Cleaver / Western Deba / heavey kitchen camp Knife - Build log

[Brock Cutlery]

I've been grinding a couple of months and have done about 10 blades. Just enough to start getting a feel for grinding.
My ears are still pretty damp and horns are green as can be.

Honestly, I haven't cared much about finishing the blades I've done so far. I shaped them as drop-points and what-not because it was the right thing to do.
But I just haven't been invested in any of them yet, because I know I have so much to learn about basic grinding. I knew they would be scrap heap fodder for the most part, and that has proven pretty true.
The last few have been just barely good enough that I am starting to think I want to put a handle on them.

So this next blade is my first project that I actually feel like I would like to see in all it's finished knife glory.
I've cut it, and roughed out the shape.
I plan to post my progress here but not to show off anything, ha.
I am hoping to get some help and pointers so I can learn as I make my way through completing this knife.

I've roughed out the shape on my Esteem grinder. I only have the flat platen and the 14 inch wheel at this point. I can see where a small wheel attachment could be very helpful with some of the tighter turns in this shape. But I am willing to hit the files if necessary.
It's approximately 3/16" by 2.5" by 11. A fairly thick blade to start with.

Here is the roughed out blade. This thing has changed a dozen or more times from my first drawing, and even though I've ground it, I still might make some minor tweaks.
The notch on top in front of the handle may need to be done differently. Now that I can actually grip it I can feel how the design might feel as a knife.

Anyway, I would surely appreciate comments and suggestions if you have a mind to put in your 2 cents along the way.
Thanks for looking

 

[ricky_arthur]

Good start, keep going on the handle till it matches your pattern, and if it were me I'd grind off the notch on the top.

 

[Stacy E. Apelt - Bladesmith]

I would get rid of the notch, too. Since it is already there, just bring the curve of the spine back to the bottom of the "V". That will give a slight drop from the handle to the spine, which will look and work well. I would also round the tip of the butt a tad. It is too sharply pointed. Otherwise, it looks quite good.

 

[Brock Cutlery]

OK, I took out the notch. I liked it, but I'm going to defer to experience on this one, since it's not just a flourish of sorts, but is part of the handle you actually touch. Thanks for that gents.

I thinned out the handle contour more. I'll clean up the lower handle section by hand at this point.

Surface ground on the flat platen. I'm not completely comfortable with that process yet, still am not steady enough for my own satisfaction. Sometimes I end up chasing mistakes until the blade is thin. :| This one seemed to go well enough though. The blade is so long I had to angle it across the platten. It seems my lower wheel may not be perfectly in line with the platen. I was seeing a little bit of waving in the surface of the blade if the lower part of my surface grind went down off the platen and onto the wheel.
Thinking about setting up my grizzly (second grinder) with a 12 inch or so piece of hardened 01 for surface grinding, and also rough shaping. The way it's built is conducive to a longer platen.

Smoothed out the edge most of the way around, except for the inside grinds (I need a small wheel attachment!). This was the first time I tried the Esteem work rest mounted vertically. I like it but would like it more if I had a rest that countered around the upper wheel. I'll get that at some point. I would also like to be able to easily move the rest from side to side with one adjustment. It tends to wear the belt in one spot and moving it is a bit of a pain as it must be re-squared when moved.

 

[Brock Cutlery]

I ground the rough bevel this afternoon. Yes, it's pretty rough.
Two things about this blade that are new for me. It's longer be a couple of inches than any previous blade I've ground, and it's nearly twice as wide as any I've done.
That said, I am fairly pleased that I didn't mess this up worse than it is.
I did a very short bevel to the scribe lines using 40 grit. Then took it to where it is using 80 grit at half grinder speed.
I ended up making a couple of mistakes and chased the grind line a bit higher than I wanted to go, but I think this is salvageable, and I want to finish this one.

I also learned on this one that I tend to have more pressure up high with the handle in my right hand, and down low when grinding handle left.
I have been wondering why my grind lines are so different but this would seem to be a good reason. Does that sound right?
I'm also looking at the grain of the course grind lines on each side and it's clear I have different angles on the blade right to left, which is probably also seriously affecting my top grind line.

Question, what would you do to this before sending to heat treat?
I am contemplating hitting it with 120 on the bevel and try to clean it up a little without messing it up.
I would also probably take the handle area / ricasso to 220 grit. Does that sound right? Should I surface grind it up to 400?

Any input and critique much appreciated. I know some of the mistakes I've made on this, but maybe not others so all input is welcome.

 

[Stacy E. Apelt - Bladesmith]

I would go to 220/400 grit pre-HT. It will make things easier to clean up.