Do you guys have mistake knives?

I don't have any "mistake" knives. I do have a drawer full of patterns and I keep a couple blades on the bench to trim the sandpaper on my disc sander and to scrape epoxy drips off my small anvil....but no "mistake" knives. Don't worry about it because it's going to happen if you attempt anything worthwhile.
 
In the jewelry industry when someone asks the difference between a jeweler and a goldsmith, my answer is, "They both make mistakes, but you will never know about the ones made by a goldsmith."
 
Most craftsmen and women tend to be picky .. As someone posted above when you get to the point that you think your done put is down and do something else. The next time you look at your work you will have a more critical eye and you will be refreshed and able to complete the knife much better. I have ruined countless things being overly critical of my work . Sometimes we are our own worst enemy's . Sometimes good enough is good enough.
 
If I make a mistake when grinding, I usually modify the shape and try to make something useful out of it. What I really hate is when I stamp my name a little crooked or out of place. Then the knife becomes a practice blade. And of course, there is always the stray that "pings" during quench. Those just end up in the trash right away.
 
None!

...Well I do have this one box... and that desk drawer I don't look into. :p
 
I have several. I've learned over the years that if a certain blade is giving me trouble just to set it down and try again later. Trying to do precision "touch ups" when you're already frustrated only makes them worse.
 
I've had trailing points turn into drop points. If you start with a good blade height and length there is room for change. :)
 
I remember the first time Aldo had me up to his shop a few years ago he told me, paraphrasing here... Every maker makes mistakes on their knives, what separates the great ones is how well they hide them.
 
Theres a reason I make alot of kiridashis.....lol.

At first you'll have alot of knives in your bucket/shoebox/drawer etc. When you get confident in your skills and comfortable with your machinery, that receptacle, (whatever it may be) kind of turns into a goldmine.
 
I use mine to practice my heat treat process. While it hurts to spend hours on a blade and then screw it up while sanding or grinding, I do enjoy heat treating it and then breaking it open to see how fine my grain is and if I need to adjust my heat treat process?
 
I too have made a few rather small knives out of much larger stock than necessary. :p

Any maker who claims they haven't is either lying or just isn't very picky about their grinds.

As others have said, you need to use/test/abuse and destroy blades from time to time anyway, so don't sweat it.
 
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