First attempt at a knife

bush-haus

bush-haus

Joined
Oct 15, 2010
Messages
926
Hello all!

My brother is attempting his first blade from 1/4 5160. The Behring Bushido is his inspiration as he loves the tactical tanto profiles. He is using a newly purchased belt sander from Harbor Freight. He has a long way to go, but wanted to get feedback. He will become a member soon but wanted me to post the picture in the mean time. He will chime in shortly so he respond to feedback.

Thanks for your time--constructive criticism is invited.
 
Nice looking piece so far.

Bringing the bottom bevel higher will help for it to not wedge as much when chopping, 1/4" is pretty thick stock.
The bottom of the tip has two bevels that don't meet on th corner.
I would match my cut ins on the top and bottom to make them match the angle of the slabs.
Drill some holes in the tang to lighten it up a bit.
He still has scales to attach and the holes will act as a pathway for the epoxy to bind both sides and hold them to the tang.
Use a quality epoxy. I just went to west marine and got some of their G-Flex 2 part, slow cure, (Used it on your BK16) as well as every other knife.
Get some finer belts, to bring the finish up. It will not only look better, but the smaller the scratches, the less surface area leading to an easier clean/wipedown. This has a two fold effect, looks cleaner and less spots for moisture to hold onto and start to rust. Trugrit has them.
 
Thnk u bro for posting this for me. And thnk u NJB for some pointers. As was mentioned before this is my first knife that I have ever made. I wanted to try something a little more difficult to start off with. Definitely not close to completing as I will be doing some minor tweaking here and there to make to knife more appealing and effective. Will then complete either a Kydex or leather sheath as well.
 
I make a lot of tanto and Japanese blades. Your first attempt isn't bad.

Here are the things I would recommend you finishing/changing:
1) As Bill said, the lower bevel should go up about 2/3 to 3/4 of the blade side.

2) The tip isn't done yet, but after the main bevel is raised, try and make the lines all intersect at the point where the bevels meet, and be straight lines to the tip and ha/kissaki junction. Look at some diagrams for "kissaki, mitsukado, and yokote" on a sword site.

3) I know people love sharp spines, but try and avoid it on a tanto. Just make a 45 degree angle mune ( spine) or leave it flat.

4) Nothing wrong with the western handle on an Eastern knife, but the palm swell is too fat.

5) It is a good practice to place a ruler in the photo when posting pictures.
 
True, I'm going to shave a little off of the palm swell this weekend. I'll give updated pics during the process of finishing. Thnks so much for all of the advice so far. Well appreciated and needed.
 
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