First Efforts by (possibly) your newest knife maker

Col Defender

Col Defender

Joined
Nov 11, 2011
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1,398
Good Morning!

Here are the first three knives I have ever made. Hopefully I can get some expert opinions/criticisms. (Everyone likes compliments but sometimes critiques do more good in the long run.) #1 at top left was made at Ethan Becker's gathering in May with expert supervision and the other two at home on my own. The two smaller ones are edc and the largest one will be my deer and bear hunting knife this fall. All are 1084 with lacewood on #1 and cocobolo on the other two. They all have small imperfections which do not show in the picture but I am declaring them "done" and will try to get better on each knife I make; they are all sharp and usable.



On the two I did at home, I had to improvise my heat treating process. I have a tiny cast iron wood stove which I filled with charcoal and then used my shop vac with hose reversed. (This got them really hot SCARY FAST and I worry that getting them orange hot and non magnetic so quickly may not have been the best idea; I'll try to slow the process down next time.) Then they went in warm Canola Oil for about 15 seconds, followed by 2 one hour sessions in a 400 degree oven. They are definitely hard - I was unable to drill a hole in the handle steel of #3 even with my drill press.

The diagonal lines on the top two are from using them as steak knives and so far I cannot get it off. I know lots of guys like a food patina but I'd rather keep them shiny - any ideas?

So that's it - I hope to get some helpful comments here and thanks in advance to everyone.

Steve
 
For early efforts those look pretty darn good. I would say you might work a little more on pin placement and handle shaping. The first one looks pretty blocky. Actually, they all do to a degree, but some people like the blocky look so it's a matter of taste.

The bevels on the big one look odd... that or the image they are reflecting took an odd dip near the tip. In any case, I'd suggest you learn how to file/grind the bevels so that you can attain a flatter angle (less convexed), unless convex grind is what you're shooting for. Mostly this means learning to lock your elbows so you can move the file at the correct angle (or move the blade at the correct angle relative to the grinder).

Keep at it an you will see improvement with each blade. Focus on at least one thing specifically on each blade that you want to do better, and spend the time to learn that new skill and apply it.
 
Not bad at all, Old Timer. (You are one of the few folks here I can call that :) )
Your overall shaping is really good for a first attempt. That is a good thing, because you probably only have twenty or thirty good knifemaking years left to get it perfect.

These look good for users. Work on your handles, especially pin alignment and rounding the sides. As time goes by you will improve the blade finish.
 
Thanks guys - and Tryppyr you have a good eye. Blade #1 is FFG and was done partly by me with an expert at my elbow or by the expert himself. I convexed the others since I have a little experience convexing factory Beckers and I thought I could manage it. Maybe I should try a FFG on my next one??? Truthfully I am not sure of the relative merits of FFG vs Convex. I know a lot of Becker guys like to convex their knives but so far I have not heard of anyone flattening a blade which was already convex.

Anyone have thoughts on my heat processing?
 
I'm pretty far from an expert but overall worthy fist knives. First thing that stood out was the handles need more rounding like Bladsmth mentioned. The scales look like maybe they were a bit thin to begin with from the pics which maybe makes them harder to round out and the appear to be some scratches in the blades. The big one the pin placement seems out of alignment and personally I think the one pin is too far forward which might cause a weak spot towards the front of the handle. Patience and diligence are the keys to keeping the blade scratch free. Alternate angles as you move up in grits so you can see the scratches from the previous grit and don't advance to the next finer grit until until you know you eliminated the scratches from the previous grit. Take the blade up to 400 grit before you HT it. Repeat the same process post HT until you get up to the desired finish. On your second to last and finish grit don't sand back and forth start in the plunge and pull the paper and sanding block in one direction come off the blade and repeat this will avoid fishhooks in your finish. You can get a nice satin finish at 600 or 800 this way provided those are the only marks on the blade.

For getting a nice plunge lines cut them in with a chainsaw file and move the plunge up the blade lowering the angle of attack until you get to or close to the desired height then file or grind from there to thin out the rest of the blade. If you're filing draw file the blade to keep the bevels flat and even. And just about everyone has "imperfections" to them on the knives they make the thing that makes the difference is how well you hide them ;)
 
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