DIY Wedge (Kyoei Wedge Blanks)

[grillnugz]

I was looking at Tour Spec golf and came across these: https://www.tourspecgolf.com/kyoei-forged-rrc-raw-wedges-3pcs.html

 

Has anyone ordered or tried these? I'd really like to grind my own wedges from scratch!

 

I'm having a difficult time finding a video or tutorial on how people grind and finish wedges or irons after forging. There are plenty on grinding a finished wedge, but nothing for raw blanks. I am also curious how the offset is eliminated by the grinding process (this is described in the description, but I have no idea how this is achieved).

 

I'm looking to educate myself on this process and learn from the community here. Thanks for any input and advice.

 

 

[8602081]

Why not just get a wedge with lot of bounce.. then you can grind them as much as you can..

 

Soft carbon steel is very easy to grind.. I used a belt sander.. Be very patient, they grind fast, because of soft steel..

I did this to old Mizuno wedge  (Raw)..

 

 

I'm sure it's different, if it was stainless..

 

 

Edited October 17, 2020 by 8602081

[Howard_Jones]

 

 

 

[grillnugz]

Rad! Thanks for the response. I searched "Kyoei Blanks" and didn't find those threads, must have searched the wrong forum 

[Howard_Jones]

5 hours ago, grillnugz said:

Rad! Thanks for the response. I searched "Kyoei Blanks" and didn't find those threads, must have searched the wrong forum 

Use Google and make a META search using "key words" like this (all purposes)

Golfwrx.com, Kyoei, Grinding

..or if you try to look up something you know for sure that i have written

Golfwrx.com, Howard Jones, Chart

it always works, search directly here on the page dont work good

[OrangeGravy]

7 hours ago, 8602081 said:

Why not just get a wedge with lot of bounce.. then you can grind them as much as you can..

 

Soft carbon steel is very easy to grind.. I used a belt sander.. Be very patient, they grind fast, because of soft steel..

I did this to old Mizuno wedge  (Raw)..

 

 

I'm sure it's different, if it was stainless..

 

 

Those wedge blanks have plenty of extra material to grind and $150 for a set of 3 is not bad. I would as you say grab some cheap used high bounce wedges to practice on though. Goodwill is a great place to check for that kind of stuff. I have a Grizzly belt grinder I bought just to mess around with this stuff. I'd love to find a set of raw CB heads to work on like the blades Howard posted. 

[jmck]

Not sure if it's mentioned in those linked threads or not, so apologies if this is a duplicate, but there's a Joe Kwok tip that's really helpful, especially if you're new to grinding.  Use a marker to draw grinding lines on whatever you're grinding.  Like draw the shapes/contours you have in mind, then grind to them.  In addition to helping you keep your grinding true to the shaping you have in mind, the lines also help you keep track of how much material you've removed from where.  Not sure I'm doing a great job explaining it, but it'll make sense once you see it in action. 

[grillnugz]

I'm familiar with the pinned Joe Kwok post about custom sole grinds. I'm using that as a procedure for the sole.

 

I've read through the 3 threads Howard referenced and I have a good feel for the process as well as planning for correct weight and verticle center of gravity.

 

When starting a grind on these blanks where should I start (top line, hosel, etc)? Is there a suggested order for grind locations? I understand that any order could work, but I want to mistake proof this process as much as possible so I don't trash a wedge.

 

Last, I'm confused by the ability to remove offset by grinding. I understand that offset is measured using the lead side of the hosel to the leading edge. So by grinding down the hosel the offset is effectively removed. But this sounds like the blanks basically have no offset with regards to the shaft location and it's a visual offset only due to a larger hosel outer diameter? 

[RookieBlue7]

I’ve ground a bunch of them myself. That said, if you’re doing it, I’d make sure I had a grinding belt with a rubber front wheel. Trick Tools has one that you can buy with a grinder or as a grinder attachment. You want the rubber wheel so you can press into it and it not bounce

[grillnugz]

@RookieBlue7is there a model or brand you recommend? Are you using the 36x2" grinder with rubber front wheel?

[Nessism]

5 hours ago, grillnugz said:

Last, I'm confused by the ability to remove offset by grinding. I understand that offset is measured using the lead side of the hosel to the leading edge. So by grinding down the hosel the offset is effectively removed. 

 

This part is correct.  In other words, you can't grind out offset other than very slightly.  And if you modify the leading edge by adding a radius that will push the leading edge back and add offset.  A good tradeoff though.

[Howard_Jones]

8 hours ago, grillnugz said:

I'm familiar with the pinned Joe Kwok post about custom sole grinds. I'm using that as a procedure for the sole.

 

I've read through the 3 threads Howard referenced and I have a good feel for the process as well as planning for correct weight and verticle center of gravity.

 

When starting a grind on these blanks where should I start (top line, hosel, etc)? Is there a suggested order for grind locations? I understand that any order could work, but I want to mistake proof this process as much as possible so I don't trash a wedge.

 

Last, I'm confused by the ability to remove offset by grinding. I understand that offset is measured using the lead side of the hosel to the leading edge. So by grinding down the hosel the offset is effectively removed. But this sounds like the blanks basically have no offset with regards to the shaft location and it's a visual offset only due to a larger hosel outer diameter? 

if you saw into those links, you will notice that we have 2 types of blanks, one of them is "half fabricated" and has way lower weight than the other.

We start by choosing design on the TOE 
We can make it "teardrop" or "Axe shaped" as we like. Depending on choice here, a certain amount of weight will be lost, and we must now "balance" that out by heel side grinding where hosel (outside), is where we start.

From the start, and during each step, we should follow changes to COG to make sure we end up with it where we want it

Stuff like the top line is the last we do. if we want to make that angle who makes the heads look thinner from address, it dont cost more than about 1-1.5 gram or so, and since a line like that starts at the heel and go all the way around the toe, all other parts must be done when we get to this.

Do read those input ive given in those links, its way to much to just write all over here.

The 8" inch grinder attachment from Trick tools is the best (unless you have the money for a Burr King), the larger the grinding wheel is, the easier it is to use the grinder.  

[RookieBlue7]

On 10/18/2020 at 8:11 PM, grillnugz said:

@RookieBlue7is there a model or brand you recommend? Are you using the 36x2" grinder with rubber front wheel?

I use the 8” 3/4 hp Jet grinder with the trick tools attachment that is 4x48”. The 2” one works fine I just got a deal on the 4”.

[Greektakis]

On 10/18/2020 at 1:57 PM, grillnugz said:

I'm familiar with the pinned Joe Kwok post about custom sole grinds. I'm using that as a procedure for the sole.

 

I've read through the 3 threads Howard referenced and I have a good feel for the process as well as planning for correct weight and verticle center of gravity.

 

When starting a grind on these blanks where should I start (top line, hosel, etc)? Is there a suggested order for grind locations? I understand that any order could work, but I want to mistake proof this process as much as possible so I don't trash a wedge.

 

Last, I'm confused by the ability to remove offset by grinding. I understand that offset is measured using the lead side of the hosel to the leading edge. So by grinding down the hosel the offset is effectively removed. But this sounds like the blanks basically have no offset with regards to the shaft location and it's a visual offset only due to a larger hosel outer diameter? 

Just caught up with this thread. And to answer your question about order, usually I start with leading edge (leaving it a little bigger than what you want it to look like when done), then go to the top line and grind out the neck. After this I look at the offset and grind it out to what my eye sees fit. From this point you can either grind the toe and finish the head shape or you can grind the sole. I usually get everything set and where I like it before starting to grind the back of the club so that I can vary it depending on how much weight has to be dropped. Hope this helps!