2nd knife

F

foxbat34

Joined
Dec 26, 2008
Messages
247
Well here is my second knife, almost, still needs final hand sanding and polish, I made this knife to take fishing with me, (not for filleting but for cutting string,bait and such). Let me know what you think, dont hold back i want to get better:)
ATS34, OAL 8", black paper micarta, nickel pins
PS very sorry about the poor photo quality.
DSCF0227.jpg
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I wish my second knife looked that good.

What is the sway back for? I was thinking thumb rest.

Keep up the good work
 
Nice second knife. I'm not a big fan of finger grooves, unless they are designed for a specific person's hand. Since you made the knife for yourself, then they should fit your hand pretty well though. However, I find that they have a few drawbacks, for example:
  • They tend to cause a person to only be able to have one grip option. Once a person's hand begins to tire, it's nice to be able to adjust your grip. With this design, changing your grip is limited.
  • I also don't think they are visually attractive. They kind of break of the flowing lines of a knife.
  • If you get to the point where you're making knives and offering them for sale, a customer may buy the knife and not like the positions of the finger grooves from photos they saw of it in the for sale section of this forum. You might end up with some customers asking to return the knife for that reason.
  • Because of the last reason stated, I myself have stuck mostly with knives with one finger groove or a palm swell.

Thumb grooves aren't bad per se, but the thumb groove is extremely deep. A subtle thumb groove is just as effective and much more appealing visually.

Now, for what I like:
  • The lanyard hole is a good idea and very useful. Expecially if you have fish slime all over your hands, it will help you hold onto the knife better. It does however, seem a little close to the edge. The handle material looks a little thin and might be prone to breaking off there.
  • I'm guessing that you have large hands, based on the handle length. It looks a little long, but since you made it for yourself, I'm assuming that it is correct for you.
  • Nice grind design for the intended purposes. I think once you get the blade and handle material cleaned up and polished it will be a very useful knife for you.

Bottom line is that I think it's a very nice knife. Congratulations!
 
I like the blade size, I like that the edge comes right down to the handle. I like that there is no DAMN choil to decrease usability. But I don't like the finger grooves or the thumb rest. Those two things will limit the usefulness of the knife drastically. There is only one possible way to cut with the knife for more than a few seconds. Its technically way better than my second, so be proud of it. You said above you wouldn't do a thumb rest again. You're learning. It is what a second knife should be. A learning experience.

Keep up the good work. Its great for a 2nd.
 
I want to say that you did a very good job for a second knife. I personally like the finger grooves handled as long as they are not to deep, this can get in the way when repositioning your grip. But if the grooves are right they can actually protect your hand from sliding into the sharp edge. :)

Back when I was a butcher in a slaughterhouse I saw this happened more than once. When the handles becomes saturated in blood it gets very slick and you have no grip at all, this is when you will appreciate the finger grooves in a handles. Just rememeber not get them to deep when you are creating your next masterpiece. It was great seeing your achievement. :thumbup:


Terry
 
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Thanks for the input guys. This knife taught me a great deal. First I am more of a traditionalist than i thought. Second, the finger grooves are all right but i dont think i will do them again, for one, changing grip (something i had not thought of, for two they were a PAIN IN THE A$$ to work, and they do ruin the lines of the knife. And i dont even want to mention the "thumb rest". Something else i didnt think of, finger grooves not selling well, i knew this knife was for me so i cut them to fit my hands (my wife calls them paws:) )
This was also my first time using micarta, i think i like it.
All in all this was a good learning knife, and i am happy with the fit and finish (looked much better after final hand sanding).
Thanks so much for the advise.
 
Nice second knife.
I agree on the issues of the thumb rest and finger grooves.
I do like the blade grind.
I think your handle could use a little drop to it. What I mean is your blade spine flows straight into the handle spine....if the handle was just tilted down a little to give a slight curve to the back of the knife I think it would look and handle much better.
Lets see #3!
Mace
 
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