I appreciate your videos and you sharing your expertise with some of us out here that know next to nothing. Thank you so much!

@gentrycustomknives8008

8 ай бұрын

Thank you for watching!!

I make most of my knives using jigs. It does take way longer than the few I have freehand. I’m never satisfied with my freehand knives lol. Need way more practice.

@gentrycustomknives8008

Жыл бұрын

I prefer a clean bevel done on a jig vs a horrible free hand any day! Do what you’re comfortable with that produces the best end result I say!

In my limited experience I've found that using a jig both gives me a more consistent grind line and builds the muscle memory I need when I freehand grind. As you say, I think both have their place.

@gentrycustomknives8008

Жыл бұрын

I agree! Thank you for watching!

Great video and very helpful! I have been over critical of my work and you bring it into perspective at 6:14! Thanks for sharing.

@gentrycustomknives8008

Жыл бұрын

Thank you for watching!

They both look great. As always I appreciate the knowledge you are passing along. 👍🏻

@gentrycustomknives8008

Жыл бұрын

Thank you for watching!

I'm a vote for bevel jig. They definitely don't come out "perfect" like a production knife. But they certainly have a consistent angle to sharpen from. The issue with the jig is that if there is more than zero play, it will play with your work while you try to rein it in. I find that I have to start my bevels at 60 grit and work toward 220 pretty quickly so that I don't make an uncorrectable flaw that will carry from the bevel to the spine. At least with the finer grits the mistakes I make are small enough to qualify as character flaws.

@gentrycustomknives8008

Жыл бұрын

Definitely can understand that!

Both looking good...I like using a jig when I am not in the right grinding mood. Might sound weird but in my Experience I tend to mess up more likely then . So using a jig helps . U still have to pay attention but messing up doesnt happen as quickly...

@gentrycustomknives8008

Жыл бұрын

I 100% agree!

Really enjoy and appreciate your videos. Taking a shot at making my first knife, since I already have the tools in my home machine shop. Had SWAG Offroad add one of their knife blanks to my last order and working on one just like the one in this video, so this really helps! I made a crude jig out of a piece of angle iron, and I like the way it works so well, I just ordered the OBM adjustable jig. I removed the hokey bottle opener from my SWAG blank, as I didn't care for that sharp hook sticking out. Also wasn't sure about its heat treatment, so I normalized and annealed it before starting on the grind. Hope to pop it back in the furnace to harden/temper it this week. Thanks again for sharing your knowledge!

@gentrycustomknives8008

4 ай бұрын

Awesome to hear!! Good luck on the build!

Neat to see the examples and slight differences. I’ve tried multiple jigs and could not get them to work. So I leaned to freehand grind.

@gentrycustomknives8008

Жыл бұрын

Yea I totally get that! Thanks for watching!

Very hard to compare them when each knife has a different plunge angle. Had the angles been the same I could then concentrate on which looked better. Since the angles were different they just look like two completely different styles of knife. I too have always (for six years) matched the angle of the front of my scales with the angle of the plunge. You do very good free hand work Matt!

@gentrycustomknives8008

Жыл бұрын

Thank you

@zarasdad100

Жыл бұрын

👊🏼

I free hand, mostly because it works and I haven't tried a jig. I think I'll keep doing what I'm doing. Love your videos by the way.

@gentrycustomknives8008

Жыл бұрын

Well thank you for watching!!

Thanks Matt! Great video.

@gentrycustomknives8008

Жыл бұрын

Thanks brother !

I love both of them I’m trying hard to freehand it’s been a challenge

@gentrycustomknives8008

Жыл бұрын

It definitely takes a lot of practice!! Thank you for watching!

Yeah, I have recently flat stone ground the black coating off of my Benchmade Super Freek, only to find that the bevels where not absolutely flat, some convexed spot I had to finish with my finger and abrasive. So, CNC is kind of cool, but watch the tolerances. Had a hogue with messed-up bevel too... I like the jig method, just need the right jig, like magnetic and with a kind of stopper for the plunge.

congratulations on the work 🇧🇷

@gentrycustomknives8008

Жыл бұрын

Thank you

100% with you on the character of imperfection. its purely aesthetic preference. as long as the steel is good, i like knowing that hands made my blade, rather than a machine.

