1084 Hunter slowest build ever - feedback please

[saltyveins]

This is my first knife in quite a while...I have been busy with other projects and honey dos and my shop/and shop time was taken over by cabinet door refinish project for a while...any way Im back at it. No more collecting supplies...at least until I make a few more knives

Aldos 1/8' 1084 (1 1/4 wide I believe). 5" handle and about 3 1/2 in blade. Shooting for a Loveless inspired hunter.

1084 hunter preHT by AccountName2011, on Flickr
Just getting started, breaking the edge at 10 deg. My first time using the bubble jig....I was really impressed by my results. Esp considering it had been months since I have done any grinding.
Don't laugh at the crappy "guide"...the one that comes with the bubble jig is too long for my tiny HF 1x30 (it hits the frame above or below the platen).

I am just about finished up getting pre HT sanding done. Bevels are good and flat, just a few more scratches near the plunge (man those things are a pain).

My main questions before I finish sanding and harden this bad boy:

Over all profile look good (particularly the handle)? Not too stiff I am hoping?

Pin Placement??? I am leaning toward nixing the lanyard tube and putting the rear pin between its current location and the lanyard hole.

Any other thoughts and suggestions?

Thanks for looking!
William

 

[S.Alexander]

I like the shape. It's hard to tell from the picture, but are the pins a little bit high and not centered? The picture was taken at an angle so it's hard to tell.

 

[saltyveins]

Thanks, I do think they may be a bit high. I will get a pic more straight on to see if yall agree.

 

[Matt Rochester]

They look high to me also. You can bring the bottom of the tang up and even things out. Then again you can probably drill new holes since it hasn't been heat treated yet.

 

[saltyveins]

A few new pics with a better angle. In the 3rd pic, I quickly put in proposed new pin locations...last pin is prbly a bit too far forward.

 

[S.Alexander]

The problem I see now is that there is uneven spacing between the 3 pins. They are more centered though :thumbup:

 

[Stacy E. Apelt - Bladesmith]

If the center pin is just a bit off the old hole try this:
Drill pin one and three where marked. Drill out the old center pin hole with a bit big enough to make the new center pin go through. The epoxy will fill the space and all will be tight.

 

[saltyveins]

A few new pics...coming along nicely. Pin holes in tang and scales have been drilled. Scales are profiled.





Dots are markers to help keep things even.





I've since thinned and started shaping the scales, and have been working on cleaning up the spine and belly of the tang.

 

[saltyveins]

A few more pics pre HT

 

[saltyveins]

Finished up the pre HT sanding and did the HT Saturday night. (Charcoal, heated a little beyond non magnetic, and quenched in warmed peanut oil, tempered @ 400 x2). After a vinegar soak and wire brush, I started the clean up @ 120 grit, and decided I'd snap a few pics. Plan is to finish sanding ricasso and bevels and glue up, then finish shaping the scales. Any suggestions prior to finish sanding???

 

[Don Nguyen]

I would try explaining sanding better, but nobody has done it more effectively than Nick Wheeler in the age of YouTube.

[video=youtube;4I4x4QLpfnk]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4I4x4QLpfnk[/video]

 

[McBokerson]

Really love the design of this one. Can't wait to see the finished product!

 

[saltyveins]

I would try explaining sanding better, but nobody has done it more effectively than Nick Wheeler in the age of YouTube.
]

Excellent video, you can see my wheeler inspired sanding stick in some pics...sanding is just getting started, 120 grit with more rounds of that to go. I'm hoping to find any glaring issues I needed to fix prior to finishing and glue up, I didn't want to do my finish sanding, and then post and need to change something and have to redo finishing.

Really love the design of this one. Can't wait to see the finished product!

Thanks, I'm pretty happy so far, just don't want to mess it up!

 

[PT Doc]

I would try explaining sanding better, but nobody has done it more effectively than Nick Wheeler in the age of YouTube.

[video=youtube;4I4x4QLpfnk]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4I4x4QLpfnk[/video]

Great instruction video. Where is Nick?

 

[saltyveins]

Got her glued up last night.

Finish on the flats and bevels is pretty good...but could be better. I got to the point I decided to call it, and apply things learned to the next one. Will probably do a little clean up after the scales are finished.


I started rounding the scales this morning. Should get the scales fully shaped tonight, and finished over the next few nights.

 

[Matt Rochester]

Next time, if you think it can be better, keep going. I know it's hard to be patient but it will pay off. Once it's glued up it's nearly impossible to sand the blade anymore and have it look good, especially the ricasso.

 

[saltyveins]

You're right Matt, and I know it. But I got to where I felt like I was chasing a ghost I created pre HT and that led to more of the "do it better on the next one" attitude.

Few pics of handle shaping.

Little punky spot showed up near the belly...I thought I had put that in a spot where it would be cut out, but looks like one of the scale got flipped and it just made it in the edge. It was filled with gflex and then a little CA to even it out.

 

[saltyveins]

First try with my new etcher, just a laptop charger with a home made wand, but it is 1000x better than the 9v battery setup! Now will need to get real stencils so I don't have the issues I had with this one. I kept having issues with surface rust, so I decided to try a forced patina. Dont love it, but dont hate it either.

Just needs an edge added.