Just over a year ago I began my knife making journey in earnest. I'd played around with hand files and steel from circular saw blades, but saw a need to go a bit further. So I bought a 2x42, a used drill press on Craigslist, made a work bench, bought another vise, ordered some 1084 from Aldo, bought a bunch of belts and started profiling some knives. I even made some my-carta. The only thing left was to make a two brick forge for heat treating.
Then the head gasket on our Miata blew, warping the head. So it's sat, and sat...and sat, for over a year, right in front of my workbench, denying me access to all of my new tools and to my steel. A huge Japanese paperweight. "Roll it out into the driveway and grind away" you may be thinking. With a sloped driveway it's kind of difficult. After a year of working on it, however, with a new head, new bottom end, clutch and everything else that "you might as well replace since you're in there", it's about ready to run. So, I'm guessing in the next week or two I will finally be able to start practicing with all the tools that have sat for so long. I'm pretty stoked.
Lessons learned: When I embarked on my knife making journey I didn't want to rush anything so I began by making knife patterns from 1/4" wood. I have lots of patterns now but since I've had such a long time to just stare at the workbench, read LOTS of threads and see TONS of videos, I've determined that my knife blanks are too large and that I should start out with smaller blades first. In fact, I actually got to grind a bevel on a steel blank before the gasket blew and it looked horrible. It was a 5 inch blade. I realize it's just my first and that I need to practice but I think I'll start this time with much smaller blades, possible neck knives. And I think I'll start with cord wrapping handles so that I can focus on the grinding. In time I'll begin using G10 and Micarta but maybe just not right now. I'm also going to get a bunch of paint sticks and practice bevels and plunge lines.
Just thinking out loud.
Then the head gasket on our Miata blew, warping the head. So it's sat, and sat...and sat, for over a year, right in front of my workbench, denying me access to all of my new tools and to my steel. A huge Japanese paperweight. "Roll it out into the driveway and grind away" you may be thinking. With a sloped driveway it's kind of difficult. After a year of working on it, however, with a new head, new bottom end, clutch and everything else that "you might as well replace since you're in there", it's about ready to run. So, I'm guessing in the next week or two I will finally be able to start practicing with all the tools that have sat for so long. I'm pretty stoked.
Lessons learned: When I embarked on my knife making journey I didn't want to rush anything so I began by making knife patterns from 1/4" wood. I have lots of patterns now but since I've had such a long time to just stare at the workbench, read LOTS of threads and see TONS of videos, I've determined that my knife blanks are too large and that I should start out with smaller blades first. In fact, I actually got to grind a bevel on a steel blank before the gasket blew and it looked horrible. It was a 5 inch blade. I realize it's just my first and that I need to practice but I think I'll start this time with much smaller blades, possible neck knives. And I think I'll start with cord wrapping handles so that I can focus on the grinding. In time I'll begin using G10 and Micarta but maybe just not right now. I'm also going to get a bunch of paint sticks and practice bevels and plunge lines.
Just thinking out loud.
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