1st knife,..a few questions, and looking for any advice.

B

beljohns

Joined
Jan 26, 2011
Messages
9
Hello,

I am new into knife making (at 42), just starting out with my first fixed blade. First off, thanks to this community for the wealth of information posted here. I have spent many hours trying learn and get started in this – what can be a bit overwhelming- hobby. From my first knife experience, a few things came up I'm hoping to get some feedback on...appreciate any responses.

This knife is 6.75” long, made of 1084 with G10 scales and brass rod pins. I have a pretty decent tooled shop, including a 2x72” grinder I made based on “Moe's Grinder plans”, and a propane forge made out of a standard backyard grill bottle. The homemade forge is what I used for heat treating, following a forum post from Stacey how to heat treat 1084. I probably have 25 hours in this knife.

Questions:
1) Testing the blade for toughness and flexibility – There seems to be a number of ways of going about this, brass rod, rope cutting, 2x4 chopping. As a beginner, I'd like to make knives I can give to family and be confident they will hold up to average hunter / outdoorsman use. Any suggestions on developing a straight forward blade testing process?
2) Following #1, when do you test a new blade? Right after HT? Or, do you clean up the blade and put an edge on it, then test? If a blade fails, can it successfully be re-heat treated?
3) Pins...from the pics you can see I didn't peen the pins. Is this needed?I used Loctite 2part heavy duty epoxy from Menards. If peening is necessary, how do you do this—meaning, my pins/scales are epoxied..but then as I shape the handle and sand it I am also sanding the pins..not sure how to do this.
4) If I were to electrically etch the blade... when is the best time? It hasn't been clear to me if you totally finish your blade, then etch. Or, if you etch then work through your final finish (i.e. satin finish for me, dang mirror polish is beyond me at this point)

I have many more questions, but will limit to this. My plan moving forward is to take advice from others, … plan, go slow, put it down when things get aggravating. I have a 3.5” bar of 1084 remaining, so am thinking of creating another 6 blades of same profile,.... trying to apply some type of testing process, and start using liberally (i.e. heavy use) to get an idea of how good or bad they really are. Once I feel like I've got a “good one”, then spend the time on nice handle and sheath. I also may send one to someone else to HT, although not sure to whom and cost for just 1-2 blades.

Appreciate any suggestions, advice, ….

Regards,
Ben
BTW... I live in Ohio, just south east of Columbus.
1stknife_3.jpg

1stknife_2.jpg

1stknife_1.jpg
 
I'm not going to give you any advice on what you're asking but want to say you have done a great job on this knife.
Frank
 
1) I made some knives just for testing, and tested to failure. Take it out and cut a lot , stab a lot, chop branches anything that you think the knife should be able to do. Also us it in the kitchen, this will help determine how comfortable it is to use. And see how it does. For cutting it is good to have a nice factory knife to compare, typically you should out perform. I like to use rope cutting to see how well it holds and edge, keep a log of knife construction, metal, HT, and testing

I check the HT buy including some blanks, break some prior to tempering to check grain. Temper and put and edge on to see how sharp and if it will hold an edge.
 
Ben,

Very nice job and looks fantastic! I am just a bit older than you and I am just starting to get into knife making too. I will be keeping an eye on this post for some tips. How thick is the steel in the tang area? Do you have any pictures of the knife in the building stages?
 
I sharpen a knife right after heat treat and do the brass rod test, it will either chip and needs to be tempered again, or flex which is just right, or fold over and is too soft, if it flex's your good to go, dull the edge and continue

1084 can be re-hardened if you don't get it right the first time
 
Last edited:
No, I didn't take any pics along the way...I was so "focused" on not forgetting a step and such... just forgot. Next knife I will. The steel is 3/16" 1084.... honestly when I got the blank, I was upset it was so thick. I didn't put enough thought into what I was buying. However, when all said and done....and it being a flat grind...I think that thickness is okay for this style. I "think" it will give it a good strong spine...good for hacking, gutting deer,... it is a bit on the heavy side...so to counter that, I drilled 3/8" holes through the tang to (1) lighten weight and (2) allow for better epoxy hold. I have 3.5 feet of bar stock left, so as to not waste money I will make as many knives out of it as I can....trying to do better and test each. Next go around I will probably try 5/32.

Appreciate all input and suggestions, please keep them coming :)
 
i think thats an excellent first knife, and agree with the brass rod test. southeast of columbus huh? i grew up in lancaster.
 
I hate to give my opinion about this since I have never made a knife, but when I do my first one it may be a lot like yours but I will be using walnut wood handles and I would peen my pins then final sand the pins and wood after. I would just rest easy knowing I would not have to rely on chemicals to keep the handles secure.

I hope someone with more experience can explain more on the pining process.
 
If you are new and unsure of your heat treat, test before any work is done that will need to be redone if you are not satisfied with the HT. ie you don't want to destroy a handle or perfect hand finish to re heat treat.

Pins. If your handle material is much thicker when you glue up then it will be when finished then peeing will do very little. Rough the middle of the pin so the epoxy gets good hold and you won't have any problem. If you have the scaless or block close to finished thickness at the time of epoxy. Then leave the pins 2-3/16ths out each side and after epoxy is hardened place the pin on an anvil (or a hard object) to prevent the pin from moving and peen both sides. If you want a pretty domed pin then watch the nick wheeler video on that subject.

Etch the blade as a last step before doing handle work. Unless you are talking about etching a makers mark. I do that very last. Just before final sharpening.

Only other advice I would give is don't do 6 more of the same knife. Test your current knife to death. Then build another differnt knife involving a new technique or two. Add a new skill with each knife you start. When a new maker makes knives in batches the details get over looked. Jmo.
 
Looks really good. Nice even finish on the blade. HT is my next step in knife making to jump into. At the moment sending mine off for treatment to a fellow member here so I'm curious what kind of steels you can HT with your homemade kiln?
 
Can't really answer your questions, but I love the knife. I like a straight spine/top of handle. Others feel differently, but with the rest of the curves it looks really nice.

Great job.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top