First few knives

D

Destraal

Joined
May 28, 2008
Messages
135
Well I finally decided to post a few pictures of my first 3 finished knives and some WIP pictures of my 4th. Big ongoing issues seem to be: keeping stuff flat, keeping epoxy out of places I don't want it, matching up wood and tang(goes in with keeping stuff flat), heat treatment, and grinding bevels to a lesser degree.

First knife (gave it to my the older of my two younger brothers):
IMG_1485.jpg


Second knife (kept for myself):
IMG_1520.jpg


Third knife (went to the younger of my two younger brothers):
IMG_1556.jpg

The markings on the blade are from a patina that was on it that I decided didn't match the handle at all, so I buffed most of it off. Personally I think the blade looks good with what's left of the patina.
IMG_1557.jpg


Fourth knife (going to me):
IMG_1540-1.jpg

IMG_1573.jpg

I seem to have messed up the tapering of the tang on this one, it's well tapered on one side, but almost flat on the other side.

Well, that's all I got at the moment, any comments or suggestions would be greatly appreciated. Please feel free to let me have it, chances are good that I've already let myself have it worse.
 
Very respectable first efforts. :thumbup: I was going to say the only critique I would make (and it is more of an opinion and a critique) would be to reduce the embellishments and continue to focus on the fit and geometry. But I do like the embellishment on those knives.

I personally prefer higher grinds, I feel it cuts better and it makes the blade handle better, but there are many folks who grind them low too.

Very nice.
 
Well thanks. Couple of quick questions though. By embellishments I assume that includes filework, but what else would be included in that, at least as far as I've done? Also, how exactly can you get a much higher grind line without switching to a larger contact wheel or ending up with a hollow in the wrong place?
 
Very cool blades, great effort...
I did mess up with the tapering of some knives as well. To mark the taper lines on the sides corrected the problems I encounter. But it is always tricky to make the taper perfect, sometimes I forget to start with a perfect flat or work in a hurry....
 
Destraal said:
Well thanks. Couple of quick questions though. By embellishments I assume that includes filework, but what else would be included in that, at least as far as I've done? Also, how exactly can you get a much higher grind line without switching to a larger contact wheel or ending up with a hollow in the wrong place?
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Yes, I was talking about the file work. Embellishments often end up being a detriment to first attempts and prevent folks from focusing on fundamentals. But in your case, I think your file work adds to the knife.

Yeah, there is a practical limit to the height of the grind for a given contact wheel. Remember, I wasn't saying you are "doing something wrong". These look great. You asked for comments, and my mine would be that the first two knives look like they might cut better with higher grinds. My .02

If these are your first three knives you're far ahead of most folks. Very nice.
 
Good Job so far. I do think though that sticking with simple at first and making it as nice as you can and slowly adding embellishments as you progress is a good idea. When I first started I was all about filework and other fancy stuff but these days 95% of the time I prefer simple. Of course thats not to say filework doesnt have its place.

Again good job!
 
Great job! My first few were not that good. I think your fit and finish are pretty good out of the gate. I think you are headed off to a great start. My only "critique" would be the bolster on the second knife. I think it would look more balanced if it were not as long (from front to rear). That is just the way I would do it. However, we all have different tastes. Having said that, I love the top view of that knife. I really like the file work and am impressed by the thinness of the handle. Many guys (me included) start out making pretty blocky handles, and gradually learn to thin things down and make them more rounded. Looks like you've got a handle on that part already.
Welcome to the addiction!:D (May God have mercy on your soul...or at least your wallet ;)
Ed
 
Very nice work, i'm pretty jaded these days and i'm impressd by what you've done.
It looks like youre ahead more than most with the learning curves involved.
Listen to the other knifemakers here as they all seem to be real friendly and helpful people and i'm sure you'll do very well. And i love your filework, it just makes things look sweet.

I like the two your keeping for yourself,but i really like the first one with the bolster. What kind of slabs are you gonna put on the last one,if i might ask?

Peace.
 
