And the most stressful part of knifemaking is.....

John Cahoon

John Cahoon

JWC Custom Knives
Knifemaker / Craftsman / Service Provider
Joined
Apr 13, 2017
Messages
2,219
Installing handles on hidden tangs and then full tang scales. Now that's commitment baby! Repeatedly test fitting, then check, refine and check over and over, and finally commit. Fill hidden tang holes....fill fill fill, pop bubbles, test fit, block pin holes, need more epoxy, fill fill fill, pop bubbles, test fit, messy overflow :eek:, clean up excess..... you get the picture. Then when its done wait wait wait, don't touch it, worry about if it's in a safe place, is it stable in the vice? look look look but don't touch, wait wait wait...;)

So what is your most stress filled operation?
 
I was forced to take a break from bladesmithing due to old body parts breaking or just getting worn out. Pretty sure hand forging is out of the picture for me but I did get my desire to make knives again. Since the first of the year my time in the shop has really increased. One thing I had forgotten is how frustrating it is when things don't fit together right.
 
jwccustom57 said:
Installing handles on hidden tangs and then full tang scales. Now that's commitment baby! Repeatedly test fitting, then check, refine and check over and over, and finally commit. Fill hidden tang holes....fill fill fill, pop bubbles, test fit, block pin holes, need more epoxy, fill fill fill, pop bubbles, test fit, messy overflow :eek:, clean up excess..... you get the picture. Then when its done wait wait wait, don't touch it, worry about if it's in a safe place, is it stable in the vice? look look look but don't touch, wait wait wait...;)

So what is your most stress filled operation?
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quenching..................... to be or not to be , question is now :D
 
Gluing/finishing full tang knives. Much less stress with hidden tang. The way I build hidden tang knives I don't have to commit to gluing until I'm satisfied with everything. I hate making full tang knives and checking for epoxy seeping onto the blade or over heating a corby or gouging a scale when contouring or the dozen other things that can happen after you've permanently attached the scales.

So while I don't wreck a full tang knife very often, there's so many opportunities to I find it stressful. And I like the appearance of hidden tangs more. I have a few full tang knives left to build and will strive to not take any orders for more.
 
Milling the tang slot in the ferrule of wa handles always makes me nervous. I don't know why, I haven't messed it up yet, but the operation just feels very definitive.
 
If I had to pick an operation then something like a bird beak forge weld trying not to get cold shunts in a multi bar blade. It's already got two weeks tied up in it before it even touches a grinder. Or setting the weld on a big coach makers axe that took hours and hours to draw out
 
kuraki said:
Gluing/finishing full tang knives. Much less stress with hidden tang. The way I build hidden tang knives I don't have to commit to gluing until I'm satisfied with everything. I hate making full tang knives and checking for epoxy seeping onto the blade or over heating a corby or gouging a scale when contouring or the dozen other things that can happen after you've permanently attached the scales.

So while I don't wreck a full tang knife very often, there's so many opportunities to I find it stressful. And I like the appearance of hidden tangs more. I have a few full tang knives left to build and will strive to not take any orders for more.
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Kuraki, I started epoxying only one side at a time a few years ago and it allowed me to keep a tight fit against the bolsters and made for less worry. I drill the tang holes for the scales after the first side is dry and then put on the other scale. You pin the knife or install corbys after drilling back through the scales. I also glue my scales on a discarded large magazine which I keep on the edge of my bench and I tear off pages with epoxy on them as I glue up the scale and I keep a half full can of acetone right behind the magazine and have cloth scraps ready to wipe away excess epoxy. Lastly, instead of using a variety off clamps to hold the scale on I use a quart bottle of leather dye that is half full to set on my tang while the epoxy drys. Of course I check after several minutes to see if the scale has moved. Maybe one of these things might be of help to you when making full tang knives. Larry
 
Checking the knife after it is 100% completed only to find a scratch in the finish.

Mother fuching maddening.

Typically if I find a process in Grind Knifemaking it is due to me doing it wrong, the hard way or just plan ole learning curve.
 
At one point or another almost every aspect was stressful to me . But sometimes I forget to do my makers mark and I do it with scales on , I like to do it first so I can do a clean finish on the flats . I don't get a lot of ghosting but it seems more likely when I am stressing . Another thing was scale glue up , What helped me was listening to some of the older guys back in the day .. Make your holes a little bigger for pins and don't force on a nice piece of burl.
 
A boot shop in town sells mine, so I don't deal with customers. What takes me the longest is deciding what kind of handle material to use on each knife.
 
Finish grinding for me. At that point there is a lot of time invested between forging, grinding, and heat treating. Because I have to sneak this hobby in around work, house work, running the kids around to dance etc. that could be multiple weeks in the blade by that point. Then one slip and buh bye.... I suppose handle work is even further into the process, but the handle screw ups seem more fixable.
 
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