bird and trout knife with stone handle

G

gecko

Joined
Apr 10, 2010
Messages
16
hey guys,

After seeing this thread about a bird and trout knife Mr Lamont Coombs made, I thought I should try making one of those myself. I modified the design a bit to fit my skills and learning process as I am just a beginner at knifemaking (this is my 5th knife). I am very pleased with the result and I would very much like to hear what you think of it!

Oh, the handlematerial is zimbabwean serpentine (a medium-hard kind of "soapstone") which is not too hard to shape and yet weather resistent.
The knife itself is made from a file using an anglegrinder and polished to a mirror finish

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Pretty cool. The shape has a very nice flow to it, and it looks like it would feel good in hand.

Peter
 
Very nice work for a fifth effort. I would suggest working at keeping the same level of polish while maintaining the sharp edges of your grinds. This really helps the work to "pop".
 
Nice looking little knife. I bet it'll get the job done too.
 
Thanks for the positive response!

I'm having some trouble with keeping sharp grindlines as black mamba mentioned, not because of the polish but just maintaining the lines while grinding with the anglegrinder. Do you guys have some tips on this? I'm thinking of getting a belt grinder, does this make it easier to maintain sharp grindlines? Or are there other tools,tips or tricks to keep the edges sharper? other than patience and practice;) (is there a thread about this on the forum?)

Not that I don't like the flowing looks of my blades but I'm trying to improve and want to keep experimenting with different techniques and knifedesigns.

All help is welcome!!
As are your thoughts about the bird and trout knife the thread started with!
 
The knife looks good, especially for it being only your 5th. That stone handle definately looks interesting, I like the look of it.

An angle grinder is definately not the right tool for this sort of task and will be very difficult to get consistant grinding with, as well as the additional risk of overheating, etc.

Definately invest in a good belt grinder when you can, it will allow you to greatly improve your grinds (with a bit of practice of course ;) ). 2" x 72" belt grinders are sort of the "industry standard" among most knifemakers. The 2" wide belt gives you more control with your beveling to help keep things even, over a 1" wide belt, and the 72" length means your belt life is a bit longer. Additionally 2" x 72" belts are some of the more common and have a very wide range of grits/types available, more so than some of the other sizes.

Depending on your budget you cant go wrong with a KMG from beaumont metalworks, a Bader BIII, or a Bur King. These grinders are pretty pricey though (but well worth the money). A cheaper alternative is one of the Grizzley 2" x 72" grinders, or you could even get by with something like a craftsman 2" x 42".

A third option is to build your own grinder. There are plans available for the "no weld grinder" at www.usaknifemaker.com . And there are also other plans for almost a 1-off of the KMG floating around as well. Someone is also offering some grinder kits over in the for sale forums I saw.

These are just a few of your options, and there are many more.

Feel free to contact me if you have any more questions about things, I'd be happy to help.
 
Thanks for the great info! I've been searching the net for a while now and I can only find 1" (2,5 cm) and 4" (10cm) belt grinders beeing sold in the Netherlands:grumpy:

Why is the 2" standard for most knifemakers? I can imagine how it is more difficult to keep things even with a 1" belt. But with a 4" I think it is harder to see what you're doing while grinding... right? So which would be best, the 1" or 4", which would you prefer? (I want to make mid-sized knives with a blade-length of +/- 4"-6")
Or should I really look for a 2" grinder? and does anyone (maybe one of the dutch forum members...?) know where to get a 2" beltgrinder in the Netherlands (or Europe)? Or a company that might ship overseas? Any help is appreciated!

Oh the KMG, Bader BIII and Bur King are really cool but a bit too expensive for me, so I was looking for something like the craftsman ;)
 
A 2" wide belt with 2" wide platen (the flat plate that supports the belt when doing things like flat grinds) or wheel is just about the right width for most knife making uses. A 1" wide belt is a bit thin and that makes it hard to really "feel" how the blade is sitting on the platen/wheel and can make it more challenging to hold the knife consistantly on the wheel or platen. The extra width on a 2" wide belt really allows you to feel how the blade sits on the platen/wheel and helps you hold things much more consistantly. A 4" wide belt is almost too wide in certain applications. Additionally the 4" belt sanders dont have any clearance between the frame and the sides of the platen (the platen and frame are both 1 piece), which means you can't grind plunge cuts with them. You might be able to modify a 4" styled belt sander to work, but it will still not necessarily be ideal. Of the two, I'd say something like a 1"x30" would be more ideal over a 4"x30" though neither are really all that well suited for the task :rolleyes: . Belt tracking can be an issue with those little 1" x 30" belts which also creates problems.

If you can't find a suitable grinder to purchase over there in the Netherlands and the "professional" grinders are out of your budget, I would definately encourage you to look into building your own grinder. With a little inginuity and some scrounging you can easily build one on a very small budget and it will easily outperform any of the 1", 4" varieties, and even do bettern than the little craftsman 2" x 42". The no weld grinder plans from usknifemaker supply are worth looking into and it requires very little tools (maybe an angle grinder, a hand drill or drill press, a few wrenches, hack saw, and you'd probably be in business) or you can even develop your own plans. Things like old skateboard wheels can make decent idler wheels. Do a google image search for home built belt grinders and you should be able to find some decent ideas and see some of the possibilities.
 
You have a good eye for design - the shape is very graceful.
I like bird and trout knives even though I don't hunt or fish, because they're so darn useful for just about anything.
 
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