Grinding flatter blades?

[Wesley Davis 0]

Hello all.

 

Ive forged a few blades so far and have tried my best to forge as close to finished dimensions as possible.

 

With that said... my handles are thicker than the blade, which tapers to the tip.

Im having a lot of trouble grinding the blade sections flat(removing hammer marks or warps).

 

Is there a trick to this?

Protrude the platen?

 

Ive got a 2x72 that i built but can seem to get anything flat without somthing else rubbing the belt on the small wheels.

 

Please and thank you.

Wes

[Alan Longmire 2,830]

Yeah, bring the platen forward just enough that you miss hitting the wheels.  This will also help with tracking, sharp edges, and general grinding.  That's smart of you to grind vertically to flatten.  It's quite a trick to do it horizontally on a 2x72 with a long blade, say over 12 inches...  

 

When you say the handles are thicker than the blade, do you mean the tang where the handle will go?  Or are we talking an integrally forged handle like a Blacksmith knife?  Because that changes things.  

[Doug Lester 293]

You might also want to check the height of you anvil face.  Differing opinions but you need to try to have it at about knuckle height.  Also, if your hammer face has any sharp edges try to grind them smooth.  Try to make sure that you are bringing your hammer down flat on the work and don't try to hit the steel as hard as you can.  That might reduce the hammer marks on the blade, at least the deep ones.  The fewer hammer marks you leave on the blade the fewer  you will have to grind out.

 

Doug

[Ron Benson 92]

As a newby to grinding flats, I thought it might help others if I posted my experiences here. Some who actually know what they are doing offered suggestions. At any rate, here's a link to the post. I hope it helps you:

 

https://www.bladesmithsforum.com/index.php?/topic/41429-practicin-bevel-grinding/

[Bill Schmalhofer 123]

This is the "system" I used to do until I got a surface grinder attachment for my 2x72. It's slow but it worked for a lot of my knives.

 

[Wesley Davis 0]

4 hours ago, Alan Longmire said:

Yeah, bring the platen forward just enough that you miss hitting the wheels.  This will also help with tracking, sharp edges, and general grinding.  That's smart of you to grind vertically to flatten.  It's quite a trick to do it horizontally on a 2x72 with a long blade, say over 12 inches...  

 

When you say the handles are thicker than the blade, do you mean the tang where the handle will go?  Or are we talking an integrally forged handle like a Blacksmith knife?  Because that changes things.  

Yes, i am refering to the tang(full tang). Grinding vertically, i will try moving the platen outward.

 

[Wesley Davis 0]

1 hour ago, Bill Schmalhofer said:

This is the "system" I used to do until I got a surface grinder attachment for my 2x72. It's slow but it worked for a lot of my knives.

 

Thats some good info. I have thought about it just like that,but the lazy/excited part of me got the better.

 

I need to make a wider work table for my grinder. Mine does not wrap around the platten because i wanted to be able to change belts quickly.

 

Thanks

 

Wes

[Wesley Davis 0]

1 hour ago, Ron Benson said:

As a newby to grinding flats, I thought it might help others if I posted my experiences here. Some who actually know what they are doing offered suggestions. At any rate, here's a link to the post. I hope it helps you:

 

https://www.bladesmithsforum.com/index.php?/topic/41429-practicin-bevel-grinding/

Your results look a whole lot better than mine.

I had seen this post earlier and read it closley, but my attention span isnt what it used to be(kids).

 

Freehand grinding is not for me

 

Wes

[Joshua States 1,782]

2 hours ago, Bill Schmalhofer said:

This is the "system" I used to do until I got a surface grinder attachment for my 2x72. It's slow but it worked for a lot of my knives.

 

I had not seen this thread before today. That is brilliant. To think that before I had a surface grinder attachment, I used a 9" bar magnet and this: https://www.harborfreight.com/6-in-x-9-in-combination-belt-and-disc-sander-61750.html

Edited February 18 by Joshua States