Completed my fourth knife.

S

shurik6

Joined
Sep 18, 2013
Messages
53
O1 with African Blackwood handles. I even attempted at a sheath. Seem to work as intended. Functional. Still a lot to learn, so take it easy :o

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Dude, that blade is sick. Has a slight recurve to it. I love that style. :thumbup:
 
I like the knife!
On the sheeth, the strap being so high alows the blade to move up and down in the sheeth.
You can lower it
 
Not looking too bad, I'm not too much farther along than you, on about 15 knives or so. A few tips if I may... your plunges (the line where the bevel starts, just above the handle) don't look very symmetrical. It could just be the pictures, but it kind of looks like one curves up and the other down. I had a lot of trouble with this when I started making knives on the grinder. For me the the best solution was to do most of the grind, but leave a little material near the plunge, and then carefully cut it in with a hand file. I'm sure many makers can get them just right on their grinders, but for me it never happened. Also, it looks like you marked up your blade by the handles, probably while shaping the handles. Get the top parts of the handles all the way shaped and finished before glue up, and wrap the blade in tape like you mean it as soon as you are happy with the finish, nothing more infuriating than scratching a perfect blade before it ever cuts something.

This tutorial was really helpful to me, even after a handful of builds.

http://www.rimfirecentral.com/forums/showthread.php?t=264909

I certainly don't do everything his way, but a few of the tips made a big difference for me in my finished products. Good luck!
 
Hengelo_77 said:
I like the knife!
On the sheeth, the strap being so high alows the blade to move up and down in the sheeth.
You can lower it
Click to expand...

Where do you think I should place the strap? I did notice that as the leather stretched a bit the knife sank a wee deeper and the strap moved up the handle.
 
This is really need tutorial. Thanks for sharing it. I am still making a ton of rookie mistakes that can be easily avoided. This sheds a lot of light on how to do that.
The plunge cuts are pretty darn close to being symmetrical but I agree, one side rides up a smidge higher than the other. Part of the issue is my 1x30 HF piece of shit and the -18F outside ain't helping either.

pwheeler said:
Not looking too bad, I'm not too much farther along than you, on about 15 knives or so. A few tips if I may... your plunges (the line where the bevel starts, just above the handle) don't look very symmetrical. It could just be the pictures, but it kind of looks like one curves up and the other down. I had a lot of trouble with this when I started making knives on the grinder. For me the the best solution was to do most of the grind, but leave a little material near the plunge, and then carefully cut it in with a hand file. I'm sure many makers can get them just right on their grinders, but for me it never happened. Also, it looks like you marked up your blade by the handles, probably while shaping the handles. Get the top parts of the handles all the way shaped and finished before glue up, and wrap the blade in tape like you mean it as soon as you are happy with the finish, nothing more infuriating than scratching a perfect blade before it ever cuts something.

This tutorial was really helpful to me, even after a handful of builds.

http://www.rimfirecentral.com/forums/showthread.php?t=264909

I certainly don't do everything his way, but a few of the tips made a big difference for me in my finished products. Good luck!
Click to expand...
 
I use a crappy 1x30 too, the wandering belt and crooked back plate make good plunges near impossible. Another thing I like to do while sanding is to put a whole, fresh sheet of sandpaper flat on the corner of my workbench (coffee table), and flat sand the whole surface of the bevel just by drawing the blade back and forth across it. I let the paper wrap over the edge of the table just a bit, which gets down in the plunge nicely to clean it up. It also shows you your high spots, and makes it obvious when you have everything nice and flat.
 
You can make a homemade file guide to help keep your plunges lined up. Use whatever knife steel you have and cut a couple of 1/2" wide pieces about 2-3" long, dill a couple of holes and bolt them together. Use a file/grinder and make the sides flush. I tapped one side used counter sunk allen bolts to make mine low profile. Then harden them like you would a knife. I left mine fully hardened, no temper. I'm careful not to drop them or overtighten so they don't crack.
It's not as good as a precision made file guide but it works well enough for the cost... almost nothing.

Also, Nice job!
 
At the bottom of the handle (the strap)
Leather always stretches in one direction. Seen on the animal, back to belly, and not tail to head.
Pull the leather before determening what way you cut it.
(you want straps and belts etc directed head to tail)
 
i absolutely love the shape, and the fact you, intentional or not, left the blade slightly unfinished looks awesome! i love it. it adds character and brings to light the handmade nature :)
 
Great job, always cool to see peoples work. Simple and usable sheath and the knife looks like a user. The handles look good and contoured as well.
 
shurik6 said:
Hey mccandmatt. Hello from Minnetonka! Nice to see another mud duck here :D
Click to expand...

Yeah not to many of us on here from what I can tell lol. Right now I really wish I wasn't in Minnesota. Born and raised in the Southeast and was crazy enough to move the tundra years ago :D
 
Great Job, man! I like that blade shape a lot and I really like the way you did the contour on the handles here! What exactly is your process there? Really good tip from Henglo as I am looking at getting into leather for a few of my next sheaths as well.

I just finished my very first batch of (3) knives and am accumulating materials for my next batch- several of which will be in o1 steel. Any tips for doing o1? I really want to attempt a hamon like BGoode puts on his blades. Also, I just got a HF 1x30 to use for this next batch as well since all the grinder time spent on Jim's 2x72 grinders was stressing my wife in dealing with our babies. I got Jim to make me one of these right away after bringing the 1x30 home.

BTW, I cant find a single thing wrong with your plunge lines. I had a lot of trouble getting mine right so I ended up being forced to do a full flat grind (see below).

Here's my first batch:
http://www.bladeforums.com/forums/showthread.php/1142565-Story-of-my-very-first-knives
 
Last edited:
Hi Turbodog, thanks! I am still learning. As far as tips on doing on O1, I basically followed the general advice you see online. I do my own HT so heat to non magnetic and quench in preheated canola oil. I have ground my bevels almost down to a complete cutting edge, very thin, thinner than recommended and suggested by others. There was no warping after HT at all. I am not going to try that again, but it's nice to know. On the handles I used a sanding drum attached to my drill press to shape the curves and the slack part on the 1x30 for the rest. The sanding drum is a recent addition to my arsenal of tools and it's absolutely awesome! I think mine is 3/4". A also have a round stone in the same size that I use on the drill press to shape the tang. I find that works better than using a dremel. I hope this helps a little. Regards.

turbodog10 said:
Great Job, man! I like that blade shape a lot and I really like the way you did the contour on the handles here! What exactly is your process there? Really good tip from Henglo as I am looking at getting into leather for a few of my next sheaths as well.

I just finished my very first batch of (3) knives and am accumulating materials for my next batch- several of which will be in o1 steel. Any tips for doing o1? I really want to attempt a hamon like BGoode puts on his blades. Also, I just got a HF 1x30 to use for this next batch as well since all the grinder time spent on Jim's 2x72 grinders was stressing my wife in dealing with our babies. I got Jim to make me one of these right away after bringing the 1x30 home.

BTW, I cant find a single thing wrong with your plunge lines. I had a lot of trouble getting mine right so I ended up being forced to do a full flat grind (see below).

Here's my first batch:
http://www.bladeforums.com/forums/showthread.php/1142565-Story-of-my-very-first-knives
Click to expand...
 
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