A Gal's first knife -- Very in progress

Code6Charli

Code6Charli

Joined
Jan 8, 2011
Messages
70
First off, thanks for this awesome forum and everyone's advice and prior posts. They have been incredibly helpful in my project...the stickies have been incredibly helpful also!

I'm very hesitant to even show pics of my first knife so far since I have seen some spectacular first knives. Let me preface by saying I didn't even know what a belt grinder was one month ago and I've never even sharpened a knife, let alone make one. However, I do have a passion for blades and am very excited about my new hobby. Any help or advice and constructive criticism is very welcomed!

The steel is 1095 and I got it from USA Knifemaker (I probably should have started with 1084 or something simpler). It's 3/16 thick and I am aiming for a flat grind. I will send it out for heat treatment if I can find any takers ;-)

I grinded on a 2x42 Craftsman to 400 grit. The thickness is about the thickness of a dime right now. I hand sanded the rest of the knife to 1000 grit. Not sure how much more I should sand prior to HT.

Here are the pics:

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I was excited to see what it will look like with the paracord handle :-)








I'm not sure when it's quite ready for HT...I feel like there are a million things wrong with it, but I keep reminding myself that it's my first. I'm a little concerned about the point/tip...after the grinding, there isn't much meat left on this. Do you think this will get brittle and break? I have no idea what to expect...

Again, thanks in advance for checking it out and for any advice!

Charli Nicole
 
Looks pretty darn good so far! I must say, sure is different seeing pink nail polish on a knife makers fingers, I like it! We need more females round here!

Only suggestion I have for the knife, purely aesthetic, maybe incorporate a slight curve into the spine of the knie. A shallow curve from butt to right where the clip starts I think would really make the design flow a whole lot more.

400# belt finish before HT is plenty. I think the tip will be fine as long as the edge thickness is consistant all the way to the tip. Get that thing heat treated and finish it up!

Good work, keep it up!


-Xander
 
That's shaping up to be an excellent first knife!
You can probably go thinner on the edge before heat treating. If you don't already own one, you should get some calipers.
It's okay to leave it thick though as heat treated 1095 isn't that hard to grind, you just have to be careful not to heat it up too much.

It's good that you notice your imperfections. Just keep on plugging away at this one until it's done. Sometimes it's better to just reward yourself by finishing the first one. You can make the next one better.
 
That is fine for heat treat. How were you planning to do it? One thing that I have discovered with shallow hardening steels like 1095, W2, etc (aside frome needing a real quench ant) is that if you give it a "stress relief" heat at around 1250 before hardening (wrapped in foil to avoid decarb) you pretty much eliminate warping caused by the stress of uneven or aggressive grinding. You appear to have done a great job on the plunge cuts especially for a first try. My little pet peeve? I do not like clip point grinds without swedges/false edge, but that's just me.;)
 
fast14riot said:
I think the tip will be fine as long as the edge thickness is consistant all the way to the tip.
-Xander
Click to expand...

Thanks for all the advice...I agree that a curve would be really great, definitely more fluid that way. So....if the edge thickness isn't consistent all the way (woooops), what difficulties will I have to look forward to? I think that's my biggest fail because it isn't consistent. I don't think it looks terrible, but worried it will be brittle.
 
jdm61 said:
That is fine for heat treat. How were you planning to do it? One thing that I have discovered with shallow hardening steels like 1095, W2, etc (aside frome needing a real quench ant) is that if you give it a "stress relief" heat at around 1250 before hardening (wrapped in foil to avoid decarb) you pretty much eliminate warping caused by the stress of uneven or aggressive grinding. You appear to have done a great job on the plunge cuts especially for a first try. My little pet peeve? I do not like clip point grinds without swedges/false edge, but that's just me.;)
Click to expand...

