First knife design ever

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devdev98

Joined
Mar 11, 2014
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So I'm trying to make my own knives so I bought two 1095 bars both 3/16th of an inch thick and basically I drew out my design I kinda like it for my first get go but not sure on the handle I would your guys opinion on it but feel free to criticize it the whole thing.image.jpg
All of it is completely erasable and able to start over and it's also loosely modeled after the tops silent hero in case your wondering.
 
Well I came up with something totally different after looking at couple knives View attachment 615109
I decided to do away with the choke up groove and looking realized my first handle was way to short for my hand so I extended it.
 
Maybe something like this? A little drop in the handle to aid in chopping. A bit more width in the handle to fill the hand better. A little flair at the butt of the handle to increase purchase during swinging/chopping motions. A bit more constant curve in the belly of the blade for aesthetics and to aid in skinning/slicing tasks. Slightly smoother/direct line to the spine at the tip for a slightly sleeker look. Lastly, the guard trimmed a tad so it doesn't get in the way of completing a chop if using for food preparation on a cutting board.

 
I think your right it needs more constant curve but I don't know about the curved handle. It's looks great but how practical is it as I have never used one my self. And you make a great point on the guard and bringing it up out of the way. My idea is to have a lanyard hole is the guard and one in the back of handle as well.
 
You are the designer. Whatever you think is best is the right answer. I only give some things to consider. I don't know what you're going to use the knife for, in what environment it will be doing it's work, how experienced a knife user the end user will be, etc. Of course you will have the answers to most of those questions and you will have to take those and many other things into consideration before coming to a finalized design. Keep us posted with your progress.
 
I think you are pretty close.

The biggest thing is the gigantic choil. A choil should be about 1/8" to 1/4" wide and a semi-circle. You don't actually cut it in until the bevels and plunge are done. If it is supposed to be a drop in the blade, then it is OK, but you need to remove the piece of steel sticking out at the handle. The curved drop should come straight back toward the handle from the top of the curve, not go back down.

Perhaps raise the butt just a tad, but otherwise I would say it is good.
 
My idea behind the huge choil was to allow the user to choke up on the blade if desired but I took it out now anyways gonna start cutting on this design today. PiView attachment 615336 I'll be cutting along the farthest in on blade I think it will help the blade be a bit more constantly curved.
 
image.jpgI am going to try the curved handle on my second knife since I have 2 bars but I can not seem to get the curve right this seems to be about the best I can get and to me it looks terrible
 
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Its a good idea to cut out the profile in thin plywood first, to see if you like the feel of your design. Sucks to find out its uncomfortable after the steel is cut.
 
Before cutting into you stock, use some cardboard and cut out your designs. See how they feel in hand before cutting the real stuff, because you can't put it back on.
You can double up the cardboard and even add cardboard scales to get the feel for the grip shape. Or even use scrap wood and sculpt out tester grips.
 
Well I learned a valuable lesson never go over a permanent marker with a dry erase it will cause the permanent to come right off. Luckily It seemed to like clean the metal in that spot so it made a outline I could refill in with the permanent. And I like the idea of doing a model but I had a hard enough time doing what I did on the metal I don't know if I could do it again and have it even remotely the same.
 
devdev98 said:
...I don't know if I could do it...
Click to expand...

You'll run into much bigger challenges than copying a design from steel to paper.
1. The easy way, put the steel on a copier, press copy. 1:1 scale instantly.
2. Slightly more difficult, get some tracing paper for a couple dollars at the local office store.

The point of the plywood cutout isn't just to test comfort, its to play with the design as well, so it doesn't even have to be a perfect copy. You want to leave a little extra material that you can remove bit by bit until you reach your final design.
 
I think the suggestions about making a test template out of cardboard or plywood is good advice. I like your new blade shape but the handle looks a little funky. A plywood test would help you see what works and what doesn't before investing a lot of time in steel. First, take a breath and some time. Get a tracing paper pad for your sketches. Don't put a design on your steel until you have finalized it on paper and/or with models. Go to the gallery section of this site and study the knives that appeal to you. Take notes about shapes and proportions, how people make their guards, where they place handle pins, how they make the grinds, etc. Then come back to your pad and incorporate the ideas/features you observed. Post the revised drawing here and get some new feedback. Making knives, especially your first, is not easy. Take your time, listen to advice, don't cut corners and you will end up with something you can be proud of.
 
Yes, make a cardboard/plywood template and se how it feels.

I think you will be unhappy with the handle as re-drawn.

Just go back to the shape in post #3 and curve the handle lower line forward to join the top of the finger choil. That will allow a good grip and the butt will look and feel much better.
 
devdev98,

Here's another tweak to see if it helps. You didn't want so much curve in the handle so here it is a little straighter. Also, take a look at Stacy's suggestion to remove the guard and bring the heel of the blade up into the handle line.

 
That's a great design. It's so great that it gets designed over and over. But it really does make a good knife.

Does anyone know if there is a generic name for this design? Drop point Sharpfinger maybe?
 
Thanks , that is quite helpful. Is there a glossary of knife shapes and names somewhere?

Now that you told me what it is - and after a few image searches - I would derive that a hunter always has a finger guard of some kind, a straight section of blade (for slicing) and a curved section (for skinning) near the tip, and the blade is at least as wide as the handle - sometimes, but not always wider. About right?

Knowing these things would be very helpful when you are at the drawing board. :)
 
There are only general guidelines for styles but not many hard and fast rules. There will always be some overlap and creative license with styles. Much of it is up to personal interpretation or the old "I'll know it when I see it" rule. Bird and trout knives overlap with hunters, Hunters blend with skinners and EDC's, choppers and camp knives are close cousins of bowies and fighters. Who cares what it's called? As long as it's designed and heat treated for the work which it will do all will be right in the universe. Ok, maybe that's overstating it a bit.
 
If it matters or not enquiring minds want to know. One reason would be so that I don't sound like an ignoramous by calling the knife in question a sharpfinger. Every specialty has it's jargon, and if you don't speak it you are marked as not being in the group.
 
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