False Edge - Should I?

Laredo7mm

Laredo7mm

Joined
Jul 8, 2002
Messages
1,240
Do you all think this knife would look better with a false edge? I am making a couple more of these little guys and was wondering if it would look good.

Let me know what you think.

blade.jpg
 
I wouldn't mess with that one anymore. It looks great just the way it is! :)
 
Hey thanks for the compliment. The picture above was an X-Mas gift for my Grandpa, but I am making two more of this style. One is for a friend, and the other is going into a display case.

I am trying my own pattern on the latest two, and I hope it turns out ok, but I was toying with the idea of putting on that false edge to try to reveal the pattern a little more.

I might have to profile and grind one out of junk steel just to see what it will look like since I am having trouble visualizing it.
 
I agree,keep it as it is,the lines flow on the knife
and it catches you eye.Nice pins also were did you get them
from?
 
I like it how it is. If anything, you could put some notches on the thumb ramp that turn into some filework down the blade, but I think even that wouldn't look right and it would ruin the sweet curves and lines.
 
Nathan, I made the pins myself. I think they have a tutorial over on CKD. I bought the tubes from Menards. They turned out pretty good, some of the tubes ended up shifting, but what can you do?

Basically, you just fit tubes inside of tubes and then suck epoxy through the whole thing and let it cure. You can color the epoxy with a small amount of Testors model paint. I made 12 inches of pins at one time and then just cut off what I needed with a hacksaw.

Hmmmmm, that reminds me, I don't think I have any pin stock left. Koval also sells them and they have quite the selection. The pins in my knife are 1/4 in and it cost me about 5 bucks to make them, where Koval will charge you $20 plus s/h.

You can check them out here:

http://www.kovalknives.com/pinning_material.htm
 
Just a question; is that Amboynia burl for the handle? Sure looks like it to me. :)
 
Sure is, below is a better pic. I got a small chunk off of ebay a while back and it has some fantastic burl and figure to it. I still have some of the chunk left that I going to use on the next two of these little knives that i patterned off of the Schrade Sharpfinger.

I also bought a big 20+ pound chunk from some guys out west. I have not cut it yet, but it will probably last me 20 years at the rate that I make knives.

handle1.jpg
 
I was just gonna ask if you had modeled it off of the sharpfinger. That little Schrade is one of my favorite knives, and while mine has a lot of character now, from patina caused by years of various bloods and stuff getting on it, sure as heck is nowhere near as beautiful as those. that's an amazing gift there.
 
...definately does not need "fixing" - keep it like it is & make some more...however, because it works, don't let that stop you from "evolving" your work -try it and see.

Bob
 
NO! It looks near perfect the way it is! As a matter of fact, it's bee-yoo-tee-full the way it is.:D
 
Well I must march to the beat of a different drummer but I say Yes it needs a false edge on the next one. Feel free to call me names.
 
While it would take a lot of work, why don't you dig up a scrap piece of steel, grind out the approximate shape with a false edge, and then see how you feel about it. You would be missing out on relatively little except a bit of time and effort. I honestly don't know if it needs a false edge or not.

By the way, sorry you couldn't get a little piece to me before the hammer-in, I was hoping we could get some good critiques of your work.
 
I think it looks great as is but, it can't hurt to try a false bevel up top on one. Like someone else said, it my evolve. I do like the idea of file work on the thumb rise, though. Just something simple like a serpentine or broken wave pattern. Looking great!
 
false edges are often put on fighting knives for two reasons:

1. doing so creates a cruciform cross-section on the tip which strenthens it for thrusting and,

2. grinding additional metal off the end helps to trick out the heft and balance of the knife.
****
for utility knives (like the one pictured), a dull spine has all the other advantages like ease in sharpening near the tip, less drag while skinning and easier penetration when thrusting into soft objects due to the triangular cross-section.
 
A blade with a false edge will be thinner and have less drag when stabbing and cutting. A back edge gives a blade a distal taper. I think it is unfinished until the back edge is ground in. Too much flat area showing. If the steel is too thin for a back edge that is a different story. Plus this is such a pretty piece of damascus that it is screaming for a back edge to show off more pattern.
 
Ok, I am going to modify my earlier position, due to Bruce B.'s comments. It would look nice to have a top edge ground onto this knife, and it would show off more of the nice damascus pattern too. But, seeings how I can't seem to grind an even top edge to save my life, I would only attempt it if you can do it properly. At this stage in my knifemaking progress, I cannot.
 
Hey all, thanks for the great replies. Last tuesday I did a test etch on the one new one I had been working on. Unfortunately, I was not happy at all with how it looked. I think my problem came when forging the billet to 3/16 thick. My pattern was a twisted four bar of my own design. Once I had the four bars welded together, the billet was about 0.5 x 2 x 5.5, after I forged the billet to about 3/16, it was around 14 inches long. I then forged the blade to the general shape, profiled it, rough ground the bevels, and then hit it real quick with 240 grit and etched for about 30 seconds.

Anyway, I think all that drawing out of the billet after I have the four bars put together, streched out my twists way too much. In effect kkinda untwisted it. Needless to say I think it looks like sh@t.:mad: There goes 12 hours down the drain!

I may resort to just doing a nice ladder pattern instead, just to get this display case finished out. I would do something more complicated but I am going to have a cable fighter, a turkish twist dagger, and a single twist letter opener in that case. I hope a ladder pattern will round it out.

Thanks again for your help.
 
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