First handmade knife. Tips, criticism and anything else.

T

thijsco19

Joined
Mar 17, 2013
Messages
110
Here is my first handmade knife.

Made from 3.3 mm thick O2 tool steel and dark-light green layered G10 with 4mm brass pins.
I really like how it turned out.
The overall length is 21 cm, the handle is just a bit larger then 10 cm.
Due to a mistake while cutting the G10 scales, one side had the dark side of the G10 and the other side of the knife has the light side.

Here are a couple pics.

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I really enjoyed making this knife, I have learned many of things.
For example make the grind higher and thinner. Use a different steel (like, 1080/84/95) and use thicker G10 scales.

Want to thank everyone on this forum and the amount of info!:thumbup:
 
Thnx, I knew that some one would bring that up.
Problem is that my G10 scales are a little to small for that, the next time I will try to get some thicker scales so I can give the handle contours.
The corner has a small radius/chamfer so there are no sharp corners.
And the most importend reason, it fits good in my hand :).
 
I think the overall shape looks very useful. I like the blade shape, and the handle looks comfortable to use. Not bad at all for a first knife.
 
Also, someone's going to mention it, so I might as well be the first. Try not to leave material on the guard. (The guard is the part just behind the cutting edge/sharpening notch.)

That way, it will look cleaner.
 
How did you get that texture on the G-10?
Did it come like that?
It appears to have it even where you tapered it toward the blade.
 
spydercobenchmadekai said:
Also, someone's going to mention it, so I might as well be the first. Try not to leave material on the guard. (The guard is the part just behind the cutting edge/sharpening notch.)

That way, it will look cleaner.
Click to expand...

Not sure what you mean, can you explain it a little bit better?

FTR-14c said:
How did you get that texture on the G-10?
Did it come like that?
It appears to have it even where you tapered it toward the blade.
Click to expand...

Forgot to mention it. After shaping the handle and glueing it in place I have sandblasted the handle. Thats why the pins have a that finish. (covered the blade with some tape)
 
I have some nice wood that is a bit thin for scales. My plan is to use liners to fill out the thickness a bit. Liners, from what I've read can be made from household materials (colored plastic packaging for example) although I'll use liner material that is made for this purpose. Vulcanized fiber liner is super inexpensive. Many people don't care for it, but a lot of very experienced makers say it works great. G10 is probably preferred, but is a bit more expensive. Just something to research if you have more of that g10 and want to use it, but also want to fill it out some.

Andy Roy (Fiddleback Forge) super glues g10 to g10. I tried it with vulcanized fiber (to micarta) and there is no way to separate it other than grinding it off.
 
thijsco19 said:
Not sure what you mean, can you explain it a little bit better?
Click to expand...

See the circled part in the picture below. You'll notice that there is no wood on the part that seperates the blade from the handle.



Strigamort said:
I have some nice wood that is a bit thin for scales. My plan is to use liners to fill out the thickness a bit. Liners, from what I've read can be made from household materials (colored plastic packaging for example) although I'll use liner material that is made for this purpose. Vulcanized fiber liner is super inexpensive. Many people don't care for it, but a lot of very experienced makers say it works great. G10 is probably preferred, but is a bit more expensive. Just something to research if you have more of that g10 and want to use it, but also want to fill it out some.

Andy Roy (Fiddleback Forge) super glues g10 to g10. I tried it with vulcanized fiber (to micarta) and there is no way to separate it other than grinding it off.
Click to expand...

Vulcanized fiber works very well for liners. With epoxy, it literally becomes part of the composite that you're gluing it to.
 
That's a good way to describe the bond. The stuff is slightly hygroscopic. Many use CA to seal it. I wouldn't use CA to bond it to the tang, obviously, but used against micarta and g10 seems to be more than sufficient.

My only negative personal experience has been a slight difficulty in finishing the edges, but I was much younger and probably inpatient then. The other problem I had was when trying to use three layers together. I wouldn't try that again, and if I needed that kind of thickness, would probably use g10.
 
spydercobenchmadekai said:
See the circled part in the picture below. You'll notice that there is no wood on the part that seperates the blade from the handle.

Click to expand...

Good idea I actually never thougt about doing that. Maybe I will in my next design.

Strigamort said:
I have some nice wood that is a bit thin for scales. My plan is to use liners to fill out the thickness a bit. Liners, from what I've read can be made from household materials (colored plastic packaging for example) although I'll use liner material that is made for this purpose. Vulcanized fiber liner is super inexpensive. Many people don't care for it, but a lot of very experienced makers say it works great. G10 is probably preferred, but is a bit more expensive. Just something to research if you have more of that g10 and want to use it, but also want to fill it out some.

Andy Roy (Fiddleback Forge) super glues g10 to g10. I tried it with vulcanized fiber (to micarta) and there is no way to separate it other than grinding it off.
Click to expand...
I have considered to use liners, at first I thought that my scales where thick enough. Also the place where I buy everything has a high shipping price. They have vulcanized fiber in stock so maybe I will buy some the next time I order there. (or anywhere else)
 
Good looking first. I'm willing to bet a lot was learned... yes?

If you're going with spacers may I suggest G10 over the vulcanized product. Many will cite issues with the vulc stuff, and they aren't wrong. I discovered it took thinning out my epoxy and soaking the fiber before glue-up to keep moisture out. Otherwise the stuff likes to swell with moisture. It doesn't swell at the same rate as other materials either which leads to delamination. It will also discolor if it is light colored fiber. G10's only real issue is it likes to be roughed up to stick well. It is worth the buck or two difference IMO.

-Eric
 
Thanks, yes I learned a lot with this first one. (which is always a good thing)

Thank you for the input, I think I will stick to just G10/micarta/wooden scales first and make a couple knife before I'll use liners.
 
Definitely a keeper. Not a perfect masterpiece but it looks to be a heavy duty user. I am just going to guess that the blade is about 4" (10cm) long.
 
agile_1 said:
Definitely a keeper. Not a perfect masterpiece but it looks to be a heavy duty user. I am just going to guess that the blade is about 4" (10cm) long.
Click to expand...

Something like that indeed, between 10 and 11 cm long.


spydercobenchmadekai said:
Also, if you aren't already, use a good-quality respirator, eye goggles, and ear plugs.
Click to expand...

Since most is stock removel/file work I didn't use goggles ear plugs and a respirator for most of the time. But whenever I used power tools I used them.
 
spydercobenchmadekai said:
Also, someone's going to mention it, so I might as well be the first. Try not to leave material on the guard. (The guard is the part just behind the cutting edge/sharpening notch.)

That way, it will look cleaner.
Click to expand...

This is purely personal preference but I like the G-10 on the guard, it looks very comfortable.
 
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