4” Hunter w/ Ivory linen micarta

J

J Lensmire

Knifemaker / Craftsman / Service Provider
Joined
Oct 30, 2021
Messages
209
After I put a knife up for everyone’s opinions,
I may have finished my cleanest work to date.
It’s a 4” drop point Hunter made of .100” thick stock of 14C28N. It was heat treated by Paul Bos to ~63 RC. Ivory linen micarta scales w/red fiber liners, attached via SS pins and West GFlex. Hand finished blade and handle.
Critiques, comments/opinions are always welcome. That’s the only way to get better.
This one will definitely get a hand stitch leather sheath, for personal testing/carry.

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I think it looks very nice.
I guess you can also see that the plunge area could use some more refinement, as there are scratches going on an angle different than the rest of the blade. As well as on the ricasso, and the spine/belly. What is the final grit of the finish of the blade?
From the pictures it is hard to see but I would think the bevel could be thinner, but like I said, hard to say from the pictures. If you could add a picture of the plunges (like here https://blademag.com/wp-content/uploads/plunge-cuts-copy.jpeg) that might also reveal something to improve.
I would also round the scales a little bit more, especially on the bottom - what I do is I grind a facet at an angle the whole length of the handle, say 45 deg. Then I add another facet and a lower angle. And then I blend those with a slack strip of sandpaper (or files even) so that the radius is even all the way.
But overall I'd say it's looking pretty good.
 
I'm in no position to critique but even I noticed the scratches near the plunge line. I recently did the same and hand sanded for hours over several days to correct, with fair results. I mostly wanted to say nice choice of scales and liner, I love that and may copy.
 
The obvious is there are still a lot of scratches.

The other is that one of the pins is too close to the end. They should look balanced. At that size pin and positions you could have a center pin.
 
Good work! That steel at in a thin stock and at that hardness ought to make a excellent cutter and take a very keen edge. I'm no experienced maker, but I'd recommend crowning (rounding) the spine and choil. It makes a world of ergonomic difference. I've heard it said that the only sharp edge should be the cutting edge.
 
First off I like the red liners, black pins, and white scales.

Things to improve
Scratches on the blade.

The grind flats look like there are shadows or low spots, like it's not a flat surface. You can kinda see it because the sanding scratches skip some areas.

Looks like the hole in the micarta for the rear pin blew out when drilling.

The plunge lines aren't lined up with each other on the edge side of the blade.

The scales aren't lined up with each other on the spine side of the blade.

Looks like there is a gap between the scale and the tang on the butt of the knife.

Use a higher grit sandpaper for the spine of the blade and handle.

The only sharp edge should be the blade, not the choil

Scratches on the blade.
 
Thank you everyone for the critique. Like I said that’s the only way you learn.
The blade/ handle is at 400 grit because I’m awaiting delivery of 600 and 1000 grit.
I like the idea of hitting the blade with a scotch brite belt, but I haven’t modified my cheap 2x42 grinder so the belts fit, yet. Also, being single speed, don’t know if it would be too fast, it runs at approx. 3400rpm/ 4500 fpm. Also, I’m starting to try EDM stones, Gesswenn brand, for at least initial clean-up. Then switch to RhynoWet for finer (220-400). Any suggestions on types that others have found more advantageous?
Thanks again
 
Did you polish the blade before attaching the scales? you should be able to get a better finish on the blade at 400 grit. it's mostly a matter of patience
 
400 is high enough to be completely satisfactory for many purposes. However, you can't advance to the next grit until it's completely uniform at the grit you are on. That knife needed more effort at 120, and 220.
 
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