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First Blade done

B

bodam

Joined
Sep 8, 2014
Messages
102
I just my first batch of cutouts back from HT, and finished this up last night. I learned quite a bit, since this was my first complete knife.

Make sure you have it smoothed out BEFORE HT! This poor bevel still needs work, but frankly, I just got tired of wasting paper rubbing it, lol.

It's a rough work, but it's #1, so I'm still proud of it. My next batch were finished much better before they went to HT, so hopefully they will come out a little better.

But I have to say, I'm having a blast with knife making, and I can't wait to ditch the 1x30 and get a big boy grinder. I think the upgrade will definitely help with the quality of work. Namely the ability to switch belts and get better grits will be huge.

Hopefully it will let me upload some pics...





 
Last edited:
Not bad at all - congratulations on finishing your first knife.

The two things that need attention on the next ones are:
1) Sand to 400 grit smooth before HT. Get it flat, straight, and every scratch out before making it hard.
2) Place the rivets a bit farther inward on the handle, or add a middle rivet.
 
I actually had a pin hole halfway, but I decided not to use it at the last minute. My grinding definitely needs work, but working on the 1x30 sucks, the platen is so small it's hard to keep the blade square.

But whatever, gotta start somewhere. Thanks for the input. I'm also having hell with the plunge line, I think that's what it's called.
 
bodam said:
working on the 1x30 sucks, the platen is so small it's hard to keep the blade square.
Click to expand...

The platen on my 1x30 is also flimsy and flexible. I've seen people that upgrade the HF 1x30's by making a nice platen out of aluminum for it. There's no overcoming the width issue I guess. My first blade on mine turned out not too bad, though I cleaned up the grind with a file afterwards.
 
Rough blade since it was heat treated with 80 grit finish.

Next batch are finished to 400 before HT
 
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