4th Knife Complete - Great Learning Experience

[Don Nguyen]

I have finished my fourth knife.

I decided a while back to not fumble around with any unknown steels, and stick with a known, simple steel. I chose 1084. I already had this one forged and ground out from a file, so I decided to finish it anyways.

There's so much that went wrong or sloppy, but I'll leave those to you for nitpicking (patina, fit/finish, maker mark [ghetto], saya, HT, etc) I learned a butt-ton making this one, and hopefully for future works I wont repeat the same mistakes. Much.

Thanks for checking! Sincerely,

-Don

 

[panch0]

Nice job on that one! Did you use the paper towel and vinegar etch trick? Looks good.

 

[Don Nguyen]

Yeah!

That was a fast guess. I stumbled on it purely by accident.

 

[Mark Behnke]

Very good looking knife.
So much to learn, some things come faster than others. I,m struggling with grinding, belt selection, among other things. Each one gets better as I'm sure yours will.
Like your design a lot.
Mark

 

[jwaj]

Don,
Your knife looks very nice. I like the lines and the look of the handle work. Looks as if it would be easily controlled while slicing/preparing. Your mark actually looks like it goes with the knife as well. I see character, not flaws in it
Jim

 

[mgysgthath]

I like it too

 

[Patrice Lemée]

I like seeing you think outside the box on that handle. Keep it up!

 

[tryppyr]

THE BOX IS THERE FOR A REASON!!!!

Largely to be ignored!!!

 

[Don Nguyen]

Thanks guys!

I'm definitely proud of the handle, if I should be proud of anything. I like elements of japanese hexagon handles, d-shapes, and also some western stuff too. Sooooo, I took all the parts I liked and combined them together It's really comfy in the hand, and just as an extra I think it looks good.

Just got a giant bar of Aldo's 1084. I will soon be making some more knives, some chisels, and whatever I feel like experimenting with

 

[Daniel Fairly Knives]

Great work! I think it is a really cool looking knife, I really like the lines. Thanks for sharing!

 

[BladefulArt]

I don't notice any flaws based on the photos. What I do see is a nice patina that gives the knife a distinctive aged appearance that complements the style of your makers mark very well.

 

[Calvin Richardson]

For what its worth Don, I think its amazing. The patina is excellent as is the whole package. Keep it up!!

 

[Stacy E. Apelt - Bladesmith]

Nice job !

The handle is unique, excellent work.

 

[Fiddleback]

Man, I think its cool too. It took me a long time to do any part of it that well. Congrats.