Prepared to grind my first GD 66 heel off!

[Oliwerko]

Hi all!

I think I gathered everything I need to get my first customized GD66 done. This is what I have:

- a grinding wheel (slow, with a water basin)
- a drill press w/ some sanding drums and stones (instead of a dremel)
- a selection of sandpaper grits from 360 to 2500 (2 each, 16 total, i.e. two sheets a grit)
- and of course a stock GD66!

What I want to ask is the following: I'm planning to do the biggest steel removal on the grinding wheel. Is that a good idea? I want to finish on the drill press (the transition between the shank and the heel section and perhaps a nice curve there), but...you know, I don't feel like grinding away 10 sanding drums and want to let the wheel take care of that.

Also, how easy is it to overheat the drill? I was planning to hold the razor in my bare hands so when it becomes hot I can feel it and dip it in cool water.

Oh, and I'll be wearing a respirator AND glasses, if anybody asks

Is there anything else I should know before going ahead?

 

[buca3152]

Not necessary IMO. If you grind the stabilizers with a dremel and use a dmt 325 or even a 120 you can get the blade flat for the hone from heel to toe. I wouldnt try it on a norton as that part of the hone that hits the stabilizer/heel will dish out quickly. SOme need to be breadknifed as they are off a bit. Not all. Ive done a few where the stabilizer/shoulders were fine. You gotta love GDs, they are truly unique as no 2 are the same.

 

[Soldierdan]

I would suggest some work gloves of some type at least. That or gripping the tang, wrapped in a wet rag, with a pair of channel locks or locking pliers. Just using a dremel for cleanup, the steel still gets a little hot.

 

[Oliwerko]

Well, my aim was to feel the heat by holding the shank bare handed. How else do I estimate the temperature? I'm afraid of overheating the blade 'cause I have absolutely no experience with this.

 

[Jerryz]

Gloves and spinning machinery are a big no no.

 

[global_dev]

I've never used gloves for the gd66, I've never needed to do anything other than aircool when grinding down the stabilizers.

 

[Oliwerko]

So, I spent two hours in the garage this afternoon. Trying the drill was a no-go: the RPM was too high and the sanding drum didn't really do anything to the razor.

So I went directly to a very low RPM grinding wheel. This is what I got in the end:


I got rid of the heel, rounded the edge a bit, ground off the stamping and the jimps and added my own...well...wannabe jimps

Overheating was no issue at all. The grinding was a pleasure really. After figuring out the angles and whatnot, I began to feel comfortable with the wheel.

As you can see on the third photo, the symmetry is not ideal, but I guess I can move on to hand sanding, starting at 360 grit. What do you think?

 

[pmaster]

Looks very nice, you're off to a good start Although I'd go with something lower than 360 (depending on the scratches left by the grinding wheel). I usually start with 180-220 to remove the scratches from the dremel.

So, I spent two hours in the garage this afternoon. Trying the drill was a no-go: the RPM was too high and the sanding drum didn't really do anything to the razor.

So I went directly to a very low RPM grinding wheel. This is what I got in the end:
View attachment 349325View attachment 349326View attachment 349327

I got rid of the heel, rounded the edge a bit, ground off the stamping and the jimps and added my own...well...wannabe jimps

Overheating was no issue at all. The grinding was a pleasure really. After figuring out the angles and whatnot, I began to feel comfortable with the wheel.

As you can see on the third photo, the symmetry is not ideal, but I guess I can move on to hand sanding, starting at 360 grit. What do you think?

 

[jpcwon]

Looks very well done!! I recently started grinding mine down, but it didn't come out half as good as yours! Oh well, I guess practice makes perfect!!

 

[otto76]

I like to grind the whole heel off but it's more of a personal preference than a necessity.
I use a rotary tool with a sanding drum, medium speed, and keep a plastic mug full of water on hand to dunk it in when it starts to get warm. In fact, I will usually work on two at the same time, letting one sit and cool and grinding the other. For me, the sanding drums work a lot faster for this than the grinding wheels.
Yours looks like it's coming out good, I like the jimps.

 

[Oliwerko]

I was tempted to grind more but then decided to stop. My primary concern is to make it hone-able and practice my sanding progression on this one; then hone it. The jimps were just a nice touch that does no harm. I'll try maybe with some coarser grit than 360, I don't know. (Are we talking FEPA grits? European starting with "P"?)

I can't really figure out why the sanding drums didn't work. I was quite surprised. I bet it's the RPM being so high. I'll need to figure this out if I want to do any curves near the heel section, because the wheel obviously does not let me.

 

[Aristeros]

Good first go. Good temptation resistance, too--I failed to do so and grinded WAY too much off my second.

Sanding drums are way slower than the grinding wheels; just be patient with em and watch the heat. Bare fingers are best so you can tell when it starts to warm up. As above, I use water to cool down.

 

[otto76]

Sanding drums are way slower than the grinding wheels....

I use both of these constantly, in my experience the drums are faster. I use 60 grit though, maybe these work quicker.
Could be the grinding wheels I use too, I have the reddish colored dremel wheels.
I like them for detail work though.

 

[Oliwerko]

What's the RPM, Otto? I'm still wondering why the drill didn't work. I tried a stone as well, but ended up grinding more of the stone off than there was ground away from the steel...

 

[otto76]

Those stones are pretty soft, which may be a good thing for this kind of work. I love the skinny "beveled" stone (carrot shaped?) for putting jimps on and doing spine work.

