First "all me" Knife

[The Gopher]

I've made a few knives before but have always had some assistance from others on aspects of it whether it was grinding or heat treating, etc. This knife represents a lot of firsts for me and is the first knife I have made 100% by myself.

It is my first design that i felt real ownership of, from concept to cutouts and several revisions. I've already tweaked it again after this one was made. but i really like it. The changes i made for the next one are a slightly longer blade and slightly longer handle and i also added a little choil. For some reason when i don't have a little choil I have more trouble getting my plunge lines to line up perfect, i think the choil adds a little extra reference for me or something.

The grinds were done by hand with files using a jig like Aaron Gough showed on his you tube video.

It was my first time heat treating my own blades, i made my own propane burner and used firebricks to mock up a little heat treat furnace.

The whole process has been very enjoyable and i have learned a ton by doing this, hopefully I can get better results each time.

The specs are:
2.6" blade, 6.8" overall (The new version is 2.75" and 7")
5/32" thick O1
Handle is stabilized mesquite and red fiber liners.

Thanks for taking a look, let me know all your feedback (good and bad)

 

[lwrhea]

It's a very nice job considering your stage of the game. You should be proud.

I like that you are using liners and stabilized materials and you seem to know something about edge geometry. I like what I see in the photo.

A couple of things will go far to improve the desirability of this knife. One is a nice logo and another is a tapered tang. These are small changes that will either take a few dollars in equipment or some effort at the work bench. But it will bump your work up to another level.

Great work. I really look forward to seeing what comes next of the bench.

 

[The Gopher]

Thank you for the feedback Lin! I've made selfbows and custom slingshots for years so I gained a lot of experience in wood and especially how important stabilized wood is to use, especially for my laminated slingshots that are constructed like a full tang knife. I stabilize my own wood too, one thing keeps leading to another!

I agree with the logo, I stamped my initials since i didn't have anything else and you can see the "D" didn't go well.
Can someone recommend a good place to get a stamp made?

I thought about the tapered tang as well since the balance of this knife ended up a little too much in the handle, but i wasn't quite sure the best way to do it with hand tools other than just winging it? I suppose the same jig i used for the grind could be used if i set it at a very low angle.

Thanks again!

 

[wdtorque]

What Lin said.
He knows more about making knives than....(put a very large number of knife people here)
Dozier

 

[lwrhea]

Henry Evers makes stamps along with other folks. As for stencils, you will get a variety of responses. The stencils are used to electro etch the logo. I use a "personalizer plus" machine for mine.

I'm not trying to be closed mouth. I am not sure of the rules. Holler at me if you like by email or something. I'm glad to help.