First Attempt

Clamp the blade to a piece of wood of similar size, clamp the wood to your bench. The point and edge of the knife shouldn't extend past the wood. This will prevent you from cutting yourself if your hand slips or whatever.

Changing the direction between grits help you see if you really removed all the previous scratches. I think most guys don't go much above 400 grit before heat-treat.
 
ClydeWigg3 said:
Can I use some type of cut off wheel on my bench grinder to cut this? What would you suggest?

I have a small bench grinder and figured I could use that for stock removal instead of a bandsaw or an angle grinder. Would it work?
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Absolutely

I use this all the time and it removes metal fast.
It does leave a rough finish, so leave some stock to smooth out with a file.

The wheels are just abrasive metal shop saw wheels 1/8" or 5/32" thickness.
 
Here's some new pictures. I started hand sanding last night with amazing (at least I thought so) results. Never would have thought hand sanding would produce an even sanding (better than my belt sander would). Just thought laying it flat on the belt was hard to beat, and I was wrong.
 
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What a cool thread - I'm enjoying this one! It's nice to see you getting so into it and just going ahead with what you have. That's what it takes, and that's an approach that will serve you well no matter how far along the learning curve you are. Great work!

Bruce Bump said:
Welcome Clyde,
If you send it to me I will cut it out for ya.
Yes really.
Bruce
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Say Bruce, since Clyde didn't need you to cut out any steel, how about I send you some to cut out for me? In fact, how about I just send you my sketch, and you cut it out of your steel? Maybe some of those Ws? :D

midnight flyer said:
You know guys.... I have been a professional, self employed woodworker for almost 35 years. I may never make a knife, but have made a lot of people happy with my work over the years. Custom woodworking is steeped in legend, folklore, and ramblings of long stories of how guys started out and how hard it was. Some folks are generous teachers, but most not. I have given demos and taught folks to use their woodworking tools in a couple of clubs and for years in my business, and it has been a truly rewarding experience for almost on all counts.

But I have to say, I don't think I have ever seen as many generous professionals, ready and willing to help folks encouraging those getting started. Heck, even for those still learning.

You guys in this part of the forum are a good group of guys. Good for you for promoting your art, and giving a good showing of just how classy some of you can be in the way you treat those behind you on the path of learning. Closing in on 35 years in the woodworking trade, it is important to me to remember "everybody started somewhere".

Good on all of you.

Robert
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Robert, that's really cool. You made me feel just fine first thing in the morning, and you're right: This is the most sharing bunch of craftsmen anywhere. When I showed up here I was a total nimrod, had made some butt-ugly knives. Folks were gracious to guide me in a more esthetic direction :o with kind words and suggestions, and answered some of the most naive questions with respect. Now I'm only 1/3 nimrod and well on my way to happiness! This is a great place, and it's great to see you here too. I'm waiting for you to turn all that woodworking experience to making knives!

Clyde, my first knives were cut out on a metal cutoff saw. Like you'd use for wood cutoffs, but with an abrasive metal cutting wheel in it. I'd clamp the steel edge up, cut a slot down to my profile, move it over 1/4" and cut another slot to the profile, etc. When I had the comb-looking rectangle of metal after about 10 or 15 minutes I'd clamp it in a big vise and knock the cut parts off with a hammer. Then like you I cleaned the edge up on a wheel grinder. That was a pretty painless, but very dirty, way to profile knives. This thread was very nostalgic for me, thanks. Keep up the good work!
 
At the risk of sounding like an ignoramus here Clyde, are you sanding the blade before filing/grinding in your blade bevels (it almost looks that way from your photos, but it's hard to tell and I'm not sure.) If so, you are probably wasting effort sanding material that will no longer be there once the bevels are done.
 
I'm not sure how much of a bevel I'll have, or if I'll have one yet. It's been kind of a design as I go knife, being that it's my first. I haven't figured out how to make the bevel without taking off any of my edge, and I wanted to be sure my edge was thick enough that it didn't crack when I fired it.
 
ddavelarsen said:
Robert, that's really cool. You made me feel just fine first thing in the morning, and you're right: This is the most sharing bunch of craftsmen anywhere. When I showed up here I was a total nimrod, had made some butt-ugly knives.
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I'm still about 90% nimrod :o but I definitely agree with you and Robert. I've said it before, I only hope one day I'll be able to help folks too :)
 
James_Terrio said:
I'm still about 90% nimrod :o but I definitely agree with you and Robert. I've said it before, I only hope one day I'll be able to help folks too :)
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You and everyone else here have already helped me more than I could have asked for - thanks friends.
 
