Design before you grind?

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As I meander thru the abyss of making new knives and new designs. I am finding it difficult to get to the end product I had pictured, before I started the knife. How do you guys come up with such beautifull looking blades?
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RHankins Available knives
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[This message has been edited by bobH (edited 10-22-2000).]
 
That's easy. Effective damage control. Seriously, I do design every knife I make on paper before I start profiling. I design it in my head before paper. Small things change while making it but they usually come out pretty similar.

Rob!



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Rob Ridley
Ranger Original Handcrafted Knives
 
I do my drawings on poster board and make the templates out of that. That helps get a feel for the handle ETC. My profiles are usually right on.
I guess what I'm asking is how much design? Before you grind.
Is it more conceptual skills or experience that gets the end result looking like what you had pictured?

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RHankins Available knives
http://albums.photopoint.com/j/AlbumList?u=205453

[This message has been edited by bobH (edited 10-22-2000).]
 
Howdy There....!
I to had the problem of design at my first starts, but now I have purchased a CAD program for my computer. I now can send hours trying to figure out how to make it do the things I want it to, it works great. I just draw my designs to scale and print them out, take the prints and go to the shop to make patterns. As Mr. Jones says, it is easier to change a line on paper than in steel Good Luck with your designs..!
"Possum"

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Thomas Clegg
 
Something that most people never mention anymore is making knives out of wood for practice.

It has its pros and cons. The biggest pros, are that it's CHEAP, and you can use a thick piece of wood to get the feel you want.

The major con is that it will grind so much faster than steel, that you have to adjust.

Anyway, I know your far from a beginner in this, but it might not hurt to try it.

Plus, the biggest thing that helped me get to making blades that I like was to go to shows and pick up the blades I liked.

My 2 cents.

Nick
 
I have been using Concealex templates to draw the profiles in the steel bars, but I have to tell you I am one of those makers whose knives are naver too similar, though I don´t really care about it.

Ivan Campos
 
Another idea along the lines of using wood,
I (after designing on paper) tape my paper designs to a material called "hardboard", it is like cardboard but thicker and, well, harder. One side is smooth and the other is rough. I then take a sharp needle and poke through the paper along the outline of the pattern/drawing so there are a series of holes in the hardboard. I then remove the paper and trace or connect the dots (the holes I just punched) with a fine felt marker or pencil and then got to my bandsaw and cut them out. I can then profile them with a file and my sander. This gives me exactly what the blade blank will look and feel like. I can hold it in my hand and see how it feels and looks and make adjustments on the pattern or back on the paper (if they are big ones). When I settle on a shape I like, I just spray my steel with Dykem Blue, slap that hardboard pattern down on the steel and trace around it with a carbide tip scribe. I understand that plexiglass works well for this also, but hardboard is a lot cheaper and , dare I say, biodegradable...
 
I do all my drawing on steel, and even that changes at the grinder. I guess my attitude about this is that there has never been a design that couldn't be improved, so every knife I make is an attempt at improving on the one I did before. That keeps it interesting for me, exciting for my customers and fun for both of us.

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Jerry Hossom
www.hossom.com
The Tom & Jerry Show
 
I like your thought process on the design issue Jerry
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I am sometimes my own worst critic and tend to get in my own way. Kinda like tripping on a crack in the sidewalk.
I guess this is where you have to learn to have patience with yourself and not take this stuff too seriously.
Thanks for all the ideas guys. Wood sounds like a good option I will give it a try.

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RHankins Available knives
http://albums.photopoint.com/j/AlbumList?u=205453
 
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