#11 Done.. Best Yet, Please Comment/ Critique... Updated Pics after a fix

N

Nic.

Joined
Dec 8, 2014
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814
Hey all! This is number 11, and is by far my best yet. The blade is 1/8th inch 1084, bevel is scandi ground and polished to 1500, grit (the bevel is to a 220 grit belt). Scales are redwood burl finished with boiled linseed oil and pastewax. It’s a great cutter and chopper, Im pretty happy! OAL is just over 6 inches. Please tell me what you think!!!!
PS: Black crap seen towards beginning of handle is grease that is now gone, sorry.





I was able to polish some of the deep grind lines out of the bevel. Some towards the plunge line I couldnt reach, but here it is
 
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Handles look more comfortable each time. I enjoy watching your progression. I might leave a little more beef at the very end of the butt, it looks a little thin there. Looks like a handy fellow though.
 
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I tend to agree with leaving a bit more meat at the butt of the handle. Looks like a very useful knife. One thing that hit me off the bat was the pin holes look like they may have been a bit oversized, or the pins got too hot grinding and burned a halo around them. I could be wrong, but they appear to have a dark ring around them. Great looking redwood.
 
Thanks so much guys. Ok, will do on the next one. Yes, they are very slightly oversized but have no gaps. I'm used to working very hardwood where I have to oversize them a bit, so it was a tad big for the redwood. Thanks so much for the comments guys
 
I think you're improving with each knife and I also enjoy watching your progress.

I understand you want the grind lines to show in your bevel but it looks like you are doing your primary bevel by hand with a file and I want to say you mentioned you were using a belt grinder. Maybe try to make your final passes across the belt more even and uniform when you're finishing it. If you are using a file and a jig I can't offer you much help.

The transition from flat to bevel seems to disappear and could look more crisp. When finish sanding your flats by hand you might try backing the paper with steel bar stock if you are not already.

Keep up the good work!

Edit: Ok... Just read again and you did use the belt grinder. If you look at the grind line at the tip it looks like someone took a pen and made a zig zag line and that is what i was referring to. Perhaps you are not getting all your lower grit marks out before moving up to 220.
 
Augus7us said:
I think you're improving with each knife and I also enjoy watching your progress.

I understand you want the grind lines to show in your bevel but it looks like you are doing your primary bevel by hand with a file and I want to say you mentioned you were using a belt grinder. Maybe try to make your final passes across the belt more even and uniform when you're finishing it. If you are using a file and a jig I can't offer you much help.

The transition from flat to bevel seems to disappear and could look more crisp. When finish sanding your flats by hand you might try backing the paper with steel bar stock if you are not already.

Keep up the good work!

Edit: Ok... Just read again and you did use the belt grinder. If you look at the grind line at the tip it looks like someone took a pen and made a zig zag line and that is what i was referring to. Perhaps you are not getting all your lower grit marks out before moving up to 220.
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Thanks! I've switched entirely to belt grinder for cutting bevels. I'm backing the sandpaper when I sand, but perhaps you can help me on this...when I quench and sand out the discoloration, that's when it looses that crispness. And tips on how to keep that crisp? I like the lines in it, but I'm trying to make it so they are finer and finer instead of gouges. Thanks again, it's much appreciated!!!
 
Try flatsanding after cleaning up the bevels. That should re-crisp the bevel transition.
 
After hardening the blade, you finish the sanding. You remove a layer of metal called decarb, as well as make all the lines crisp and surfaces smooth. I probably take off .005" to .010" each side. Basically, you go back and repeat all the previous sanding steps.
 
Stacy E. Apelt - Bladesmith said:
After hardening the blade, you finish the sanding. You remove a layer of metal called decarb, as well as make all the lines crisp and surfaces smooth. I probably take off .005" to .010" each side. Basically, you go back and repeat all the previous sanding steps.
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That's what I did, my lines lost their crispness after that. I'll just have to be more careful on the next one. What exactly does decarb consist of as a compound? It was very neat to see it form
 
To keep the lines crisp I sand the flats to desired grit. Finish them completely. Then finish grinding the bevel and leave it or hand sand it. This gives me the best results. I sand my bevels to 800. Looking better each time!
 
"....What exactly does decarb consist of as a compound?...."

Decarb is a carbon depleted layer on the surface. It is caused by the oxygen in the air converting the hot steel surface carbon to CO2. What is left behind is a thin layer of iron and iron oxides.
 
Stacy E. Apelt - Bladesmith said:
"....What exactly does decarb consist of as a compound?...."

Decarb is a carbon depleted layer on the surface. It is caused by the oxygen in the air converting the hot steel surface carbon to CO2. What is left behind is a thin layer of iron and iron oxides.
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Huh, that's pretty neat, thanks for the info!
 
Looks great man! Anything I see was already mentioned above. Really like the darker blade and redwood combo.

Jay
 
Antlerhog said:
Looks great man! Anything I see was already mentioned above. Really like the darker blade and redwood combo.

Jay
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Thank you very much! (And just for clarity, I'm actually a woman, female knife makers are t very common it seems). Thank you very much!
 
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