Christmas knifemaking WIP

[Larrin]

I haven't made a knife now for about 2.5 years. So for Christmas I asked my dad if I could make a knife. Being so out of practice he's had to bail me out a few times now, but I'm still having a good time. Here's the first round of pictures:

 

[Omni44]

Good luck with your knifemaking. Glad to see you are wearing safety glasses, gloves and mask.

 

[Larrin]

Cutting the wood block in half:

Grinding each scale flat:

Pulling it out of the furnace. We do this 2-3 times at different times and temperatures depending on the steel for grain refinement. This is done by some American custom knifemakers with carbon steels but no one knows how to do it with stainless and alloy tool steels that I know of, because of the complexities involved:

Using a surface grinder to grind the distal taper. This is a lot easier than doing it by hand. I wish I had one of these!

Grinding the bevel:

Rounding the spine:

 

[Doug C]

Pretty cool thread, Larrin. :thumbup:
More please.

Doug

 

[Larrin]

Milling out the handle:

The knife sitting in the handle:

Drilling holes:

The expoxy is curing here. If you look carefully you'll notice that the wood is different now. We realized after working on the other wood that it wasn't stabilized and was too soft for the knife. It was discouraging to have to do it all over again. I hope you enjoy my glamour shot.

The knife after the epoxy has cured:

 

[Larrin]

Shaping the handle some more:

Breaking the corners:

Rounding everything:

Sanding the handle:

Ready for buffing:

Buffing the handle:

 

[Mark Knapp]

Hey larrin, um... whos your Daddy? He got a nice looking shop. Looks like you guys got everything you need. Nice looking work. Thanks for showing, I'de like to see the rest.

 

[Larrin]

Hey larrin, um... whos your Daddy? He got a nice looking shop. Looks like you guys got everything you need. Nice looking work. Thanks for showing, I'de like to see the rest.

Sorry, my father is Devin Thomas.

 

[Mark Knapp]

Sorry, my father is Devin Thomas.

I almost could have guessed, your Dad and I just had a real nice conversation tonight.

 

[Larrin]

Finished knife:

Dad cutting paper with the sharpened knife:

 

[Larrin]

I almost could have guessed, your Dad and I just had a real nice conversation tonight.

He likes to talk on the phone.

 

[Don Hanson III]

After talking with Devin tonight, I realized I hadn't seen this thread. Figured I'd bring it up for another look.

Very cool, Larrin! You should make more.