 PM
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Don Robinson Don Robinson is offline
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Ray is right, David. Gorgeous knife!!

Not the head, though.

Andries, that's certainly an ingenious lathe fixture.
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