first design, opinions?

gixxer1237 said:
I buy trim wood at Lowe's and make full on prototypes out of em. Complete with handles and rivets to see how they feel. Gives me grinding practice on my 4x36 sander and lets practice finishing. Plus the kids love em.
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that's a great idea! Just ordered 48"x2.5"x1/8" of 1084 from aldo! Can't wait for it to get here! Now to pick some handle material
 
It would help to know what the intended purpose of the knife is, if asking opinions on design. If you ask purely from an aesthetics perspective then beauty is in the eye of the beholder. If asking whether your knife would serve x, y, or z function then it would be best to specify what that function is. Otherwise the exercise is about like handing a surgeon an axe and asking him "what do you think?"
 
NStricker said:
It would help to know what the intended purpose of the knife is, if asking opinions on design. If you ask purely from an aesthetics perspective then beauty is in the eye of the beholder. If asking whether your knife would serve x, y, or z function then it would be best to specify what that function is. Otherwise the exercise is about like handing a surgeon an axe and asking him "what do you think?"
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yes I apologize, didn't think about that. I will probably just use it as a utility knife, light chopping of brush, cutting rope and twine things of that nature
 


here is my refined design using x and y axis. the only question I have is about the handle in this design. should fact that more of the handle is -y cause a lot of issues? not sure if I mentioned this will be full tang
 
gixxer1237 said:
I buy trim wood at Lowe's and make full on prototypes out of em. Complete with handles and rivets to see how they feel. Gives me grinding practice on my 4x36 sander and lets practice finishing. Plus the kids love em.
Click to expand...

That is an awesome idea!!
 
OK, now you are getting the idea. 100% improvement.

Notice how the top of the butt and the point are on the same plane?
Notice how the balance of the blade and the handle fit/
Notice how the "flow" of the knife from butt to tip is much more smooth?


All very good improvements.

Next group of suggestions:
Take the lip off the top of the handle butt. It will be VERY unfriendly to the hand.
Move the lanyard hole in more ( it is too close to the edge). Also, try drawing it down to the bottom of the butt. It may look better there.
Try drawing the knife without any dip in the spine. If you want it after the profile is cut out, you can add it later when finishing the blade. I used to put those dips in many knives, but now leave them off all but small hunter/skinners.
Try drawing the blade with the blade one less row of graph spaces narrower. This will line the edge up with the handle a bit better. It may or may not appeal to you more this way. Most first knives are quite wide, but as you learn to make them, you will make much narrower blade. The edge does the cutting. Most of the rest of the blade is there merely to support the edge. If used for heavy chopping, then more mass in the blade is good. If used for utility cutting and slicing, a thinner blade will be easier to use.
Final comment - try and smooth up the curve where the blade edge comes off the tip and goes into the bottom edge. Make it a tad fatter at the tip part, and the curve smooth and consistent as it goes back. Right now it is two intersecting planes, not a smooth curve.

I don't recall if you discussed the thickness, but 1/8" is a good thickness for a first knife of that size.
 
bladsmth said:
OK, now you are getting the idea. 100% improvement.

Notice how the top of the butt and the point are on the same plane?
Notice how the balance of the blade and the handle fit/
Notice how the "flow" of the knife from butt to tip is much more smooth?


All very good improvements.

Next group of suggestions:
Take the lip off the top of the handle butt. It will be VERY unfriendly to the hand.
Move the lanyard hole in more ( it is too close to the edge). Also, try drawing it down to the bottom of the butt. It may look better there.
Try drawing the knife without any dip in the spine. If you want it after the profile is cut out, you can add it later when finishing the blade. I used to put those dips in many knives, but now leave them off all but small hunter/skinners.
Try drawing the blade with the blade one less row of graph spaces narrower. This will line the edge up with the handle a bit better. It may or may not appeal to you more this way. Most first knives are quite wide, but as you learn to make them, you will make much narrower blade. The edge does the cutting. Most of the rest of the blade is there merely to support the edge. If used for heavy chopping, then more mass in the blade is good. If used for utility cutting and slicing, a thinner blade will be easier to use.
Final comment - try and smooth up the curve where the blade edge comes off the tip and goes into the bottom edge. Make it a tad fatter at the tip part, and the curve smooth and consistent as it goes back. Right now it is two intersecting planes, not a smooth curve.

