Thread: Shoulderless grinds -- tips and tricks?

My shoulderless grinds could use some improvement. They're OK as long as I keep them fairly short, but I really like the look of some of the vintage blades where the grind extends almost all the way to the pivot hole. I can't seem to figure out a technique that will allow me to achieve that shape.

To date I've been extending the belt out over the edge of the wheel by maybe 3/8" and using that to get the gradual taper toward the bottom of the tang. This doesn't work so well once I extend the hollow more than 3/8" into the tang.

Also, the natural slant of the hollow in the tang encourages the main part of the blade to want to tilt into the wheel, which is always a major disaster.

Any fellow steel-dust eaters want to take a stab at describing how you approach shoulderless grinds?

Josh

Josh, shoulderless grinds are far easier than shouldered grinds, but you're right: you do have to prevent the blade turning into the wheel, or you're going to wind up gouging the blade. Just use light cuts and keep the blade roughly square with the wheel. Honestly, it's easier if you start shoulders, round them off, and proceed from there. When you've got enough hollow in the blade, it's harder for it to hit the wheel. Just remember to not turn the tang into the wheel. It's almost automatic.

I was hoping you'd chime in, Joe. I actually have an easier time with shouldered grinds, except for that little flat facet that you have to do near the heel of the blade. Total PITA.

Do you do the tang portion of the shoulderless grind as a part of each pass on the wheel, or do you do it separately and then blend it into the grind on the blade?

Also, do you only make contact with the edge of the wheel while you're working out on the tang?

Originally Posted by Joe Chandler

Josh, shoulderless grinds are far easier than shouldered grinds, but you're right: you do have to prevent the blade turning into the wheel, or you're going to wind up gouging the blade. Just use light cuts and keep the blade roughly square with the wheel. Honestly, it's easier if you start shoulders, round them off, and proceed from there. When you've got enough hollow in the blade, it's harder for it to hit the wheel. Just remember to not turn the tang into the wheel. It's almost automatic.

Josh, initially I may work on the tang separately, just to hog off what I want to remove, but by the end, the tang portion becomes an extension of the grinding pass. As to the comment I made about shoulderless being easier than shouldered grinds, that sounded a bit condescending. What I should have said is that for me, it's tougher to get crisp, even shoulders than the shoulderless. Once you get the hang of it, the shoulderless is a little more forgiving, in that you can true it up easier. Once you go past a certain point with the shoulders, the razor just looks funny.

Josh, are you tapering the tang before or after grinding the hollow?

Originally Posted by randydance062449

Josh, are you tapering the tang before or after grinding the hollow?

I usually grind the hollow first. Does it make a difference?