First finished knife!

E

englishteacher

Joined
Oct 24, 2002
Messages
84
A couple of weeks ago I posted a knife which was a mess and I scrapped it. So, this is officially my first. I would love any critique you are willing to give. I am really excited to get to this point after a couple of months of planning and lots of hours working on it (at least 25 hours, but I didn't really keep track--probably more).

Specs: 1/8" 1084 from Aldo's. Homemade micarta with alternating strips of black and grey t-shirts and Bondo resin. Craftsman 2x42: ground all freehand (no rests or jigs) with orange 60 and 120, and then A160 and A65 Trizac. Then hand sanded 120, 220, 320, 400.

Then heated treated in 2-brick propane forge and tempered twice for 2 hours at 425. It worked great the first time! I was actually kind of shocked how easy this step went.

Then hand sanded 220, 400, 600.

My own critique is: bevels and plunges are a little bit different side-to-side, and my bevel line is soft. How can I make that line more distinct? I can clearly grind much better with my right hand on the handle than my left. Need practice for sure! Also, I got into some bubbles as I sanded down the micarta. And I hit the spine too hard with the Dremel flap wheel while shaping the handles and it caused a dip. I sanded it out some, but it was getting to be a low spot in the spine line, so I stopped. And now I see some scratches on the bottom of the spine in my pix...

Thank you so much to all here on this forum for the information necessary to build this knife!

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Nice job! I would round the front of the scales a little instead of having them straight. I also would try to take the edge a little thinner as it looks like it's .025" or better. Overall I think it's well done!
 
Matt R said:
Nice job! I would round the front of the scales a little instead of having them straight. I also would try to take the edge a little thinner as it looks like it's .025" or better. Overall I think it's well done!
Click to expand...

Thank you, Matt. I measured right above the new edge, and it's .035. What should I shoot for?
 
That's a good looking first knife, A lot better than mine was. I like your micarta it has a good contrast on the handle. If you want your plunge lines more even try using your file guide that should get you lined up good.
 
englishteacher said:
Thank you, Matt. I measured right above the new edge, and it's .035. What should I shoot for?
Click to expand...

.010-.015" makes it slice better. You will have to be careful not to overheat the edge when it gets thin. Also, try taking your grind about 7/8 the way up next time. These are just small things that will increase the performance.
 
Congrats upon completing your first knife, hang on to it. It will always have a special meaning to you. In addition to the above recommendations, I would add that the handle appears to be just slightly "plump" towards the ricasso area. This could create more fatigue during use. Just my 2 cents worth. Welcome to your new addiction!
 
As an absolute nOOb myself, that looks beautiful. What an awesome feeling of accomplishment when looking at something you made and thinking "That looks too nice for something I could have done." :-) Awesome!

Jeff W. Zimba
 
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