Couple New Knives

egally08

egally08

Joined
Oct 19, 2012
Messages
872
Hey guys, I am very new to knife making. I posted my first knife about a week ago, and have since, been trying to tweak my techniques and improve.

We have a town yard sale tomorrow, so I've been working all day to get these finished for the morning. I put a light stone wash finish on the darker handled, and put a light patina on the other two. I still need to apply a couple more coats of tru-oil before they will be done.

Any and all critiques welcome. Oh, and I was shaping the round on one of the handles(without gloves) and I slipped. Messed up the knife pretty bad and also ground the corner of my thumb flat. Luckily I was using a worn out 120 instead of a lower grit belt.

I left the slight flaw in the wood on the first one to give it some slight character. It is filled in, so you cannot feel it.





 
I don't mean to be harsh but I have to agree with the count. The bevels seem to be quite a bit too shallow to me and should be ground higher to make the knife cut considerably better. Before you sell them I would be interested to know a few things. What is the steel, what is the blade thickness, and who did the heat treat or what was the heat treat process. Like I said I mean no disrespect, I just feel that if you plan to sell more in the future you owe it to yourself and the customers to make sure the knife going to perform properly now and in the long run.
 
I ground the initial bevel, and then flat ground it all the way to the back of the knife. It has an even taper all the way to the point, that's why you cannot see a plunge line going higher then the small scandi.

The edge is still thick, I plan on bringing the scandi higher, and then putting a micro bevel on it after the handles are done.

The blade is Aldo's 1095. Professionally heat treated
 
they look like scandies but if they are flat ground then the edge is way to thick.
If I remember well you got in to knifemaking about a month ago.
You may wat to test some of your work first. If they end up not being as good/comfortable as you intended it may harm your sales reputation on the long run.
 
I would still have to agree with hengelo. I don't doubt the heat treat being that it was professionally done. However the edge geometry still concerns me. I would have to guess the edge was very thick before putting the secondary bevel on if they were flat ground before hand. To get that much reveal on a secondary bevel it would either have to be left very thick, or have like a 5 degree edge on it. As stated before, I do not intend to discourage or put anyone down, I am just trying to help in the long run. Personally I gave away or destroyed my second to twentieth blade just so they could be tested and verified by people who use knives every day. I feel it's better to make two dozen knives and not sell one until they are thoroughly tested, than to sell one too early and have it affect people perception of your work. Remember no beginner starts out as a master, but every master there has ever been started out as a beginner. Keep at it and performance and fit and finish will improve. I just encourage you to sit back for a moment and look at the big picture of where you want your knife making to go, as well as how you want your work to be looked upon by owners or potential customers of the future
 
First, the shape and workmanship are pretty good for a new maker. You just need a bit more "Fit and Finish" before you are ready to sell knives.

The handles look pretty good, but may need more hand sanding and rounding. Always try and avoid square-ish looking handles. The cross section should be sort of oval or egg shape most of the time. Also, those little points of wood sticking out along the ricasso edge of the finger groove will pop right off the first time they get bumped. They need to be much more rounded or eliminated completely. Also, adding a slight curve to the front of that handle at the ricasso is more eye pleasing. It doesn't need much.

The blade shaping method used by most folks is:
Mark the center line of the blank
File/grind a shallow 45° angle to the center mark ( this makes a reference for filing)
File/grind the blade taper to give it distal taper from the ricasso to the tip
File/grind the bevels from the spine to the edge, leaving the edge about .030-.035" thick for 1084
Hand sand the bevels with the paper wrapped around a hard block of wood or piece of steel/aluminum
Sand to 400 grit, removing all lower grit scratches ( this should leave the edge about .025-.030" thick) - The bevels should be flat ands smooth before HT
Heat Treat
Re-sand starting at 220 grit and going to at least 400 grit ( or as high as desired) - The edge should normally be about .005-.010" thick when done sanding the blade.
Tape up blade to protect from scratches
Attach and shape the handles ( pre-shape and finish sand the front of the scales before attaching, because you can't sand and shape that area without marring the blade after it is glued on)
Add the secondary bevel while sharpening

This method will produce superb quality blades.
 
Thanks for posting this thread Egally!
I am just starting out as well. I have only so far added handles to pre-made blades, but I an having a lot of fun with it. I am actually a bit hesitant to start grinding. I applaud your willingness to dive in and get started. The advice you have received from the experts has been very useful to me as well.
Thanks
Rob
 
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