Beginners' Mistakes

In my case, trying to do a skeletonized tang on my first knife, which was forged and hot-cut through.. it actually turned out fine.. but after the full quench I squeezed it to see just how brittle it was.. and apparently it was brittle because SNAP! ;P I welded it because it was just the tang and its fine for a first knife.. but live and learn.
 
Starting with free/unknown steel, especially if it's used. You don't know if there are stress fractures (used springs), you might have to fight a pre-existing curve, and since you don't know what the steel is (is that leaf spring 5160 or 6150, or something else???) then you won't know the correct heat treat procecure.

Also, starting with the idea that you NEED a grinder to make a knife. While it will make the process go faster, you CAN make a knife using a hacksaw, drill, files, and sandpaper.
 
Thick stock. Hand-tools or $million shop, I would advise any maker to start with at least a handfull of small, thin, light blades.
 
Most of my beginner mistakes (at least the ones that could have been avoided) were concerning the proper sequence of processes and progression. Taking the edge too thin before heat treat, not having holes drilled, premature finishing, etc. Understanding the entire progression from start to finish, and recognizing the critical points in between, takes an investment of time at the beginning but will pay off in dividends by the time your 5th knife is complete.
Another big one is not using the information and advice that is availible at one's fingertips. I can't tell you how many times I have struggled for hours to figure something out, then used Google and found that most of what I discovered was actually not new after all, and has been demonstrated by a high school kid on YouTube. I respect the guys who want to learn it all on their own, and I value experimentation as much as the next guy, but tutorials can save you a lot of time and frustration if you are willing to find them and use them.
 
Starting too big! It seems to be a normal thing for us:) its good to have aspirations but its also good to know your limits at that time.

I tried a 2" wide 4' blade sword:) gotta start some where:)
 
Handle profile and contouring. My first couple, I was so proud of them. Now, when I pick them up, I cringe at how they feel in my hand. Of all the things I've improved on, handle finishing is what I've improved the most on.
 
Designing to minimize the amount of steel I would have to remove from the bar stock. It resulted in the dreaded "blocky syndrome" and blades waaaay bigger than I like.

- Paul Meske
 
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Wait... dull red? My knife supplies are somewhere in the air right now (hopefully), and this kind of threw me off. I thought heat treat was something along the lines of stick blade into fire, wait until non-magnetic, and quench in canola oil that's been heated. But... it has to be dull red? So if it becomes too bright(hot) there's grain growth, what if it doesn't get hot enough, and stays in below the right temperature for too long? Also, what happens if I go too long without the quench? (leave it in the fire too long) I'm using 1084 and a campfire:foot:
 
Minibear464 said:
Wait... dull red? My knife supplies are somewhere in the air right now (hopefully), and this kind of threw me off. I thought heat treat was something along the lines of stick blade into fire, wait until non-magnetic, and quench in canola oil that's been heated. But... it has to be dull red? So if it becomes too bright(hot) there's grain growth, what if it doesn't get hot enough, and stays in below the right temperature for too long? Also, what happens if I go too long without the quench? (leave it in the fire too long) I'm using 1084 and a campfire:foot:
Click to expand...

If you dont' get it hot enough you won't get full hardness. If you get it too hot you get grain growth. 1084 is forgiving so it shouldn't be too bad, but make and break a few to see how they do.
Jason
 
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