the edge

[paul harm]

grindher in the morning , or all day - i hear viaga mkes a great grindher that stands up all day- paul

Speed kills !!!

"The proof is in the pudding."

It's the aesthetics and nature of the process. Beauty begets beauty. There is a sincerity and discipline in hand work that you just can't get through a machine.

When the process becomes loud, obnoxious, stinky and unhealthy it looses it's charm. If speed and money begin to dictate, it becomes even worse. It's a "trap" of human nature. It shows in the work.

Machines are fine as long as they don't dictate, and they most certainly will and do, if not restricted at some point. To find a ballance takes time and effort on both fronts.

It's your life, spend it however you want.

[VSMBlades]

How about?

"Unsafe at any speed."

No matter how slow I go I always screw up and cut myself once.

Speed rhymes with greed.

Folks just don't want to pay their dues any more. That's one of the reasons I quit teaching knifemaking at the college. The students would sign up just to get access to the power tools! How sad. They all wanted instant gratification.

[paul harm]

" the proof is in the pudding " sounds romantic , but doesn't prove much . i've seen some outstanding knives and you can bet a grinder was use somewhere . how about bill moran or any number of famous smiths . files are fine if that's what someone likes , but doesn't make it a better knife . no one who uses a machine is " trapped " , and is just as " sincere or disaplined " as someone who does it all by hand no matter what someone says . using a machine is just a different skill than using a file . they both take time to learn how to use correctly . paul

A file won't make a better knife, but they do have the potential to make a knife better, in the right hands.

The physical reality of it is that once you put that blade against the 2 inch wide flat or radiused surface of the belt grinder, you are committed, and limited to that surface, trapped by it. It is static and boring. For one example you can not do a compound or modulated radius in a hollow grind. In other words you can't make a smooth transition from a 2 inch radius into an 8 inch radius. With hand tools and files you can make a compound hollow grind that spirals down the blade to adjust for the taper in it. There are lots of other things you can't do with belt grinders. The belt grinder limits your thinking and you'll design knives that will be "easy" to make on it. You will design knives "for it".

I'm not totally against all power tools, I just don't think that the belt grinder is a good knifemaking tool. I'm at the level with hand work, that a belt grinder really won't help. It would do more damage that good. That's why I don't use one. I can make a knife better without one. I out grew the belt grinder.

Folks should learn to do things efficiently by hand first.

I'm not trying to make a better knife, I'm trying to make a knife better. ha ha ha

[paul harm]

when i first got my b.g.er i visited a couple of makers who were in the knifemakers guild . they could grind a 5" skinner after it was profiled in about 10 minutes [ down to 400 grit ] . they made the same style , so it was just doing the same thing over and over . i ground blades ,but never got that good . then i wanted to make damascus - so off to the ABS school - had to take the forging class first , which was a good idea . learned more down there in 3 weeks than i would have on my own in years . so over the years , i've learned both ways . i'll use the b.r. to clean things up , take off scale , clean up tappered handles and make them good and flat , etc . i've never in all these years gone past 150 or 220 grit on the blades , don't trust myself to keep the flats flat . i use the hand methods to do finish work or blending areas togeather . don't know about others , but i've never made a knife because of the equipment i own , but use the equipment i own to build the knife i want . use a drill press instead of a chest drill because i feel i can drill a straighter hole much quicker and easier . the power tools help me build a knife , not dictate what kind of knife i build . to each his own .i forge knives because i like to move the metal by hand , it's more fun and i enjoy it . i use both the hand and modern methods , it's what i like , and i do what i like . paul

Another problem with belt grinders is the high cost. I just don't think they are worth it for what they do. I like the old standard abrasive wheel type bench grinders better. They are more cost effective.

The problem with spending a lot of money on tools is that then you feel obligated to use them, whether you need them or not,... another trap.

How much is a belt grinder going to help me on this?
It's just between the hammer and rasp in this pic.


The idea of any person just heating a flat bar, whacking it a couple times with a power hammer, grinding 40 percent of it away on a belt grinder and calling himself a bladesmith, just don't cut it in my book.

[gtrpicker]

I can't see myself ever needing a grinder.
Just time.
And I aint implieing that anyone needs one.ok.

[paul harm]

are you assuming all with a belt grinder grind 40% ? i don't , and most the smiths i know don't . you're making too many assumptions . not everyone fits into your idea , or how much power tools are used . life is much more fun if you " live and let live " instead of bad mouthing everyone who doesn't agree with your idea of what makes a " bladesmith " . paul

[paul harm]

tia ,the blade you just showed is great , and you can be proud that you use just a hammer and file . the point i'm trying to make is there's more than one way to do it . just because someone uses a grinder doesn't mean he's limited to what he does or how much he uses it . i think it's wrong to assume someone who doesn't do it all by hand doesn't think , feels traped to use the grinder , is limited to how it's made , or any of the other things you brought up . because some grind 40% doesn't mean all do . i wouldn't want to be the one to tell jerry fisk ,dr. batson , charlie oochs , larry hartly , ron claybourne ,bill moran , etc , etc , that they don't think , are traped , or any of the other things you keep bringing up . this is a silly arguement that proves nothing . assume what you want , nno one is going to change your mind . i feel comfortable in the way i do it , and feel good about claiming i'm a bladesmith . happy hammering to all , and to all a good night . the end for me . paul

I'm not intentionally bad mouthing anyone in particular, just sharing my story.

If my career makes some other smiths uncomfortable, then I've done my job well.

One last thing though Paul, I really think you should let all those other knifemakers you mentioned speak for themselves. Go talk to them. Tell them what I'm saying. Be sure and tell them it was yours truley me. See what kind of reaction you get. You might be surprised.