C&C please

[Rsq]

A lot of what I wanted to say is nested in the pic. Anything else I should do before sending this little guy off for ht?
Steel is k390, .11 thick
Ht will be done by peters

 

[tim37a]

Do as much grinding before HT as possible. K390 will be pretty hard to grind after HT. Like the basic shape.
Tim

 

[12345678910]

You haven't gotten many responses

I can't read the yellow text at all.


I agree with Tim's comment.

To me it looks thick, uneven and too convexed.

As far as I know even convex edges are still mostly flat ground with just the edge convexed..

Especially if you are having it Pro HT'ed you can take it to a complete finish and lose very little in refinishing.


Whatever notes you have about doing this or that later, do it now It should be as perfect as it can be before you ship it out.

 

[Stacy E. Apelt - Bladesmith]

Take photos on a plain and neutral background. A piece of cloth or a towel, poster board, etc.
Use black text in most cases. It reads better...avoid light colors like yellow,pink, green, pale blue.
Try and use filtered cross lighting without shadows. A tent of thin white cloth works good. Put the lights outside the tent, and the blade inside it.

I can't see enough to tell if the blade is ready for HT, but it appears a bit thick.
The edge should be about .010 to .020 at HT for a steel like K390. That will be hard stuff after HT, so every surface should be as you want it and sanded to 400 grit or higher before you send it off. You won't have any fun trying to thin it out or remove scratches post HT.

Just a personal comment, but K390 seems overkill and not the best choice for a tanto.

 

[OTK]

As others have said, get this knife very close to final thickness and finish prior to HT. I'm not trying to be mean or negative but it seems like you're just starting out. K390 is a fantastic steel but really a dreadful choice for someone who is learning the basics. I have made dozens from this material so I'm really not guessing on that point.

Nonetheless, you're in now. Keep grinding and definitely hand sand til your knife looks ready for scales. If you leave all that extra steel on you may never get it off after HT. K390 lives on a steady diet of ceramic belts and is nearly immune to sandpaper when it's 63-64.

Good luck

 

[Rsq]

I don't care if my first efforts turn out less than perfect. The best way for me to learn is to start with the biggest challenge possible, and try it 2-3 times before I get it right.

Sorry for the pictures. I was largely experimenting with the apps I just downloading, so I'll post higher res, better lit images in the future

 

[ERIK KNIVES]

Peter's is going to charge you quite a bit for one knife. I use them, but only send at least 8 at a time. Texas Knife Makers may be a better one-knife option if they handle that steel.
The bevel/blade concerns have been covered, I think. How are you planning to scale/handle it? I can't tell, but it looks like a 6" blade with a 3" handle.

 

[scouter27]

The best way for me to learn is to start with the biggest challenge possible, and try it 2-3 times before I get it right.

Don't get into mountaineering...

You'd be better off getting some scrap steel and trying it 10-20 times for the same price, working on cleaning up your grinding. Since the HT is out of your control, don't worry about that part. Take your potmetal knife and mount scales on it of 2x4 and some hardware store rods or tubing. If you can make that look good, you can do anything with the latest in wonder-steel


Alternatively, you could get a bit of 1084 and progress at a normal rate. Starting off too advanced is likely to lead to poor results and frustration. Convex grinds are tough to get just right, and I've talked to a few makers who won't do a full convex grind for that reason. Take it slow. You won't become a Master Smith overnight.

 

[tryppyr]

Based on the way your grinds are coming out, I will pass along a piece of advice that was given to me a long time ago an I found it very useful. When grinding your bevels try to make each pass (with the file or the grinder) traverse the entire length of the blade. Doing this helps keep the grind even from ricasso to tip. Grinding in one place and then another leads to irregular thickness and "hot spots" that stand out and look bad when the finish sanding is done. I already see some of those (and I gather you do too by your comment that the tip is too thick).

As someone else already mentioned, convex grinds are not quite what most new makers think they are. Frankly, new makers tend to round the entire bevel, and that isn't how a blade is supposed to look. Looking back on my own early blades, I think the reason I did that was because I hadn't learned to lock my wrist and elbow properly when using the file to grind the bevels. It's a skill that takes some practice, but results in much nicer bevels. Similar techniques are used with a grinder, but honestly I haven't mastered those yet because things move much faster on the grinder.

I guess the last piece of advice I'll offer is take your time. Don't be in too big a rush to get the blade off to HT. That's a pivotal point in the making process, and one those of us with no HT gear can't easily undo. Make sure the blade is the way you want it before sending it out... otherwise the work that was hard pre-HT becomes all but impossible post-HT (unless you are willing to ruin the HT in the process).

Okay, one more tip... sending a blade to HT is easier if the blade is packaged properly. The first few I sent were packaged in boxes. Big mistake. One of those boxes got a little crushed and the tip of the blade got chipped off. Since then I have packaged them in hard cardboard (non-corrugated) sheaths. The sheaths are then taped to two more pieces of hard cardboard to form a large card that holds the sheathed blade absolutely still inside a large hard cardboard envelope. The whole thing weighs a few ounces, and is MUCH more secure than putting it in a corrugated cardboard box. I've never had a problem since, and my shipping costs wend down a bit too.