Grinder 101* buyers guide - Brand comparison of USA made 2 X 72 knife-making grinders.

A look at several 2 X 72 knife-making grinders on the market at the moment.
Grinders in this video-
HouseMade- housemade.us/
AmeriBrade- www.ameribrade...
Origin Blade Maker (OBM) - originblademak...
Grizzly- www.grizzly.co...
KMG TX- beaumontmetalw...
North Ridge Tool- www.northridget...
TW90- traviswuertz.c...
Burr King- www.burrking.com/
Esteem- www.esteemgrin...
Reeder Grinders- reederproducts...

[@kennethaucoin2272]

Awesome information. I appreciate you explaining everything from a users perspective. The context you provide is excellent.

[@Jeffrose_]

Very helpful for me. I have been looking but most places just offer DIY kits. Thank you for shortening my search list and giving me some ideas and direction. Great video.

[@thefamily_ak1863]

Thx I've finally out grew the hf 1x30 shopping for a real grinder now , much appreciated

[@tpadgett2]

Thanks for the video! I would love to have an American made machine. BUT, in the meantime, I've been using a Vevor (Chinese made) that I got brand new for $879 including the VFD, flat platon, small wheel attachments, and 14" rubber contact wheel attachment. And it's been serving me perfectly for almost 14 months now of daily use. Hard daily use, honestly. It's my only 2x72 so it gets run for hours each day doing all major grinding and sanding tasks. It's given me no probs, including the VFD, which I expected to die within a few months. Even if I buy an American machine, the Vevor will still definitely be in the shop and used regularly. I wouldn't hesitate to recommend it to anyone who can't afford an American grinder. Support American made if you can, hell that's the main reason I want one, honestly. But if you need to get going and are on a budget, I think the Vevor is still around a grand including all attachments!

[@cmchez]

Great review. Ive used bader, square wheel, home made and KMG. In my opinion KMGis my favorite if you have time to wait. I bought my first KMG when Rob was running the store and had a great experience, but now the company has a lot of issues with customer service. The last grinder I bought from them took over a month to get a quote, they took almost 2 months to ship it out, and they forgot to send a major component. They are slow at responding to emails or to return phone calls. I still love the machine but they seem really pushy to get your money but are extremely slow on delivery. A coworker damaged a couple of parts and we needed to order replacements, but again we have been waiting a month to get them and when we did they sent the wrong parts.

[@billclancy4913]

I've had an OBM, yes they changed the name at some point. I have the earlier non tilting version. The plate you mention at the bottom is not a work rest, but a safety feature of some sort. I really like the additional accessories they've developed, like a small wheel adapted and a flat surface grinder.

[@phildore46]

I have used the Grizzly grinder for years now, despite it's limitations it has been a good grinder, I didn't pay that much for it though. However, because of the limitations of the Grizzly grinder I looked for a replacement that overcame the difficulties I was having. After doing a little research I found Ameribrade and purchased the foundations package. I highly recommend this grinder package, it is very well made, I really like the combination platen and 6 in. surface wheel and the tilt feature. The grinder is available with a variety of motor options including a single speed model, I chose the 1.5hp variable speed model. Well worth the price. Solid quality and the variable speed is great for grinding a wide variety of materials.

[@Phiz787]

Would you say 1.5hp is plenty on your ameribrade? Or would you go higher if you could

[@SuperSteelSteve]

​@Phiz787 I work at Pops Knife Supply in GA. All 4 owners are accomplished knife makers. We have 7 grinders in house. 3 TW90, 3 Classic Ameribrade, and 1 Brodeback. All are 220v 2 hp except the brodeback that's a 110v 1.5hp. The size of the drive wheel is really what effects torque. In the grinding industry they always favor faster belt speed with less torque because that's actually how abrasives are designed to work. I've only ever bogged down 1 grinder and that was 1 if the ameribrades and I was pushing a big peice of very dense wood into it when it was running pretty fast. Only guys that I can guess would need over a 1.5 hp motor would be guys who do really high pressure grinding on a very large wheel. Outside of that 1.5 or 2hp I can't tell the difference in actual use

[@Samtzuriel]

Did a lot a reserch-dont have a lot of money-decided to buy a top of the line reeder grinder--it came with a lot of extras incloding a worktable

[@paulkramer4176]

A different opinion of Chinese inverters, (VFD). I've got 5 or 6 Chinese VFDs. Drill press, Bandsaw, table saws, lathes etc. I have some, (admittedly Teco which is a decent brand) that I've used for over 10 years. Others, for 5 years or so, NO problems. Automation direct sells plenty to American industries. I find them pretty darn reliable. YES, you do want to keep VFD's away from lots of dust. You can achieve that by having them in an enclosure, but then folks think they can't control the VFD stop/start easily. MOST if not all VFD's allow for remote control. You CAN get remote keypads, but mostly I just have a remote Start / Stop switch. (like for my table saw where I don't generally change the speed, (except on my 16" blades, I sometimes do turn it down a bit). Anyway, "cheap Chinese" is not "bad" Chinese. In addition, while their manuals stink, they often have GREAT service centers that will help you thru all the problems. But great review by the way.

[@anthonyspangler1453]

Thanks, definitely useful information.

[@dougvuillemot8670]

Iv got a amk 77. It was roughly 2 grand . Had it a year. Happy with it so far. Its made in u.s.

[@hchahal]

Good video for those starting out. A couple things. Burr king has a Knifemaker model 960-272 and there’s also model 1272. And Hardcore grinders are USA made as well

[@Creelyblades]

Those Burr King models would’ve been the better comparison in this video. They are quality machines, but not very versatile compared to the ones with tooling arms and tilting capabilities. They definitely would not be a top choice for me, Even if I was in a factory manufacturing setting. I think the Ameribrade is one of the best values out there.

