Almost done... any thoughts?

[lamontjb]

I wanted to share my latest Knife with all my friend here. This knife has actually forced me to take steps forward in my work (I am still a beginner in my mind) and this Knife will actually be presented to a General in the United States Army (pressure is on). I am about 95% complete with the exception of some final sanding of the handle.

I would really like your opinions/suggestions so that I can try to incorporate them in the next knife I am making which will hopefully be something that I can keep (I still don’t have my own Knife).

Total length is 11.5", with a blade length of 6.5". I used 3/16" 1095 and did a differential heat treat. I completed the Knife with a medium coarse scotch-brite belt to create a satin finish (I need to work on making my satin finish nicer so I might get a fine scotch-brite belt instead). The handle is made with a Nickel-silver guard, a piece of a warthog tusk, African Blackwood, and nickel-silver spacers + pommel.

Things I would like to incorporate in the next edition are:
Adding file work and details to the guard
Being able to put my logo on the Knife
Doing a better Job on the blade finish
Using 1/4" 1095 instead of 3/16"
Better fitting of the guard and/or learn how to solder the Joints

Look forward to your thought everyone! I also want to thank Blade Forums since I get 50% my info and 75% inspiration from here...

 

[1984nitro]

looks great from what I can see. I must say that you did a great job on the grind as I just finished a dagger that took way long than I thought because of the grinding.
Eric Knight

 

[Mace]

If this is your first knife I think it looks great! I think this knife would look nicer with a hand rubbed finish the length of the blade and if you fliped the guard over. Also need to mark your knives... If your proud of your work, put your name on it!
Nice job! Keep them comming.:thumbup:
Mace

 

[sulsaMatt]

I think you should be very proud of this piece. Great looking presentation blade. My two cents for the future: I second the advice to start hand rubbing for a brilliant finish. I also would recommend thinning certain features (i.e. the crossguard) for a more refined look. For Combat practicality, there is definitley something to be said about a beefy guard. Finally, and there was a thread to this effect, If it's not worth putting your name on it's not worth selling. There is a lot of info on this site as far as diff. part marking methods. I wish you the best of luck and look forward to your next work.

This really is a great looking knife the recipient will surely be pleased.

 

[lamontjb]

Thanks for all your comments. This is actually my first hidden tang knife, where as the previous 5-6 Knives were Full tang. I attempted the hand rubbed finish on this knife length wise but a few imperfections were noticeable So I went with the satin finish. I know what I did wrong, and will make sure the same mistake won't happen again. Even with that in mind, I think its a great knife that I will still give to my chain of command for the presentation. It's the best Knife I made to date and so until I start regressing, I won't be throwing out Knives because I didn't think they were perfect.

As for the logo, do you think the etch-o-matic is a good system? It seems very user friendly and gets the job done. http://www.etch-o-matic.com/eom.htm

If this is your first knife I think it looks great! I think this knife would look nicer with a hand rubbed finish the length of the blade and if you fliped the guard over. Also need to mark your knives... If your proud of your work, put your name on it!
Nice job! Keep them comming.:thumbup:
Mace

 

[steelshaper]

Nice knife! You definitly need to get your name on it somehow. Also it looks like there is a nice hamon on the blade that if finished to a higher degree would have really stood out.

 

[Steven Penner]

In terms of marking:

If you want quick, trouble free and perfect sharp black markings with no learning curve- consider laser engraving.

I will cost about $ 15 to 20
take in your artwork(i was told a Corel file)- or have them do it

See the yellow pages under engraving

 

[JTknives]

I love stamping my blades. i use to etch my name on them but never could get it to look like i wanted so i made a stamp. it is great and leaves a nice crisp clean name

 

[galadduin]

Great dagger, I love the aggressive look of the guard. Nice temper line also. A matching sheath would contribute to the aesthetics of this beauty.
ps. I wonder how did you do the differential HT on dagger. Clay or torch or something else?

 

[lamontjb]

Here is a picture of my clay coat for this Knife. You can also see my little forge getting ready.