I don't recall if you discussed the thickness, but 1/8" is a good thickness for a first knife of that size.
Click to expand...

ok I will try again tonight, but I do see an improvement in how much easier it was to draw a blade design I was proud of. Sorry the material I ordered from Aldo is 1/8 (,125)
 
Along the lines of what Stacy is eluding to; in use, the edge of a blade should contact the item being cut, "before" the hand encounters the horizontal surface. If the handle sets below the cutting edge the tendency is to hit your fingers before the cut is made. Kitchen knives are a good example; the blade is carried below the handle. The tip of a blade is more useful if it is down and below the hand. Its how the human hand works most efficiently. The greater part of the time its the tip and the first 1 1/2" of the blade where the work takes place; if this area is the main focus when designing a blade, the results should be very functional.

Just my view, Fred
 
Fred.Rowe said:
Along the lines of what Stacy is eluding to; in use, the edge of a blade should contact the item being cut, "before" the hand encounters the horizontal surface. If the handle sets below the cutting edge the tendency is to hit your fingers before the cut is made. Kitchen knives are a good example; the blade is carried below the handle. The tip of a blade is more useful if it is down and below the hand. Its how the human hand works most efficiently. The greater part of the time its the tip and the first 1 1/2" of the blade where the work takes place; if this area is the main focus when designing a blade, the results should be very functional.

Just my view, Fred
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Thank you for pointing this out, I hadn't thought of any of this. Thanks!
 


Here's another shot! It's almost like whenever I take ya'lls advice, my drawings get better.......lol. I didn't think it was possible for me to draw out a knife like this
 
That is a great knife.

The only place that could use a tad more curve is that transition from tip to edge in the first 1/3 of the blade. It will work fine as it is, but I would bet that in the final shaping and sharpening it gets a bit more curve to it.
 
I enjoy these threads and love watching the transformation of design as new makers absorb information.

Very nice final design. Fred
 
gixxer1237 said:
I buy trim wood at Lowe's and make full on prototypes out of em. Complete with handles and rivets to see how they feel. Gives me grinding practice on my 4x36 sander and lets practice finishing. Plus the kids love em.
Click to expand...


I've also found that the wooden paint stir sticks work well for this too.
 
Thanks guys! I think this will be my first knife, even though I ordered enough steel to make 6-10. I really appreciate all the great advice! I promise I will getting more advice once the material comes in and metal meets metal!
 
That steel will go quick. Before you're finished with this first one, you'll have a hundred ideas for how to make your next one better.

- Chris
 
Hesparus said:
That steel will go quick. Before you're finished with this first one, you'll have a hundred ideas for how to make your next one better.

- Chris
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Yeah I imagine this hobby will have me constantly refining my work, no matter how good I get at it. I am gonna stay with it until I get really good one day, hopefully. again thanks to Coop, Bladsmth, and all of you guys who have helped thus far!
 
TIP:
If you have enough steel to make six knives, make them all exactly like this pattern. Only do one at a time, and complete each one before starting the next. You will make small changes to accommodate things you discovered on the earlier ones, and each will be subtly different from the last. The last should show a remarkable improvement over the first. You will be amazed at how well this will allow to hone in your skills.
 
bladsmth said:
TIP:
If you have enough steel to make six knives, make them all exactly like this pattern. Only do one at a time, and complete each one before starting the next. You will make small changes to accommodate things you discovered on the earlier ones, and each will be subtly different from the last. The last should show a remarkable improvement over the first. You will be amazed at how well this will allow to hone in your skills.
Click to expand...

That's exactly what I plan on doing. I should have enough to make about 6 of these, and with the drop I am gonna try my hand at designing a neck knife and make some of those with what's left! I can't wait. I also want to work with some different handle materials. As far as handle materials go, Coop told me I need to following safety precautions if working with g10 and or carbon fiber. is working with CF similar to working with ffiberglass? I assume I need a respirator, long sleeves, and of course through it all eye protection. I will start with Micarta though
 
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