Grizzly grinder for razor making?

I need a grinder for my shop anyhow so I statted kicking around the idea of trying to make a razor.:p Just wondering if anyone here used a grizzly belt grinder? I know it's not as good as a KMG or other better brands but will it work? :thinking:

I used a chicago combo knife buffing/sanding belt to make one out of an old file a long time ago. I had a real hard time keeping it straight. My blade didnt turn out well. I did not anneal it like you should. I have witnessed some impressive blades made on a belt sander like that grizzly I think it just takes practice. If you youtube charlie lewis he "shows" alot of good information on how to make a razor and he even shows some of his setups. Good luck friend-

Thanks, I was just checking out the Coote Belt Grinder and it looks even better than the Grizzly just without the motor.

I bought that chicago for the buffing attachment. We all know we need to buff on an Ebay razor every once in a while, but its nice to have the belt sander aslo. I have had to grind on a couple blades and it really comes in handy. If you plan on making a hollow grind. Really look at a couple of set ups. You can view a few on youtube and google. A hollow grind tends to be tricky as seen in most of the videos on the web. I have seen a couple of machines that have two wheel setups moving in the same direction. This makes it a uniform grind. We were posting on this about 6or7 months ago, but I cannot find the link. Most of the machines I have seen the people made their own wheels out of wood. I do not have the time to do this, but am so very interested to see what you come up with.

It can be done. But it's not the best option. Which, of course, you already knew. Here's my little Frankenstein. The expandability and off the shelf options of a "dealer built" model, are worth the expense in my eyes. That's probably just cause I don't have one though I guess. This is a Buffalo sander/grinder with home made attachments. Or rather, scrounged and bolted together parts of other things, that seem to give me a nice little wheel to grind against. It works great for a lot of things. But I'm saving for a real grinder now.

I'm really out of sorts today it seems. Grizzly makes a decent grinder don't they. You must be talking about this one http://compare.ebay.com/like/2711748...Types&var=sbar and not this one http://www.righttoolusa.com/p/Grizzl...FaI-MgodGyQAWg

Yes, I was looking at this one

G1015 Knife Belt Sander / Buffer, Woodworking, Buffing, Grizzly Industrial, NEW! on eBay!

I think maybe this Coote would be better though.

Coote Belt Grinder - Prices

sounds fun let us see what you make. If I had the dough i would be right there with ya!

Ok I thought you were talking about 1x42 initially. Mine is 1x42. You're way ahead of me.

Got some more research to do but we'll see what I decide

The Grizzly is ok but is really fast, not great for knife blades but even worse for razors. The Coote can use step pulleys or variable speed motor setup and will work out much better, of those two, in my opinion.

The Griz probably won't satisfy anyone working on razors - only one size contact wheel, and no variable speed, even with pulleys. All I know about the coote is in the above post. I'd want to know how it worked for a razor maker before I bought one. I have a KMG with a variable speed set up and have never regretted the money spent. I strongly feel this is a case where you get the very best you can possibly afford --- the first time.

Thanks for the advise guys. I decided to build a 2 x 72" grinder.

The No weld grinder from Tracy at USA Knifemakers looks like a good DIY grinder, and he has lots of extras available for it. I have bought contact wheels from him.

Going to make something on this order. Simple and useful...

2" by 72" Homemade Belt Grinder - YouTube

Where the variable speed truly shines is with high grit belts in the finishing post-HT stage.
If you're hogging out blade blanks with a 40 grit belt, single speed is fine.
But high grit belts can produce an immense amount of heat in less time than it takes to blink. Post-HT, a single speed grinder would stand a very good chance of ruining the temper, not to mention blistering your fingers.

I'm going to put a step pulley system on when I build mine. It won't be exactly like in the video.

If you run a pair of 4 step pulleys, you can get almost as good variable speed as a variable speed motor. I really like the compression spring tension system on that grinder. Make sure you understand how the tracking adjustment works - you have to have that. It looks like a well thought out machine. You can get contact wheels cheaper from USA Knifemakers Supply than Bader. Good luck, and keep us informed on your progress.

Thank you. I came up with a different design. Ordered the steel today. Already have the 4 step pulley's waiting. Will be putting on a 2hp 1725 rpm motor and an 8 or 10 inch contact wheel. Going to order the wheels I need from USAKnifemarkers.