Would this be a good grinder?

I have been looking for a grinder for a while now. Unfortunately, KGM won't ship to Europe. I can't afford a bader, and most European grinders are industrial use and completely useless for the purpose of making razors.

I discovered that Burr King has a EU distributor and I am am currently working with their sales agent to establish a price, depending on the options I choose.

Does anyone have experience with Burr King grinders?
The one I am looking at is this one.
Any feedback is welcome.
Btw, I still don't know what it costs so this might be out of my league as well. Still, if what I want is no more expensive than a 1000-ish euros, I might be able to convince my wife. :)

EDIT: I found the US prices... I guess 1000 euros would be too optimistic.
Still, we'll see what they say. I may need to make 2 or 3 more razors to put enough of a dent in the costprice to get the budget approval from the CFO :)

Burr King 960-272 two wheel grinder "The KNIFEMAKER"

Bruno,
I gather you'd like to make razors from blanks ?
Wouldn't a Tormek machine suffice ? (edit: assuming you're not going to make full wedges)
Although expensive, they are *less* so than what you referred to ...
Wim

Bruno, there are some options for grinders in europe. The first that you might want to have a look at is der kleinen messerladen I know of some knifemakers that use both their #3 (cheaper) and #2 model and they're really nice. If you're wanting to change the grinding wheel size on your grinder however you'll have to opt for the more expensive #2.

Then there's the route of a custom build. I know a guy nearby nijmegen that built me my grinder. He built mind with a flat platen but I'm sure that you could get him to build you one with a wheel. I got mine for just under €1000. If you're interested just mail me at lxemergency @ g mail dot com. I'll answer any of your questions and take pictures if you like.

I forgot to mention. The grinder that I have looks a lot like a KMG and has a 1.5 hp motor. it fits 50 X 1800-2000mm belts

Quote:

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Originally Posted by LX_Emergency

...The first that you might want to have a look at is der kleinen messerladen ...

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Those are good looking tools.

I'd recommend a unit that will allow you the flexibility to have both a flat platen and the ability to change wheel sizes. The Burr King's platen is under the belt facing upward and the whole arm will rotate to vertical or horizontal. They were the industry standard along with Wilton Square Wheel units until Bader came long.

Belt Sanders | Kalamazoo Industries is another source, and they will sell the heads without the motors. They make a variation on the square wheel grinder as well. You could then find a scrapped exercise treadmill, usually a stout motor and have the variable speed controller all at the same time. I can't readily find a European distributor though. They are a lot cheaper than the others and work just as well.

The minimum power is 1.5 horse. Changing wheels is nice to get small radius curves, if you want a thumb notch or plan on doing a complex hollow grind someday.

Have fun in the search.

My grinder has a flat platen. But the platen arm could be swapped for something with wheels. I just haven't gotten around to building/buying something like that yet. Haven't really needed anything for hollow grinding either yet. But then I haven't been making razors.

The main "issue" I would have with the Burr King is that you can't go down on the contact wheels to the 4"-2" wheels. Good looking grinder otherwise.

For the $$ I would recommend the "grinder in a box" like Brad (undream) put together. I have mine done...except waiting on my drive wheel. Best part is the flexibility. I'll have less than $750 USD(estimated as it has taken me a year to piece it together) and that's with a 2 hp motor, a variable frequency drive to really slow down the motor, 8", 4", 2" contact wheels. Takes just a little bit of time and elbow grease, but it's worth it. If you do try one...don't force the taps as I broke two on mine and it's a booger to remove them.

Check here: Polar Bear Forge