ClydeWigg3 said:
I'm not sure how much of a bevel I'll have, or if I'll have one yet. It's been kind of a design as I go knife, being that it's my first. I haven't figured out how to make the bevel without taking off any of my edge, and I wanted to be sure my edge was thick enough that it didn't crack when I fired it.
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You have to have a bevel! Unless you're just making a knife shaped piece of steel? :confused: How do you have an edge without a bevel anyway? Not sure I understand and from what I see in the pics, it looks like there is no edge? Ok, I just took another look and I see the grind. It needs to come up a lot higher. It's at much too steep of an angle right now. Your edge won't crack when you quench it, if it's thin (sharp thin) it might warp so to avoid that grind the bevels and then leave the cutting edge about the thickness of a dime, then after the temper, grind it real slow and keep it cool.
 
ClydeWigg3 said:
I'm not sure how much of a bevel I'll have, or if I'll have one yet. It's been kind of a design as I go knife, being that it's my first. I haven't figured out how to make the bevel without taking off any of my edge, and I wanted to be sure my edge was thick enough that it didn't crack when I fired it.
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Well I'm a newbie, so take it for what it's worth, but I think you want to have bevels on your knife with 1/8" material. How you do it is up to you...you can file them, draw file them, use a belt grinder, use an angle grinder to rough them in. I hand filed my first blade without any jigs, but they are easy to make and will help a lot. They are sort of like an overgrown Lansky sharpener, so they hold a consistent angle. The bevel does not have to come all the way to the spine, but I think you need something. It's usually recommended to leave a dime or nickel thickness at the edge before HT to prevent cracks or warping. I've only quenched a few blades so far, but some of them have been far thinner than that and I haven't had any problems yet.

Good luck, and I look forward to seeing it when it's done!

Edited to add: here's a pic of mine that I hand filed from 1/4" material. It took forever and would have been much easier with 1/8" stock and a filing jig. I first filed in the plunge with a round file before working the bevels down.

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Clyde, I have made that exact shape as a skinner, and I just flat grind the whole blade to the edge. I add a final small secondary bevel to set the edge.
You have done a good job so far. I have enjoyed your journey.
Stacy
 
Sounds like Clyde has found a new addicti....uh, I mean hobby:)

Clyde, Looks like all these guys are truly trying to help, as you should have expected nothing less! Might I suggest go the the nearest Books-a-million and pick up a copy of "The fifty dollar knife shop" by Wayne Goddard. It will answer so many questions and give you so much help and inspiration- with pictures! Wayne's book was like finding a diamond in my garden for me. Now I have numerous media but Wayne's was the first and still a foundation to which I refer.

Then, find a good maker close to you and supply him with plenty of his favorite beverage and hang out until he tell's you you have to go home....
Oh- and start the equity line proceedings....your gonna need one....
 
If you go book-shopping, look for either "$50 Dollar Knife Shop" as Dennis said, or "The Wonder of Knifemaking", also by Goddard. "How to Make Knives" by the immortal Bob Loveless is excellent as well; it focuses more on stock-removal but also has a great chapter on forging by the legendary Bill Moran, and a chapter where Richard Barney makes a knife with hand-tools only. The Loveless chapter also includes how he made his sheaths.

I've borrowed "The Wonder..." from the library and should probably get my own copy; I own "$50..." and "How to..." and still refer to them. Darn good investments, all of them :thumbup: There have been many advancements since they were written, but the info is still valid. They're written not as technical manuals, more like the makers just showing how it's done and why.

Don't hesitate to snatch up any copy you may find of "Knives Annual (whatever year)" You will find 'knife porn' of the highest quality, showing world-class knives by the world's finest makers, including many who frequent this forum. Some of the gentlemen who've offered to help you in this very thread are represented in recent editions! Think about that for a second :)

Clyde, you seem to have a great attitude and you're learning fast. Keep it up!
 
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Knife Porn, huh?

Thanks for the much needed help! I've set it aside for a day or two and may get back to it tonight. Now that hunting season is over and just when I thought I might get back to my neglected lawn, this comes up - another hobby.
 
Not to beat a dead horse, Clyde, but reading all of the above I too wondered if you were going to heat treat the blade with practically no bevels. The profile looks good and all, and the surface looks pretty now, but it will get dirty looking all over again in the heat treat and you will be hating life if you leave that much steel to remove from the bevels until after HT when the steel is much harder to sand/grind. I'm rooting for you, keep it up! Another good one on knifemaking is "How to make Knives," by David Boye, and "The Complete Modern Bladesmith" by Jim Hrisoulas is a favorite of mine as well.

P.S. PJ 234, that pic was nice. Clean.
 
Thanks, vorpalknives!

Clyde,

Have you read many of the stickies or tutorials? I read a bunch, and the one that I felt gave me the best overview of the entire process was this one:

http://www.hossom.com/tutorial/jonesy/

I followed it pretty closely, and I somehow managed to end up with a functional knife. As mentioned above, resist the urge to say 'I'll just take care of that after HT'. Many times I felt that way during the making of my first blade, and anything that seems hard or slow going before HT will be exponentially more difficult after when the steel is hard.

Good luck!
 
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