For the HT, I will probably end up sending it out for the first few knives that I make. HT'ing seems pretty complicated and I should probably leave it to the professionals for the time being. So far, it's been fun learning all the tools of the trade. I completely agree about the swedge, I was considering doing that, but didn't know if that would get too complicated. Do I just do a swedge exactly like I would do the blade?
 
That's a much better first knife than mine. Seriously. Way better. Looks great, especially the bevels! Don't forget to chamfer those pin holes before you send it out for heat treat. I agree that a few more curves would be good aesthetically, but I like the looks for sure. Darrin Sanders does a great job with HT'ing 1095. I'd recommend you send it out to him. I think he's the go-to HT guy for many of the new makers on here, myself included.
 
You may want to add a couple of more holes in the handle for pins or rivets in case you change your mind about the paracord wrap. It shouldn't affect the looks and it will give you more options after HT. You choose how hard and brittle (within limits) the blade will end up when you send it out for HT.
 
Thanks! Coincidentally, I was just looking at the post on chamfer'ing today. Hopefully Darrin won't mind if I send my knife out to him. Also, my next knife will definitely be curvier now that I think I have a better understanding of the stock removal process.
 
That's good info, Bo T. I didn't know you could choose how hard or brittle. More holes is a good idea, does it matter too much as to their placement or should I just do what I think looks symmetrical?
 
You could make a sketch of your knife and handle, draw in a design for the placement of the pins or rivets. Think about the material you would like on the handle and the color. Your pins are usually brass, nickle silver or stainless steel. You could do your sketch in color to help in visualization.

Typically, the harder the blade, the more brittle the blade. Depending on your anticipated use, you will choose the final hardness. You can discuss the specifics with the person or bussiness you choose to do the heat treatment.
 
Welcome, that pink nail polish caught my eye too.

You're doing a good job so far, keep it up.



I can see you have an Avatar photo, but are still a registered user.
You must have paid for a membership, otherwise the avatar wouldn't show.
You will have to go into your profile settings and manually select the membership level that you have.
 
Welcome to our insanity. Good looking first knife by the way. I am looking forward to seeing it finished. :thumbup:
And don't worry about comparing your first knife to others, it means absolutely nothing as far as how good you can become. It depends mostly on the dedication you have towards the craft.
 
Code6Charli said:
Thanks for all the advice...I agree that a curve would be really great, definitely more fluid that way. So....if the edge thickness isn't consistent all the way (woooops), what difficulties will I have to look forward to? I think that's my biggest fail because it isn't consistent. I don't think it looks terrible, but worried it will be brittle.
Click to expand...

If the edge is reasonably even, no sharp dips or or anything it should be fine. Down to about half the thickness of a dime is just fine, a dime is roughly .040" and down to .020" edge pre HT is ok.

The issue could be warpage, or if being heat treated crudely in an open forge, overheating. If done professionally in a digitally controlled kiln, you shouldn't have much issues.


-Xander
 
Very cool! Nice first effort, and I'll echo some of the others that it's great to see a lady making knives. My wife is as supportive as they come, one of the best knife maker's wives in the business I am certain.....but I'm still trying to convince her to grab some steel and grind. I'll show her this thread for sure!
 
I like it! If you need someone to heat treat it for you let me know/ I'd be more then happy to help. I love seeing these first knife threads.
 
Welcome to Shop Talk. It has been far too long since we have had a gentler voice here.

The work looks good.
As said, as little curve goes a long way ( I'll skip my standard comparison).

The edge can be a bit thinner than a dime when ready for HT. about .020-.030" is good. I usually say half the thickness of a dime, if the HT is being done by an experienced person.

I have some pink paracord I use for ladies knives that would go great on that. Send me an email and I'll toss some in a mailer.
 
Outstanding (the knife and nail polish)! I am just getting started and you are way ahead of me already. I guess I'm a little envious that someone's first attempt has the plunge looking as good as yours with that nicely curved shoulder. How the heck you do it?

I agree that you should round off the angle on the spine to flow a little better.

Great job, keep 'em coming!
 
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