First knife - D2 Fixed

[noseoil]

It's finally about finished, at least I think it is for now. The steel is D2 from Jantz, which was heat treated by Peters to about a 60, according to their testing after the HT. Blade is a leaf shape (a la Spyderco Mule) which is 1/8" thick & the LOA is 8.625" with about 4.5" of edge & 1.37" at its widest spot. Behind the edge, this one is now about 0.015", so it's a good slicer. The edge is worked to a fine diamond stone, with 19 degrees per side. It's pretty sharp at this point, not a razor, but that's not what I want with this profile or this steel. We'll have to see how well the edge holds up to some cutting over time. D2 isn't that tough compared to a bunch of other steels, so I'm not planning on doing any 45 degree bend tests or torture testing videos. It's just a decent user blade which I will keep & carry from time to time.

I used 1/4" purple heart for the wood with stainless steel hardware & .060" black phenolic next to the tang. The finish is Danish oil taken up to 800, but I still need to add another coat or two to seal things up and get a bit more of a sheen to it.

This picture shows the pins standing proud a bit from this weekend, but they have since been leveled out with a block and are 100% down to the wood.

Mistakes: there are too many to mention, so I'll just let you look at a beginner's attempt & we'll have to see how the next one turns out. I'm working on a second one, but it has a "few" mistakes as well. I guess that's why education can be very expensive & the learning curve is so steep on this stuff. I'm glad I finished this one, as it was a great learning experience & I've really enjoyed being in the shop & working on it. I think it's important to take it all the way to complete, even if things don't always go as planned. I'm not looking at making a living at it, just turning out a blade or two from time to time for fun. The next one looks a bit better & the blade profile doesn't look as pregnant. Live & learn.

Just a few thoughts about working with this D2 steel in general. I thought I could do "most" of the shaping & finishing, then do the fine tuning after it was through & back from HT. WRONG! This stuff is amazingly hard to finish by hand. If I'd known how long it takes to finish & how well it stays in shape during the HT, I would have taken it to a completed blade, profile, shape & finish, all of it first. As it is, I worked my a$$ off to get a not-so-good finish & that's only up to the 400 wet paper, there are still some scratches which I didn't get completely removed. I'm not going for a fully polished look, since D2 doesn't really look that good with a mirror finish anyway. If you decide to do a D2 blade, by all means do yourself a favor & finish it to 100% before it goes to HT, just a suggestion.

Using a 1x30 belt sander is a real PITA compared to a bigger machine, but it beats a file any day. I don't think I'd want to work on that steel with hand tools, I'd still be working on one side of the blade if I was. I got a couple of ceramic belts for the next one, so it should be a bit better & easier (also easier to make mistakes more quickly).... That's about all for this one. Enjoy, tim

 

[Craig Daniel]

That's a good first knife that you should be proud to own, Keep posting progress.

 

[66sprint6]

Good lookin first knife and despite any flaws or issues you had along the way, it looks to be a great little user and technically...thats all that matters in knife really, especially a self made knife.

Matt

 

[Rleo]

Way better then my first! D2 is a tough steel

 

[DEllis]

looks very comfortable and handy. You did well:thumbup:
Darcy

 

[moosecaca]

I had the same experience with my first 2 knives from D2. Super hard stuff especially after heat treat. Yours looks great!

 

[noseoil]

Thanks for the kind replies & positive feedback on a job not too well done. It's greatly appreciated.

Here's a couple more shots showing the finish after a bit more work. This is a more realistic shot of the actual color, the afternoon indirect light is better to work with to show the wood. Purple heart will darken & deepen more over time. First coat of Danish oil worked into the surface & wiped dry after the 800 grit paper.

The phenolic liners & distal taper. Note how the plunge lines extend up too far into the spine & weaken the blade close to the grip. Like I said, live & learn, a slicer....