Bark river Grind in

[shinyedges]

Who's going? I'll be going to the June grind in woot woot.

 

[Eric@DLT]

There will be several of us from DLT at this upcoming event and the one in June. I am trying to figure out what I am building right now for this months event.

I think they sell out or oversell for every event. It's been a fun time the last few I was able to attend.

 

[shinyedges]

I wanted to go to the one at the end of last year but they had like a 12 person waiting list a month before the grind in even started. Luckily I got a spot reserved for the June grind in so I WILL be attending. Super happy.. I think I'll draw up my own knife pattern to be made.

 

[Eric@DLT]

Great. It is a good time and you learn a ton. One of the best parts is meeting other guys that have the same interests as you and meeting some other knife makers like Lon Humphrey, Zoe Crist, etc. You can get their advice and hear a few stories too.

If it is your first time making a knife they will discourage you from doing your own design but you can definitely do it. It will cut down some time if you can modify an existing blank. I hacked a fox river down to an imp instead of going at it from scratch. Food for thought when the time comes. Some of the machines create a bottleneck and they really want everyone to be able to finish.

Are you driving or flying in?

 

[shinyedges]

I live in northern Michigan so I'll be driving there. Perhaps I'll buy the steel and have my blank cut out before I get there so it saves on time. I'm pretty fortunate right now I have access to a plasma cutter as well as a mill and lathe. Thanks for the heads up. Definitely looking forward to meeting other people who share the same interests as I do, I live in the country and fellow enthusiasts are few and far between.

 

[Eric@DLT]

Perhaps it was you who I talked to before about the grind in. You're in the northern LP?

Depending on your design that may be a good route to go. Just leave yourself enough room to get all of the finish work done and take into consideration any areas the plasma may affect heat treat of your steel. I'm not familiar enough with that machine to know if that is a factor. They don't do any heat treating there so you'll want to have it done when you buy the steel.

You can also take into consideration any special handle materials you might want to use, that may not be offered. They have a huge selection of micarta and woods, just like their knives normally have, but sometimes you just might want to use something outside the ordinary for them. My brother had hand carved some G10 ahead of time for one of the knives he made, that way he could save time but still get it done. I'm working on my own special blend right now for my next knife. I will be sure to post more pictures this time.

 

[shinyedges]

Yup we talked about the grind in last year some time, and then I found out how popular they are LOL I couldn't believe the wait list was that long like a month ahead. And yes I am in the northern LP.

I'm thinking of getting some 3v for the knife and then I'll cut it to shape and send it to peter's for HT (I didn't realize they didn't heat treat at the grind in, so another thank you) and do the finish grinding and handling at the grind in.

I was thinking of g10 for handles but micarta is good if that's what they have on hand. Plasma cutter would be used before heat treat so I don't think there should be an issue but I'll run it by one of the moderators of shoptalk forum and see what they say.


You're making your own g10?

Edit to add: I was pretty bummed the grind in was filled last year,pretty stoked I got a reservation for June. March of this year was full already.

 

[Eric@DLT]

They should have plenty of G10 on hand as well. I should have said they will have an assortment of materials that you normally see on their knives. Including G10, kirinite, ctek, etc.

I am working on other materials like casting my own pinecones and things like that right now.