Critique my karambit

H

Halbrust

Joined
Aug 8, 2015
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29H721D.jpg


I can't draw.
It's a one inch internal diameter finger ring for size referrence.
I have a cardboard mockup that I refined to get the handle size. It fits my hand nicely.
The blade does raise, or swell, from the handle to the tip.

It'll be made from 1/8 inch O1. Don't know what other details I can give.
Ask questions if something is unclear, and give me brutal honesty.
 
Don't karambits usually flow perfectly from the ring to the tip, along the spine of the blade? Also, the finger ring seems unnecessarily thick. The blade looks quite cool though.
 
I'll start by saying I have zero use for a kerambit. It is sort of a fantasy knife to me. Luckily for kerambit fans my opinions have not hurt the popularity among young folks.

That said:
Start with drawing a 12" circle. That should be about the right curvature for a kerambit.
Draw a 1.5" circle touching the inside of the larger circle.
Draw a 1" circle inside the 1.5" circle. You now have the finger ring at a tangent to the spine arc.
Mark a spot about 8" along the arc, or wherever you feel the tip should be.
Draw the tanto tip at that spot.
Sketch in the blade edge and bottom of the handle to follow the top arc with some flow.
Re-draw any lines that need adjusting.

If it looks too "hooked", start with a larger diameter circle to get a less curved spine.
 
I think your drawing needs refinement. There are some weird bumps and wonky lines that need to be cleaned up. Draw the knife to its actual dimensions, using the methods outlined by Stacy above. Once you have finalized your drawing, trace it onto some cardboard and cut that out. Test how it feels in your hand, and make sure all the dimensions look good.

I can't say that I ever have or will make a kerambit, but if you are making one using stock removal, you will have to find a pretty wide piece of steel. I'm guessing 3" or 4" wide to get the right curvature.
 
Karambits are the first knives I made. They're waaaay more difficult than any other fixed blade I've done since. If you don't have the right equipment, they're almost impossible to get just right. They may be easier to forge but as for stock removal, practice on an old saw blade or something circular just to see how you do at it. Getting the bevels right even with a filing jig made me want to pull my hair out.
 
I'd thin out the ring and bring the blade into line with the handle more and practice whatever grind you want to do first.
Kerambits are great tools if they are well thought out AND we'll made.
 
If you're like me and can't draw a lick, I'd recommend getting a set of french curves stencils. I got this set from the local Office Depot:

http://www.officedepot.com/a/products/448941/Staedtler-French-Curve-Set-Set-Of/

If you're somewhat new to knifemaking I'd recommend not putting a curve in the blade. You can of course curve the spine and the handle but I wouldn't curve where the edge would be. Having a straight blade where the edge will be will be a lot easier for bevel grinding.

As others have said, draw the knife to the actual dimensions. I'd scrap the drawing you have above, it's bad. Blade profile is too squared off, handle looks terribly uncomfortable, and the flow of the lines is interrupted many times by unnecessary curves. The ring is too thick too.

I would recommend using the information Stacey gave you in conjunction with stencils. if you can't draw well(like me) then they're a godsend.
 
The drawing info I gave can be done with a pencil, a dinner plate or other circular object, a ruler, and things sitting in the kitchen to make the smaller circles.

That said, I totally recommend every person who wants to make knives get this drawing kit and use it:

Several 14X11 grid lined sketch pads or a box of loose sheets ( keep all your sketches ...even the ones that went wrong) ( 8.5X11 pads will work for folder makers)
A box of soft lead drawing pencils ( blue and red as well as plain graphite makes a good set) Actual drafting pencils with replicable leads are really good.
A clear ruler
A metal ruler in millimeters ( inches are fine on it, too, but the decimal metric system is far easier when scaling things)
A compass that opens up to 6-8" and takes a pencil lead ( a larger woodworking size compass is really nice for some designs)

Additional items that are nice to have:
A set of French Curves
Template sets - circles, shapes, small curves, etc. ( circles are the most used)
A scale rule (has sides in different scale ratios)
Clear protractor
Bottle of good wine or brandy - It is nice to sip on something while drawing. It helps the cognitive juices flow :)
Peace and Quiet - Nothing makes thinking, planning, and drawing harder than disturbances and noise.
 
I'm taking in all the suggestions and will work on a new drawing this weekend.

To clarify what I did to get the above drawing: I took an image of a commercial karambit, printed it scaled up to size of a one inch inner ring. I cut out a cardboard blank of that knife. I then modified it to my liking, first changing it to the tanto tip; I probably took some curve out of the blade then because the tip seemed too needle like. Holding and playing with it, I realized I wanted to handle shorter, and took about 1/4 inch out of it. I added handle scales because it felt too thin in my hand. The scale angle at the blade was after some trial and error. The final change I made was the reverse taper of the blade profile; I thought it looked cool (which is always a major concern) but also it added a better striking edge to the "extension flip" I see MA do.


The drawing I presented was a tracing of that cardboard blank, with some clean up and the drawing in of the bevel lines.
 
Halbrust said:
Dremel, angle grinder, small selection of files including some round files.
Click to expand...

Like the others have told you, refine/redraw your knife. Look at hundreds of pictures of karambits online. Type "custom karambit" and you'll see some amazing designs.
Notice how the spine curves, how the blade usually comes to a 90 degree (which according to my krav maga buddy says is a true karambit). Pay attention to how your knuckles should be flat across the handle when holding it. You may need to make a relief for your index finger and little finger.
Imagine drawing the blade you want and a long handle and bend it.

The one I made for my friend had a sharp point coming off the blade near the choil. Looked good on paper, cut into his palm as he flipped it around so I had to grind it off. Make sure your design doesn't affect your function.

JG Custom metal works had great advice keeping the blade straight. That's what I did on my first one and it was much simpler to file.

I recommend using a file jig like Aaron Gough shows in his youtube videos. The dremel will come in handy if you're dead set on making a hawkbill style blade, but a small wheel on a grinder would work even better.
 
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