My rotary tool is a Black & Decker 3 speed, the speeds are 12,000 RPM/ 24,000 RPM/ 30,000 RPM.
I like the medium for most work including heel grinding. That speed with the 60 grit sanding drum makes pretty fast work of it. I use the low speed for any buffing and stuff like cutting the excess wedge off after the scales are done...basically anything you need to be really careful with. I rarely use the high speed for anything.

One factor to consider is that I have the tool locked into the Dremel Workstation, like so:


This way I have both hands on the blade and can kind of work it around on the drum pretty good. This probably speeds things up a little. That being said, I've used it with the grinding wheels in the same configuration and still like the sandpaper better. It just moves metal faster. YMMV and all that.

 

[Oliwerko]

Hmm, weird. Maybe the sanding drum I used was a bit too high in grit numbers. I had the drill in a press so both my hands were free. Doesn't seem that RPM should play a massive role in this. I'll figure something out in the future, maybe buying new sanding drums, the ones I used are years old and of unknown grit. I have enough hand sanding to do, so there's plenty of time to wait for ebay stuff being delivered, hah.

 

[Slash McCoy]

As you can see from this work in progress, I like to take off a lot of heel. Then a lot of spine... I thin it down so I have around a 16-1/4 degree bevel angle. Of course I also thin and fair the tang, to match, and to make sure that there is no shoulder and that a shoulder is not likely to develop over the next 50-60 years or so, at least. I don't go in much for fancy pants jimps or barber notches or thumb notches or artsy-craftsy stuff, but I do like to end up with a razor that not only hones easily and straightforwardly now, but in the distant future as well. You can do a LOT less and still end up with a razor that will shave pretty good, but I prefer to go the distance.

I start out with really coarse stuff because a lot of steel has to go byebye and I don't want to make a career out of grinding one razor. 60 grit can be an excellent first stage. I never start finer than 100 grit. By the end of the 100 grit, ALL shaping has been done, and grind marks are practically all gone. By the end of the 150 stage there is nothing at all except 150 grit scratches. From there is is a simple progression to 1000 grit or higher, whatever I can get. Polishing is a progression of diamond pastes and Mr Dremel.

I like the dremel sanding drums on a fairly high speed. Gotta watch near the edges that you have the piece turned the right direction for the rotational direction, so the drum doesn't grab the razor and make it go elsewhere. This diabolical tool will getcha when you aren't looking. I make a LOT of shorties out of razors that my dremel attacked.

Bare hands. I don't want the steel to get hotter than I can hold.

Best to do several at a time, especially during the coarse shaping stages. You can hit it a few seconds, then get the next razor, the next, etc and when you come back to the first one it is cool and you can hit it a few more seconds. Thin steel heats up faster than thick so really watch it on areas near the edge... 3 seconds is plenty at a time. With several in the batch at once, you aren't wasting a lot of time waiting around, or quenching the blade in ice water or whatever.

ALWAYS ALWAYS ALWAYS wear eye protection, and I don't mean just your regular eyeglasses, either.

 

[otto76]

I start out with really coarse stuff because a lot of steel has to go byebye and I don't want to make a career out of grinding one razor. 60 grit can be an excellent first stage. I never start finer than 100 grit....

I bought a pack of 120 grit wheels because the store I was shopping was out of 60 grit, couldn't believe the difference in grinding speed. I shouldn't have been so surprised but I was anyway.

That's a nice looking blade, despite the lack of jimps, notches, or other "artsy-crafty" stuff.

 

[otto76]

Slash, do you hand sand the spine or use a dremel to thin it out? Maybe start with the dremel and finish with hand sanding to get it level?

 

[Slash McCoy]

Slash, do you hand sand the spine or use a dremel to thin it out? Maybe start with the dremel and finish with hand sanding to get it level?

Well, you have to adapt the method to the mission. For thinning the spine, I use 60 grit, a half sheet, glued to a marble tile, and I sort of hone it without letting the edge drag on the paper. You would be amazed at how quickly you can make a difference. Try coarse emery cloth, too. You can even tape the edge, about 3 layers, refresh as necessary. Absolute flatness is not an issue, so the change in angle due to tape wear is not important. You can also take some thin steel like a coffee can lid, cut it into a narrow strip, and fold it into an edge protector while you "hone" the spine. Back and forth for 100 strokes at a time on each side in turn, with heavy pressure, will gitter done. You could rig something with a belt sander, I suppose. Once I have the ratio right, then I get at it with the dremel and sanding drum or flap wheel. The bevel flat on the spine will be tremendous, and you don't want to leave it like that, because then it won't wear correctly in normal honing. You want the spine profile to be more normal, so I push the hollow up into the spine with the dremel, coarsely, and fair it out with hand sanding with little bits of sandpaper.

For thinning and fairing the tang I also use the tile and sandpaper initially. Then I use the dremel to fair it out and hand sanding to get rid of grind marks and divots, just like the spine and hollow grind.

A favorite method is to take a small rectangle of sandpaper and bend it over the spine or the back of the tang, then pinch the blade between the fold. This easily applies consistent pressure without a lot of

The next stage is where I also begin attacking the factory grind marks. That is typically 100 grit or sometimes 120, depending on the brand and what is available. By the time I finish with 150 grit I expect all grind marks to be pretty much completely gone. Getting all shaping and fairing, and all coarse grind marks out of the way early in the progression, saves a lot of rubbing.