First go and intro

[MJB206]

Hello everyone - new member here from south of Seattle.
I’ve been reading through the forum for a while now. I completed my first knife the other day and while I’m not 100% happy with it, I learned about 50 things I’ll do differently on the next one. It’s made from a Nicholson file with zebra wood scales. Angle grinder and a cheap 1x30”. You can see I experimented with the bevels a bit. I may go back and re grind it at some point but for now it’s sharp enough to shave hairs.

Looking forward to future conversations
Michael

 

[3fifty7]

Congrats. That’s a decent first go at it.
Many learn by making mistakes, I did and still do.
What improvements do you feel you are capable of making next time?

 

[MJB206]

Congrats. That’s a decent first go at it. Many learn by making mistakes, I did and still do. What improvements do you feel you are capable of making next time?

Thank you! As for improvements:

- Less of a hurry - I knocked this one out fast just to see if I could do it - I was heading out of town for a trap shooting competition and wanted to bring it with me
- Overall design - more thought to the final shape
- Plunge lines - more defined and even
- Bevel - correct and even
- Belt sander - have a better/more appropriate set of belts
- Less aggressive with sanding the scales - I rounded it more than I intended, although it is really comfortable in the hand
- Cleaning up the blade to a better finish
- If I end up doing another file knife, I’d like to learn more about anealing - I went through a couple drill bits drilling the holes for the pins - it was still too hard

All in all I’ve done a lot of reading and video watching since. I have some blanks on order so I’m hoping to find someone local for heat treating.

 

[jfk1110]

Not bad.....There's no rush.....Enjoy the process........looking forward to watching your progression!!!

 

[BuckeyeBladeFan]

Congratulations and welcome. And I applaud your willingness to share early work and get feedback.

You may want to post in the Shop Talk section as it is full of other makers eager to help and provide advice.

Best of luck on your journey

 

[RokJok]

If it is sharp enough to shave hair, it answers the primary function for a knife. Note the "fun" comes first. Hope you continue the quest & enjoy the process, so we can see the fruits of your labors.

Knife Handle Material Tip:
Both Gilmer Woods and Goby Walnut down in Portland OR (they're really close together) a few hours south of you have scrap bins where you can get exotic & domestic wood species cutoffs. It was cheap back in the day. Not sure about now. Crosscut Hardwoods on NW Front Ave is also close to them & worth a look. Happy hunting.

Edit to add:
Jarod Todd in Colville WA is a commercial heat treater. Peters' Heat Treating is another. I'm sure there are plenty more. The makers in the Shop Talk forum that BuckeyeBladeFan mentioned will likely give recommends on heat treaters you can try.

Apologies if you already know this, being a shooter. There might be a knife maker at a Washington Arms Collectors (WAC) show that would undertake heat treating for you. Show schedule and locations are on their website. Puyallup is a common venue for their shows.

 

[MJB206]

If it is sharp enough to shave hair, it answers the primary function for a knife. Note the "fun" comes first. Hope you continue the quest & enjoy the process, so we can see the fruits of your labors.

Knife Handle Material Tip:
Both Gilmer Woods and Goby Walnut down in Portland OR (they're really close together) a few hours south of you have scrap bins where you can get exotic & domestic wood species cutoffs. It was cheap back in the day. Not sure about now. Crosscut Hardwoods on NW Front Ave is also close to them & worth a look. Happy hunting.

Edit to add:
Jarod Todd in Colville WA is a commercial heat treater. Peters' Heat Treating is another. I'm sure there are plenty more. The makers in the Shop Talk forum that BuckeyeBladeFan mentioned will likely give recommends on heat treaters you can try.

Apologies if you already know this, being a shooter. There might be a knife maker at a Washington Arms Collectors (WAC) show that would undertake heat treating for you. Show schedule and locations are on their website. Puyallup is a common venue for their shows.

Thank you so much for the info. We are down in Portland fairly often to visit family, so I’ll have to give those places a look.

I’ve ordered up some steel and handle supplies from an online source. I have a Pheer on the way but Jose is quoting about 35 days of lead time.

As for heat treating - when I was ready I was going to ask the shop talk forum if there were any makers local to me who heat treat their own - and if they’d be willing to walk me through the process and ask questions. If not, I’ve been reading up on some of those that you mentioned.

I’m the meantime I have a couple designs ready.

I appreciate the info!