[@AzTurboMini]

@@Creelyblades what are your thoughts on the Vevor and Happybuy grinders? I would really appreciate your input. Thank you.

[@Creelyblades]

@@AzTurboMini I actually purchased a Velor, I have not used it heavily but it has most of what you need to get started. I expect parts will wear out faster, but it is not terible.

[@AzTurboMini]

@@Creelyblades thank you for the quick response. I'm your age and have been sharpening knives on a upgraded harbor freight 1x30 for about 9 months. I've done about everything I can to get it to run smooth but it's at it's limit. It's also running the stock motor so I've had to learn to move the blade fast to keep from overheating the blade. Anyway, I do want to build some knife's but I highly doubt I would wear even a Vevor out. The grinder in actually looking at is on eBay and isn't a Vevor but the controller looks like it says Vevor on? This to me looks like a better frame etc than the Vevor. It says it's 220v. Can this be wired/controlled 110v through the controller and what are your thoughts on this machine? Thank you for your time. 👍 TECHTONGDA 2"X72" Metal Process Knife Grinder Belt Sander220V 2Hp Variable Speed

[@Garth2011]

Big question here is the factory VSC and the motors that are used. With the AmeriBrade, it appears they supply only Baldor motors and a VFC they make or have made for Ameribrade? I do like the Baldor motors for their refined operation but boy, they sure do price them out of the hands of many. Those 56C frame are always a 3 phase set up in 115v and 240v?

[@notawix8542]

thank you very much 😊

[@veraxknives0331]

I have a KMG but I would have gone with an OMG had I known they existed.

[@cae2487]

I'd love to hear your opinion on the Das toobinator grinder. I believe they are made by obm but under a different name as they both come from hillsboro oregon but I could be wrong but it also seems they share a lot of the same features. Great video with excellent information. Now it's time for me to go hit that sub button. Thanks

[@SuperJ24]

Grinders... and here I thought we were going to talk about sandwiches!

[@partrickstowman8039]

Hey Gary, just saw this. Very good. Any reason you didn’t cover the Brodbeck? Thanks

[@Creelyblades]

they were not on my radar at the time of the video, however, many of the concepts that I am talking about apply to them. they look like a good grinder in the middle of the pack pricewise.

[@johnbladykas4885]

It’s a no brainer it’s house made and it is heavy so very little vibrations.

[@robertmunguia250]

Is that speed controller universal for any grinder? Say like Kalamazoo?

[@MWilliams-tj1mw]

What is your view or opinion on Vevor and Happybuy grinders?

[@Creelyblades]

I actually purchased one of those for a shop. I am working on building in Romania. It’s actually not too bad, and believe it, or not one of my biggest complaints about it would be no provision for a second tooling arm. I would say that the design of this grinder is loosely based on a Bader, and that’s also one of my frustrations with the Bader. I’ve not been able to use it a lot, but it does seem to run fairly well and you get a lot of accessory’s in the package I got it because it was an expensive to ship to Romania, however, if I was here (USA), I would’ve chose some other options.

[@ThomasShue]

Who makes the VFD that you recommend?

[@alonsomartinez9588]

What do you think of Jer’s 2nd gen belt grinder?

[@Creelyblades]

Looks like a nice design, but if I was going that route I would favor the house becuase of the parts support.

[@willbraswell4906]

I’m just starting on Jer’s 2nd gen build and I’m super excited about it. I think his design is brilliant. And the accessories! It did take a little time to order everything but he gives links to most of the parts so it wasn’t too bad to get everything. He includes .dxf files for CNC laser cutting of the sheet plate parts. Just my two cents. Happy grinding!

[@warmesuppe]

I think his design limits the use of bigger contact wheels. This is why choose to enhance the housemade one and go with that. Now I have a super easy base plate attachment that is almost as easy as on the Jeremy one. However his design in making the outer tube for the arms by himself is a better idea I am also using.

[@willbraswell4906]

@@warmesuppe Jeremy has a large contact wheel attachment option. Wheel is min 6" and max 10".

[@warmesuppe]

@@willbraswell4906 Yes but i am talking about 12" and 14" wheels. Probably even bigger are possible on the HM one. Clearly depends on the usage though!

[@davideric6421]

🤔👍

[@FrancisoDoncona]

Why not just buy a 6 inch belt grinder? The only reason for a variable feed is for different size drive wheels. Once set you never change it unless you bought too weak a motor. The six inch belt grinder is everywhere for woodworking and metal working, cheap , robust available. The two inch belt rounds over edges because of stretch. Three phase motors on a vfd loose torque as a compromise for phase splitting. This is a waste of time and effort. It isn’t its flexibility because if you need to tilt the machine for comfort you are doing it wrong. Its a grinder, you should have spent the time learning blacksmithing and make the right shape from the start. For those just chopping up sheet metal, China makes enough crap we don’t need more.

[@Creelyblades]

So many things you do not understand here. I will address a few. As it relates to variable speed, different types of belts call for different belt speeds, you don’t just set one speed. The 2 X 72 variable speed grinder is the accepted gold standard in the knife making world, so your disagreement is not just with me. Blacksmithing (referred to as bladesmithing in this context) would limit me to simple carbon steels, and I work in high alloys steels that would not be practical to forge. Lastly, the reason the 6 inch woodworking belt grinders are not the standard is because they are typically one speed, not powerful enough, and the width of the blade makes certain grinds difficult.

[@polisheverything1970]

I've had variable speed units and never used them, I run my grinder at full speed all the time and just use a single phase 2hp fully sealed motor and wouldn't ever consider getting power unit set-up EVER.

[@Creelyblades]

Different belts call for different speeds. For instance Running a scotch bright belt at full speed will easily ruin it.

[@dougvuillemot8670]

You must like buying belts.