Hollow Grind Fixture

[Danvh]

I am considering a Hollow Grind Fixture for use in making my blades. The unit is sold by Kovals and is listed in their online catalog. Any comments on this fixture would be helpful.

[Ray Rogers]

You can find extensive comments and opinions in previous threads using the Search key. If you are a Newbie - which I assume because you posted the quetion here - and you are considering a fixture because you don't know how to hollow grind, my suggestion is to forget the fixture and practice. There are plenty of threads that discuss hollow grinding, more than enough to teach you what you need to know and the Search key should help you find them There are also books and videos on the subject.. Fixtures are OK if you are trying to manufacture knives and need to make blades fast but, since you are here, I assume that is not the case. If your goal is to learn to make knives then LEARN to make knives. That includes learning to grind by hand. In the end, you'll have a lot more pride in what you have accomplished as well as a lot more flexibility in the kinds of blades you can hollow grind. All fixtures have limits. You'll find that even in factories that produce many blades in one day hollow grinding is not always done by machine or with a fixture. More speed and just as much accuracy can be attained by free hand grinding if you put in the practice.......

[combs6136]

When i was starting out i made a jig for hollow grinding...I am in Hamilton, Ohio just north of you and would be glad to give you a hand getting started......carl.........email me and we can meet sometime................

[Gary Mulkey]

Ray is right on about learning to grind free hand. It may be frustrating at first but in the long run you will be glad that you did. Forgive me if some of you believe in jigs but at best they are limiting in what they can do. The real joy in knife making is being able to turn out something that is unique and a jig won't accomplish that. Trust in your ability and teach yourself to free grind. There are numerous threads as to how to start.

Good luck & let us know if we can help.

Gary

[cactusforge]

Free hand grinding is the only way to go and hollow grinding is the easiest. What happens is the wheel will make a track and then tend to follow it the next pass. what I tend to do is use a coarser grit for the first couple of passes then go to a finer grit to refine the grind. Practice on scrap steel till yo get the hang of it. Gib

[Jason Cutter]

Yet another reply saying what the others have said - from Ray, Gib, Gary - DITTO.

The other thing I wanted to say, just in case you weren't convinced was that - we all take a period of time to get used to any piece of machinery - to learn its manners and subtle tricks that make it work best. I suspect that the jig itself will take enough time to figure out how to work properly that you could spend the time more productively for the longer term by just using your hands first up.

Just make sure you look after safety first practise on some scrap wood, maybe plastic or Micarta, then mild constructional steel, then maybe when you're satisfied, make the transition to knife steel. Heck you might find yourself with a whole bunch of cool-looking letter openers to give away as gifts. Jason.