Most knives are made by forging the blade to shape or, stock removal i.e. grinding to shape; I use either and enjoy them equally. Each has advantages but the romance and history of forging has a strong attraction. The primary equipment for grinding and shaping is a combination of hand and machine tools, I use equipment and hand-tools many of which I made over 50 years ago. Ultimately, all forged blades are finish-ground so, whilst metallurgically there is little difference, the appearance can be significantly altered to meet the required preferred design. 

Burr King grinders takes a wide range of belts grades from coarse 60 grit down to equivalent of 600 grit for a super fine finish but in truth, from 200 grit to anything finer, it's all down to hand finishing and elbow grease to reach a mirror finish.