Critique my first knife design please

tueller

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So I am following the Counts Standard Reply to New Knifemakers and attempting to make my first knife. I am going to try and find some 1/8th thick 1084 steel because it seems to be out of stock on most sites. This is my design so far. Don't pay too much attention to the holes or screws, that is a work in progress. I am not sure yet if I am going to send it away for heat treatment or try it myself. Prob go with wood scales and a flat grind on the second bevel. I am also thinking of adding jimping but not sure. Please help me with feedback. I am as green as they come. Thanks.

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So I am following the Counts Standard Reply to New Knifemakers and attempting to make my first knife. I am going to try and find some 1/8th thick 1084 steel because it seems to be out of stock on most sites. This is my design so far. Don't pay too much attention to the holes or screws, that is a work in progress. I am not sure yet if I am going to send it away for heat treatment or try it myself. Prob go with wood scales and a flat grind on the second bevel. I am also thinking of adding jimping but not sure. Please help me with feedback. I am as green as they come. Thanks.

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Not a bad looking design. I could see maybe cutting out the sharpening notch and ricasso in favor of bringing the cutting edge all the way back because the design and first finger recess seem adequate to guard against accidental slippage. Maybe a slight hawkbill on the rear of the handle. Of course the screws would need to be even. Jimping where the thumb would lie in a standard grip on the spine of the blade and also on the rear curve of the hawkbill where the thumb would lie in a hammer grip I could see being useful and not obtrusive. If you're going to send it out for heat treating then I'd suggest something also little more than 1084, it would catch more eyes from a marketing standpoint, maybe something like s35vn. If you're going to stick with carbon steel then maybe I'd suggest 52100, blue #2, or 80crv2 from aldo. And curly anything or burl anything seems to sell well.
 
Yeah, skip the hole in sOs, that's asking for trouble.
You want 1084 cause it's easy to start out with?
Being "green" have you handled/used knives with very similar design, e.g. Becker Eskabar? I know it's smaller than your design, but the shape is very similar. Slightly larger is the Busse SAR-5 (neither image below is mine).

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I've seen more bad jimping than good, so I'd encourage you to focus on other aspects first and figure out the negative and positive aspects of the design, maybe by querying users of the aforementioned knives with similar design.
 
So I am following the Counts Standard Reply to New Knifemakers and attempting to make my first knife. I am going to try and find some 1/8th thick 1084 steel because it seems to be out of stock on most sites. This is my design so far. Don't pay too much attention to the holes or screws, that is a work in progress. I am not sure yet if I am going to send it away for heat treatment or try it myself. Prob go with wood scales and a flat grind on the second bevel. I am also thinking of adding jimping but not sure. Please help me with feedback. I am as green as they come. Thanks.

View attachment 508946


thinking more along 1075 with hamon, and 1084 when done well is nothing to sneeze at, 1084 is a steel I started with now I do 5160, amongst others but the 5160 is as good as any I have used,s30v and 52100 is a bit rough for a beginner.if you continue you will see this before long. myself I would rather trust 1095 over s30v s30v will chip under some tasks and it does like a toothy edge.
 
Thx for the feedback. I got some good ideas. Yes 1084 because I am a newbie and everything I read says that is the best beginner steel. I am not going to sell it, nor could I probably. I just want to learn and keep it as my first knife. I did model aspects of it after the bk14 and some other knives that I like and seemed like a relatively simple design. The whole is just for function as I like to be able to tie knives to stuff if needed. What do you mean by jimping being messed up a lot? Something I might want to try. Any advice? Yes the holes/screws def need work. I also need to figure out the angle of the primary bevel. The secondary bevel will be around 20 degrees. I will post pictures as I go but I need to order some steel first. For now I better just be ready to shovel. Thanks again guys.
 
Good professional looking jimping is much harder than it looks. I suggest you get some scrap steel and practice until you get great results before you add it to your knife. I would also suggest, since you are new and working with thin stock, to do as much as you can by hand with files, before you move to the grinder. One bad move on the grinder with 1/8" stock can leave you with a thoroughly screwed up blade.
 
