First bowie & "real" flat grind

southriv

southriv

Joined
Feb 28, 2002
Messages
751
Wanting to try flat grinding, I got a Bader III last December . I had only done a couple flat grinds on a 1"x30". Most of the grinding seemed to get done with a file. When I got the Bader. I milled the platen, but it still did not feel right. Last month I bought a pyroceram strip from Steve and now it feels right.

This is my first Bowie and real flat ground blade. I was able to manage somewhat of a distal taper – though not a true distal taper. The final grinding was done using an A6 Norzon belt. This enabled me to see any imperfections. I then hand finished it by "stoning" it with 320 & 400 grit edm stones, then sanding to 1000 grit. Some specs:

16.25" OAL
10.25" blade of 154CM - Paul Bos HT
Nickel silver guard and ferrule
Stabilized striped maple burl handle

I was trying for a simple design for a well-balanced knife. I am pleased with the results, but know how much further I can go with this if I forge and incorporate a real distal taper. Anyway, I finally got my anvil mounted & as soon as get my used NC forge set up I am going to give it a whirl.

Click the link below for a look. Let me know what you think

http://www.southriverknifeworks.com/page10ab.html

Bob
 
First of all Bob, that's a beauty! Everything looks great to me. From the camera angle I can't see what kind of distal taper it has. What do you mean by "somewhat of a distal taper"?

BTW... I'm glad to hear that you're getting the smithy setup.

Rick
 
Hey Rick, I managed to get a taper at the spine started from the beginning of the ricasso, but could not maintain a true, straight line down to the tip. The taper gets more pronounced as you move down the blade. As I understand, one version of a distal taper is one you could put straight edge on. I did manage to get some weight off the blade for better balance, which is what I was really trying to do.

....got some 1084, 5160 and a bunch of ball bearing races ready to go. I'll be using that Type "A" I got from you to do much of the hardening.

Bob
 
I love that long false edge. It makes it look fast,if that makes sense. BTW... What is pyrocream??
 
George - I should be at the hammer-in. I'll bring this along. I've been out of touch for a while helping a family member.

Uparope - pyroceram is a glass -like material. It's about 1/4" thick. When applied to a flat platen, it keeps the heat and friction friction down, and it stays flat lot longer than the metal platen material. To me, it has a much smoother feel when drawing the blade across the platen.

If you want a piece to fit your grinder, contact this fellow:

http://www.stevescutlery.com


Bob
 
Nice Job. It just seems to flow from tip to tip. I really like that handle material too. :cool:

Bill
 
Great looking bowie! By distal taper, I think it's like a convex edge, most maker's have there version of it. On some knives I like to go from the gaurd, sometimes ricasso, to the tip in a straight line. on most bowies I like to go about half way then taper, depending on desighn.

BTW, I recently got a piece of pyroceram for my Coote, and it works great! Realy cuts down handrubing time to get everything flat.
 
Bob,

I should have mentioned this on my post about your well done job. I too got the glass strip (can't remember how to spell pyrocerom???) from Steve. It really made a difference for me. I like it much better than the graphite strip I had put on the Coote. I still notice bumps from the belt splices though. I suppose I'll need to try the high end belts next time I make and order with Pop's.

The flat grind really looks good to me Bob. I think; and I know you have much more experience than I; that you are working yourself too hard and long by hand filing. You can do most all of that with your machine. A finish hand sanding is in order but you do not have to kill yourself time-wise on the grind by hand. Your work, to me, is well done and I hold you as a standard for which I wish to achieve.

Roger
 
Roger - Thanks for the kind words. I too have the same feeling about excessive filing - that's why it has been about a year since I've done a flat ground blade!

If there is one thing I've comes across that has cut down the work, its Norzon belts. Regardless of what I do on the grinder now, I use the same process; Rough grind with a 60 zirc, cleanup & finish with a 220 ceramic, then, after HT, these Norons: A45, A30, A16, A6. From there I can go to mirror polish starting with 600, or leave a satin 600 or 1000 grit surface, or just stop at the A16 for another kind of satin finish.

For this blade I really did like using the EDM stones after the A6 - the fine grits cut really well, they makes the surfaces dead flat and removes and remaining scratches - sanding is quick after that.

Will - your right, I just read that there are many versions of the distal taper - personal preference, design , performance all seem to be factors.

Take it easy, Bob
 
Damn nice job there. It looks like a really nice piece there. They keep looking better and better to me.
 
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