First attempt at making a knife

Ha. Thanks for all the info and as for the double post. Thisc whole thread started as as double post that was combined by the admin.
 
jchal3 said:
Ha. Thanks for all the info and as for the double post. Thisc whole thread started as as double post that was combined by the admin.
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It happens...

Hale Storm gave some great advice, I have garnered so much information from this site, it's unbelievable. It still amazes me how freely advice is offered to the newbs :thumbup::D and without hesitation. This is by far the best forum that I am a member of.
 
I want to show the progress of my first knife, but cant figure out how to post pics with this new tapatalk update
 
jchal3 said:
I want to show the progress of my first knife, but cant figure out how to post pics with this new tapatalk update
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Start an account with photobucket and upload photos there. Or you can just sign in to their site through Facebook. Then copy the URL and paste it straight into your post. I like seeing first knife efforts, and the progress of new makers.
 
Worked on the blank a little more this afternoon. How "sharp" do you get the blank on the sander before you harden it?
 
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These are the pictures so far. As you can see the one side looks decent, but yhe other side isn't so hot. Ahh first attempts, just going to keep going and see what we get.
 
jchal3 said:
Worked on the blank a little more this afternoon. How "sharp" do you get the blank on the sander before you harden it?
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Leave it about the thickness of a dime or slightly less. This prevents it from warping during heat treat.
 
I have been going down to .33mm. That is pretty easy to estimate without calipers, if you have metric units on your ruler, and good close-up eyesight.

HOWEVER: It depends on what steel you are using, and who is doing the heat treatment. I have been using A2, and sending it out to Paul Bos. It is worth the price, sending it to Bos, if I send out a batch of five or more at one time.

I no longer entrust my blanks to Texas Knifemakers Supply, because 3 out of 5 came back warped. Since switching to Paul Bos, I have not had that problem.

I think the air-hardening steels can go thinner than the liquid quench steels. That is just my general impression. There are people on the forums who have far more expertise than me.
 
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Thanks for the help. Another question. I have sanded the blade down to a 150 grit. I obviously have to go further, but how far do you before the . Treat. As you can see I dont know how much work can be done after hardening.
 
I went to 400 grit on my latest batch. I don't see any point in going higher than that before heat treat. If you go higher, you are just polishing. No need to polish before heat treat.

How much work you can do after hardening depends on your set-up. With a 2X72 variable speed grinder, vs. strictly hand sanding, it's a whole different ball game. I don't have a 2X72, so for me, it is all hand sanding after H.t. In any case, the basic profile shape should be the way you want it. You should eliminate any dips, divots, etc., and the surfaces that will be visible in your finished product should be at least sanded up to 220. Then you can heat treat.

It takes much longer to sand after h.t. Seems like it takes twice as long.

And remember: it is really really hard to correct warpage after h.t.
 
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