Finished my first 2 Knives !!

T

Tvl

Joined
Aug 30, 2015
Messages
19
Hello Folks,

After reading so much,doing tons of research,and buying tools and steel, I finally started knife making a few months back!
I had a lot of fun and definitely fell in love!:D
I wanted to show you all what I made, because I think in the end thats part of what we do it for, for others to use and see our work.
All advice, tips, and constructive criticism is very much appreciated.
First one.

The blade is made from 4mm, 1095.
Teak 6mm handle scales
and stainless steel pins.

the second one.


Also made from 4mm, 1095.
Oak 6mm handle scales
and also stainless steel pins.

I'm having a hard time getting them truly sharp, they cut though.
But any help here on this subject is very welcome, maybe someone can point me towards a good thread ?

The knives are gonna be a Christmas gifts for my granddad and my fiancée, which I'm probably gonna regret.
But I know for a fact that my granddad will love it , and use the hell out of it.

Cheers,
Thomas
 
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Those are great looking first knives! Wow congrats.

I think you left the edge much too thick before sharpening though. That's why the secondary bevel looks so wide, and may be why your having such a hard time sharpening them. Next time, leave your edge at about .03" before heat treat. After heat treating grind all the decarb off, then bring the edge down to .01 - .015" before sharpening.
 
Thank you Shane, I try very hard to achieve perfection.

And thank you for your help on the secondary bevel.
I was wondering why mine were so big, compared to what I'm seeing on the internet.

Although the edge was around .03" (about 0.9mm), I had them heat treated in salt baths , so there was almost no scale.
and didn't think about the grinder again, because i was so excited I went straight to hand sanding, and finishing the knife.
definitely gonna grind the next ones down more to the thickness you advice.
I'm really pleased with the knowledge being shared and passed on in this amazing craft/art/hobby.

On to hopefully many knives to come.

Cheers,
Thomas
 
If using a salt bath for HT, you can make the edge much thinner. Try .5-.6mm before HT.
After HT, you still should take down the bevels a bit more and sand to finish. The final edge should be about .2-.3mm thick before sharpening.
 
Thank you Stacy,

I appreciate the information, I will definitely do that the next time around.

Cheers,
Thomas
 
daaaammnn thats is fine knife!,my first knife looks like shit compared to this!,now im on my way to make second knife!
 
For the first two, those are fine knives. Just a little more attention to detail and you're there. The others already talked about the secondary bevels, but that's an easy fix. You're primary bevels look good and the blades aren't under ground like some I've seen. What I mean is the primary bevel line that runs parallel to the upper and lower spine is set just a tad higher than centered. I'm a fan of that look and if you look at my knives, they are similar. It gives a good cutting area but still leaves a lot of the original thickness which lends strength for a camp style knife that may be used to chop or pry something. It's a good compromise design IMO. Plus, aesthetically, it looks "tougher" than a full ground and more finished than an under ground blade.

However, more important than looks, how are they holding up? Once you get them sharpened properly, test the hell out them. Or, if you don't want to ruin the first two knives you've made, make a couple more with the aforementioned fixes and then beat the hell out them. If they stand up, then you'll know if they're truly good, regardless of how they look.

Justin
Black Raven Arms
https://www.facebook.com/Black-Raven-Arms-947029985371467/
 
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