Nathan the Machinist said:
Yeah, there is a practical limit to the height of the grind for a given contact wheel. Remember, I wasn't saying you are "doing something wrong". These look great. You asked for comments, and my mine would be that the first two knives look like they might cut better with higher grinds. My .02
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Sorry, I honestly wasn't trying to sound defensive, was just wondering if there was something I didn't know. I most certainly appreciate your comments. Larger contact wheels are certainly on my wishlist, but having just started knifemaking I don't have a whole lot of spare change to buy any with.

happycat said:
My only "critique" would be the bolster on the second knife. I think it would look more balanced if it were not as long (from front to rear). That is just the way I would do it. However, we all have different tastes.
Click to expand...
It's funny you should say that because I completely agree with you, although I think you mean the third knife, second one with a bolster. To be perfectly honest, that knife is the one I like the profile and look of the least, although I do like the filework on that one. There's just something about filework sandwiched between handle material that looks great to me. I haven't quite figured out how to keep epoxy out of it though, or even whether I want to keep epoxy out of it.

Karda said:
I like the two your keeping for yourself,but i really like the first one with the bolster. What kind of slabs are you gonna put on the last one,if i might ask?
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The last one is going to have a nickel-silver bolster similar to the second knife, and cocobolo slabs. My plan is to shape the wood thinner near the blade and have it flare out a bit towards the butt of the handle. A little hard to explain but it should be done within a week or so and I will probably post pictures of it.

Of course these knives took me a while to make, and there was one before the first one, but I only rough shaped that one and never finished it. You guys have really been the biggest help to me learning, I've been lurking around here for months reading as many threads as I can. Thanks again for all the helpful comments and criticism.
 
I'm impressed that you did so many nice embellishments on your first knives. I like filework and yours really looks pretty darn good. I didn't try to dovetail any bolsters for a very long time; that takes guts too. ;) Nice job.

When I'm tapering a tang I mark a double centerline at the hilt of the knife the way I would when grinding the blade. Chamfer the hilt the way you would for your blade grind too. That will give you a grinding "target" when you're tapering. I usually take the hollows all the way to the hilt and as high/low on the handle as possible (that has to be dead center on the handle). This leaves less metal to grind away while you're tapering, which believe me makes the job a whole lot more fun. :D I don't think there's anything I like more on a full tang knife than a very deeply tapered tang. That's when you know the maker cares what he's making and is willing to go the extra mile. And I know you are, you showed it already.

I like the way your fourth knife is shaping up too. Keep developing your style; I expect that ultimately you'll make simpler designs that are very distinctive. Great work, thanks for sharing.

Oh - one last thing. It looks like you've put an edge on your fourth knife already. Yikes! I understand how tempting that is but I'd be sure it's really dull before I got it too near any machinery. :eek: !
 
ddavelarsen said:
When I'm tapering a tang I mark a double centerline at the hilt of the knife the way I would when grinding the blade. Chamfer the hilt the way you would for your blade grind too. That will give you a grinding "target" when you're tapering. I usually take the hollows all the way to the hilt and as high/low on the handle as possible (that has to be dead center on the handle). This leaves less metal to grind away while you're tapering, which believe me makes the job a whole lot more fun. :D I don't think there's anything I like more on a full tang knife than a very deeply tapered tang. That's when you know the maker cares what he's making and is willing to go the extra mile. And I know you are, you showed it already.

I like the way your fourth knife is shaping up too. Keep developing your style; I expect that ultimately you'll make simpler designs that are very distinctive. Great work, thanks for sharing.

Oh - one last thing. It looks like you've put an edge on your fourth knife already. Yikes! I understand how tempting that is but I'd be sure it's really dull before I got it too near any machinery. :eek: !
Click to expand...

I never quite understood the definition of chamfer with respect to knifemaking. Does it mean just to basically grind the edges down a bit or what?

Don't worry, the fourth knife has no edge on it yet, the thinnest it gets is .038" which is still somewhat meaty. I get enough tiny random cuts as it is, certainly don't want to start getting big random cuts.
 
Sorry, basically chamfer is just a 45 degree grind along a 90 degree edge, taking that edge off. Does that make sense?
 
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