- Joined
- May 17, 2006
- Messages
- 450
Wow, I am truly flattered by all of your responses. I am just starting out so this type of response really means a lot. I made this knife from 1/4" x 2" 5160 barstock. I draw the design out on posterboard and then use that as a stencil to transfer it to the barstock. The flat grinding was done on a Craftsman 2x42 belt sander. To get the flats really flat, I switched of between the grinder and hand filing. I hand sanded the finish up to 600 grit. I got a ton of tutoring from Ken Coats who I am lucky enough to have live in the same town. He has been very helpful and patient with me calling him and asking him for advice. We actually did the heat treating in his shop and we were both equally surprised when the 13.5" OAL knife didn't warp or crack when quenched considering it was my first one. What I consider to be the most important things in doing this is attention to detail. I got all the way to final finish a couple of times and realized that something wasn't just right so it was back to the grinder for a few more passes. I'm looking forward to making more and if the interest is high enough, I might start selling them. For now I am going to work on perfecting my methods as I don't think it is fair to take people's hard earned money until I can produce something that is up to my standards of perfection. Thanks again everyone who has offered me kind words.
