Knife Grinding Bevel Jig for use with the Creative Man File Guide (sold separately).
This is a Professional tool made by Nordic Edge for consistent and repeatable results.
By design this Jig is very quick to setup, when used with the optional File Guide it self aligns your plunge line and also allows you to swap sides with the release of only the clamp with no realignment necessary.
 
Key features;
Fast setup and quick and easy swap from front to back of blade
Appropriately heavy for a stable feel and less propensity to get tipped whilst grinding
Solid Stainless Steel construction = no rust and no lingering metal dust
low-friction plastic bottom liner for smooth operation
stainless steel blade clamp for holding the tang to the jig
Angle is freely adjustable by hand using two thumb nuts
Highest quality build
 
The Creative Man bevel jig is 150 mm wide with a slot in the centre for the Creative Man file guide (not included) and accepts up to 11 mm thick blades.
 
**For best performance this bevel jig is based on using a file guide, there is no stopper bolt supporting the blade spine. If using the bevel jig without a file guide, clamp the blade securely to the bevel jig with 2 G-clamps or similar**
 
Recommended setup:
Clamp the blade to be ground in the File Guide (not included) taking care that the bolts stick in or out depending on what side of the grinder has clearance.
Insert the file guide in the slot in the bevel jig
The blade cutting edge should be sticking 5 mm above the top of the jig. Adjust the blade in the file guide if necessary.
Clamp the blade to the bevel jig using the included clamp, tighten the 2 bolts using the included Allen key. The bolts are to be on the inside and placed on the tang side of the blade.
Without your Grinder running, make sure the blade will be the first point to touch the belt along its length from the tip to file guide.
If grinding a very short blade, the blade tip must stick out past the bevel jig on the side or above the jig in order to not grind into the bevel jig itself.
Adjust the angle of the bevel jig by moving the two knurled thumb nuts until you have your desired angle.
 
Suggested Grinding process:
Start with a quite aggressive angle to break the corner and go towards the scribed centre-line on the blade, or to the outer line of scribing two lines and grinding pre-heat treat
Adjust the angle of the bevel jig to progressively bring the grind line towards the spine, this is often faster than starting with a more flat angle.
After having ground one side of the blade, loosen the bolts of the Clamp and turn the file guide around. Do not touch the file guide bolts, you want the blade in the exact same position within the file guide, just flip it around in the bevel jig.
Adjust the angle back up to a more aggressive forward-leaning angle to again break the corner and when you are comfortable with getting even grind lines, start adjusting the angle back up to lower the grind lines towards the spine.
 
Additional Suggestions:
Grab both handles firmly and start with light passes until you get familiar with the speed and motion for this belt/blade/grinder setup
Long, slow even passes is the way to go. Don't stop and look halfway through a stroke but complete even, light strokes and then dip in water if necessary, and inspect how you are going
Start 5 cm from the file guide and lightly go towards the file guide then back out to the tip, taking care to not twisting the bevel jig as you touch the file guide to the belt, to avoid the 2" divot from where the other corner of the belt digs into the blade
Experiment with your process for grinding the tip, do you prefer to draw straight off to the side or to come off the belt at an angle. This will impact the width of the bevel at the tip
Do not grind "off the tip" as in draw the entire blade off the belt. Rather when the tip of the blade is at the centre of the grinding belt, either pull the bevel jig straight towards you, or away in a semi-circle. (this is to avoid grinding too much off the tip)
Grind one side of the blade first, then flip it over and do it again. If comfortable, you can leave the angle of the bevel jig as-is and they "should" match up evenly but the safest bet is often to adjust the angle back to start again and slowly bring the bevel line down towards the spine.
A set of digital calipers and a sharpie are good tools at this critical step, measuring the bevel on each side and marking the blade side with a sharpie before doing a light scratch with the calipers so you have a light line to grind towards when doing quick checks in between cooling the blade
 
The small text:
The included clamp is for full-tang tang blades but will work with stick tang blades if not tightened too tightly. Usually this is not required but if wanting a stronger grip, use a small G-clamp instead.
The file guide shown in some of the photos is not included, neither is the blade. They are there to show how the tool is used.
 
To assemble:
The bolt for angle adjustment has two thumb nuts, unscrew one of these.
Pass the bolt through the slit in the square steel bar standing up between the black handles.
Add the thumb nut back on the bolt
Screw the bolt into the threaded angle bracket on the other half of the bevel jig
Add the second guide rod underneath the angle adjuster. This is optional and is only there to remove any play in the hinges.
Adjust the thumb nuts by hand until the bolt is locked in place, leaving the bevel jig at about 90 degrees
Assembly complete.