First knife, Bit off more than I can file? Nahhhh

Excellent job so far, and hey one tip on tempering in a home oven, get a separate thermometer for inside the oven and place it right next to the knife. I was glad I did it in mine because it was 50 degrees off from what the knob said!
 
tryppyr said:
What a disaster! I can't believe you made such egregious mistakes! Horrible... just horrible!!!

:D

Just kidding of course. Looks good so far. Sure, there are some things I would have done differently... such as getting rid of all the deep scratches before going to HT. I know you said you went to 600 grit but the photos say something different, especially next to the plunge. You'll find it is now MUCH harder to get rid of those, and I'm guessing you'll choose to just live with them. My advice would be to sand until they are gone. Sometimes working too hard to correct a mistake is the best way to learn to not make that mistake again.
Click to expand...

Thanks for the comments, tryppyr. I appreciate it. The "scratches" you see were just how the scotchbrite pad I used to clean off the scale after heat treating though. I wanted to be able to see what color the blade was turning after temping so I soaked the blade in some warm vinegar and scrubbed it off with a scotchbrite pad.

I did, however, notice some scratches on other parts of the blade that I missed.....and yup......they're a real pain in the ass to get out now. Oh well, when you're making a knife from scratch pretty much with all hand tools, it means you're not afraid of some elbow grease ;)

BallewBlade said:
Excellent job so far, and hey one tip on tempering in a home oven, get a separate thermometer for inside the oven and place it right next to the knife. I was glad I did it in mine because it was 50 degrees off from what the knob said!
Click to expand...

Not a bad idea. Noted for next time! The girlfriend actually wants me to make her a knife for camping....so that's probably the next one on my list.


And on to the progress photos!!

knife_project-033.jpg


knife_project-034.jpg


knife_project-035.jpg


knife_project-036.jpg


knife_project-037.jpg


knife_project-038.jpg
 
Well I managed to get the scales all finished up and epoxied on last night. Put the finished touches on the knife and then finished it off with an edge.

This has been a super fun project for me, and I'm totally thrilled with how things turned out. I just hope it woks as good as it looks. This definitely is the first of many.... I just need to find the time to work on the next one. summer always seems so busy.

knife_project-039.jpg


knife_project-040.jpg


knife_project-041.jpg


knife_project-042.jpg


knife_project-043.jpg


knife_project-044.jpg


knife_project-045.jpg


knife_project-046.jpg


knife_project-047.jpg


knife_project-048.jpg


knife_project-049.jpg


knife_project-050.jpg


knife_project-051.jpg


knife_project-052.jpg


knife_project-053.jpg


knife_project-054.jpg
 
wow that turned out great. quite a bit better than mine lol. good job

you got any sketches for your next?
 
Hey, that turned out great! It's not my style, but you did a great job. :thumbup:
 
Thanks for all the words of encouragement! I really appreciate it. I'm headed out to the mountains this weekend, so we'll see if the knife meets my expectations.

I had a LOT of fun making this thing. I already have ordered materials for the next couple I plan to make. My girlfriend has asked me to make her a mini version of mine for camping as well.....so that'll most likely be the next one. I picked up some really cool mosaic pins and some African blackwood for the handle. I was trying to size it up a little smaller than mine handle-wise and blade wise since she's pretty petite.

I'm also started on my 2x72 belt grinder project that will certainly help out. Can't wait to get started on the next one.

CPP_7723.jpg
 
The only thing I would say on future builds with your pin placement is I would avoid putting a pin so close to the front of the scale. IMO I think it's not as esthetically pleasing (but that's just my opinion). But also I seem to remember seeing somewhere on here that with such little material in front of the pin there is a chance the scale can crack/split at some point. But I could be mistaken on that maybe someone more experienced can correct me if that's wrong.
 
Dude, that's a damned impressive knife. Great work.

And your photos . . . are you a pro? If not, you certainly could be. :thumbup:
 
This thread made me go from lurker to member.

So to you good sir, I say...Enabler!

But in all seriousness, this is truly impressive.
 
Thanks again everyone for the comments, critiques, and encouragement. I'm hooked for sure!

I had a chance to get out to the backcountry this weekend and really put the knife through it's paces and it exceeded all my expectations. It's comfortable, well-balanced, has enough weight to make chopping branches off and making kindling easy, and still stayed sharp enough to blast through kitchen duty with ease. It feels as sharp as the day I finished it. And from cutting up my steak and some tomatoes this weekend it's starting to develop a nice blue/orange patina on it.

I can't wait to get started on the next one when my materials show up and I finish moving this month.

knife_project-055.jpg
 
Very nice! I would be more than pleased if my first turned out this good. Excellent progress photos, who is the photographer? You or your girlfriend? Im into photography too, and will be documenting my first straight razor process :D
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top