@gentrycustomknives8008

Жыл бұрын

I totally agree 👊👊

Looks great. Used to use a homemade gig, but I think I like the freehand grinding because of the time savings, I'm a bit impatient at times (my wife would say a lot of times). Still have a hard time freehanding to my non-dominate side so I have to take it a bit slower. That is one advantage to a gig, easier to grind to my non-dominate side.

@gentrycustomknives8008

Жыл бұрын

Very true! Thank you for watching!!!

I agree that hand ground custom maker knives have more life in them that factory products. It's a real thing. It's especially apparent at a knife show when there's so much to compare with. ✌

@gentrycustomknives8008

Жыл бұрын

Definitely!!

Great video, Thanks ! I'm a new knife maker and just getting started. To add to the debate, what about the True-Tilt bevel grind Table ? Just wondering what to purchase getting started ?

@gentrycustomknives8008

Жыл бұрын

I think that’s a sweet setup! I’d love to try one out!

I am no pro, but I gave up jigs because of the time required to get the work rest set up and get the knife positioned correctly in the jig, and the fact that any gunk or bumps or shavings on your work rest will keep you from moving smoothly across it. I can see for certain trick grinds where a jig would be valuable. Freehand grinding is frustrating but man it’s satisfying when you get it right!!!

@gentrycustomknives8008

Жыл бұрын

I 100% agree!!

Both, of course, are great looking grinds. Personal preference is the freehand grind. It just looks more artisan and less “cookie cutter”. Function wise they’d probably perform the same 🤷‍♂️. I’ll have to see if I can grab one from SWAG Offroad and freehand one myself on my 1x30 😅

@gentrycustomknives8008

Жыл бұрын

I agree!! Pick one up and see what you can do! 👊

You just made me feel a whole lot better.. because my blades are not perfect. 😂😂👍👍

@gentrycustomknives8008

Жыл бұрын

Lol 👊👊

Could you please show how you did the handle on those swag off-road knife blanks

@gentrycustomknives8008

Жыл бұрын

Did you watch my how to install a handle video?

Well the peeps that say it not custom using a jig...then unless you use a hand file and not a grinder its not custom.....right? with that logic!

@richardbranton2780

Жыл бұрын

That's the same guys that have power hammers and $3000 heat treat ovens. Then they want to talk about me using a bevel jig

@gentrycustomknives8008

Жыл бұрын

Lol exactly!

This may be a dumb question, but when freehand grinding, do you do both bevels on the same side? By that I mean handle on the right side the whole time an just rotating the edge side from top to bottom.

@gentrycustomknives8008

Жыл бұрын

I do! ( this is not the “correct” way but it works for me)

@koblades9076

Жыл бұрын

@@gentrycustomknives8008 that is very interesting and I may have to give it a try myself. I find my right handed grinds come out so much cleaner than my left. Thanks for the great video!

Personally I have tried a jig and hated it so I just learnt to freehand. I prefer the sloping plunge on your freehand ground one

@gentrycustomknives8008

Жыл бұрын

Thank you!

Have you noticed wether or not your belts wear out faster since you grind after heat treat?

@gentrycustomknives8008

Жыл бұрын

O they definitely go faster on hardened blades

@HickLif3

Жыл бұрын

@@gentrycustomknives8008 i guess the next question, is the juice worth the squeeze? I’m fairly new to this (actually have my first batch of 15 on the way from a water jet company now) but i know there is less potential issues if you ht then grind but is the added cost of belts worth it? (I’m assuming so since that’s what you’ve been doing for a while. Or do you just be sure to add that in to the cost of the knife so it’s a non issue?

The same guys that talk crap about me using a bevel jig are the same guys that have 100 grand in tools

@gentrycustomknives8008

Жыл бұрын

Exactly!

👏👏👏👏👏

@gentrycustomknives8008

Жыл бұрын

👊👊