Thx for the feedback. I got some good ideas. Yes 1084 because I am a newbie and everything I read says that is the best beginner steel. I am not going to sell it, nor could I probably. I just want to learn and keep it as my first knife. I did model aspects of it after the bk14 and some other knives that I like and seemed like a relatively simple design. The whole is just for function as I like to be able to tie knives to stuff if needed. What do you mean by jimping being messed up a lot? Something I might want to try. Any advice? Yes the holes/screws def need work. I also need to figure out the angle of the primary bevel. The secondary bevel will be around 20 degrees. I will post pictures as I go but I need to order some steel first. For now I better just be ready to shovel. Thanks again guys.

What was said above about the jimping +1, also CNC'd jimping can be bad in terms of comfort if poorly designed (e.g. Spyderco), best to leave it off when unnecessary.

Regarding the hole in the center of the ricasso, I discourage it as a stress-riser that may compromise integrity ... but if it's a signature-feature then go for it and see what happens.

Regarding the primary bevel-angle, you're thinking about it wrong. Angle is simply a description of the blade's thickness as it tapers from spine to edge. What you need to decide on is how thick you want the blade to be, i.e. how stiff and strong to resist lateral flex at the cost of cutting efficiency. Thin cuts. You mentioned that the spine will be ~1/8" thick, but how thin do you want the knife to be behind the edge, i.e. at the shoulder where the primary bevel meets that 20-degree edge-bevel? The most efficient cutters are <0.010", "hard-use" blades are generally >0.020" for greater durability. Decide what edge-thickness you want on the blade, then decide where you want the primary grind to start near the spine - full-flat or something of a saber-grind, etc. Then simply grind the blade (however wide it may be) so as to maintain the desired bevel-height and so as to achieve the desired edge-thickness. The grind-angle is simply whatever accomplishes that, and you can grind flat or hollow or convex. Remember, it's not the angle that matters, it's the thickness.
 
It looks pretty good except it has too many handle pins. Three at most...two if they are Corby bolts.
 
Thank you. I was thinking about it wrong. I just decided on 1/8 stock because my research said a common mistake among beginners is too use thicker steel. 1/8 1084 steel seemed to be the most recommended newbie steel. I actually like thicker knives (3/16 up to 1/4 choppers). My thought process was to make this design in 1/8 then 3/16 w/ a thumb ramp. That way I progress and challenge myself. Now I realize that I may be looking at the bevel angle wrong and the thickness might be too thin behind the edge. As far as the handle markings. The plan was two screws to hold on the scales and three drilled holes (butt, middle of scales, ricasso). The holes are just because I am a paracord guy and like the option to tie lanyards, spears, etc. Now I am wandering if the hole in the ricasso would threaten the knife's strength. Thanks for all the comments. I am learning a lot.
 
OK, on the extra holes for lanyards etc. They should have tubing through them. The hole in the ricasso is a definite No.
 
... I just decided on 1/8 stock because my research said a common mistake among beginners is too use thicker steel. 1/8 1084 steel seemed to be the most recommended newbie steel. I actually like thicker knives (3/16 up to 1/4 choppers). My thought process was to make this design in 1/8 then 3/16 w/ a thumb ramp. That way I progress and challenge myself. Now I realize that I may be looking at the bevel angle wrong and the thickness might be too thin behind the edge...

I have a Kershaw Echo that is ~1/8" at the spine but is still >0.030" behind the edge, same for some Gerber and Buck knives both folding and fixed, ESEE knives while thicker at the spine are routinely ~0.030" behind the edge - those are heavy edges, nothing thin about them. Conversely, I have blades >0.20" at the spine which achieve ~0.010" behind the edge - better penetration and edge-retention on those - and they feature the same edge-angle for high durability and cutting efficiency up front. You can make a 1/8" blade as thick or thin behind the edge as you desire, just grind it appropriately. Using 1/8" stock means less material needs to be removed to achieve the desired edge-thickness, and it may be easier to achieve an even, well-centered edge that way as well.
 
Why no hole in the ricasso? Will it weaken the knife? I see them on some production knives. Are they poor designs or ok because of better steel?

I often see production knives in the mail order catalogs that are just plain ridiculous. Just because someone made one, and some fool bought it, doesn't mean it is a good idea.

Also, there is a huge difference between production methods of shaping a knife and heat treating it than those a hobbyist on his first knife will be doing.

Any hole, sharp angle indent, or thin spot at the ricasso can make the blade break easier.
 
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