First knife designs, feedback and criticism appreciated.

[TheWambo]

Hey my names Jon, I've recently started looking into knife making (long time collector and user). I'd greatly appreciate some feedback on my designs, they aren't too innovative but I figured Id go simple for my first few builds.
These are just rough sketches out of my sketch book, I haven't blanked them out yet.

(Ex Nihilo meaning created from nothing in Latin; I get a little out there when I want to name stuff)

I'm thinking about doing a full flat grind on both of them but I'd be interested to hear what you guys would suggest. Also suggestions for handle material would be appreciated. The first one I kind of designed with a RAT 5 sort of tactical survivor in mind; the second being a sort of beefed up EsKabar.

Lastly I'd like to thank the other users in this forum there is a real wealth of information on the knifemaking process, all your posts really helped me a lot.
-Jon "Wambo"

 

[boosted1jz]

nice blade design very simple drop point looks nice. .maybe changing the handle a bit as its a little to plain. .i know the handle is the hardest part lol i sit for hours staring at paper for a good handle design lol

 

[TheWambo]

Thanks for the input

.maybe changing the handle a bit as its a little to plain. .i know the handle is the hardest part lol i sit for hours staring at paper for a good handle design lol

yeah tell me about it, I think ill probably make a stencil out of cardboard and work with the handle a bit I want it to be comfortable in the hand but not just a fixture of functionality.
Thanks,
-Jon

 

[12345678910]

I like the handle of the second one, but the blade and tip needs refinement.

for drawing by hand, try using a set of french curves

.

 

[TheWambo]

I like the handle of the second one, but the blade and tip needs refinement.

for drawing by hand, try using a set of french curves

.

Agreed, and thanks for the suggestion about the french curves, I kinda forgot they existed, I don't do much mechanical drawing.
Thanks,
-Jon

 

[Remyrw]

Fewer straight lines along the edge and spine. Figure if you've got a 1.5" tall piece of steel it's really 1.4" useable and the you might touch the top and bottom of that space but rarely run right along it very far. You can do straight lines, but you have to design them into the knife rather than letting them happen by default, or they look odd. I'd take something like the top one and just gentle curve the whole spine slightly. For a somewhat extreme example of this and with functional but comfy (so I hear, never held one myself) handles check out Johnny Mac's stuff. He does a really organic shape that all flows together without looking like a blob.

 

[TheWambo]

Thanks, I was wondering about the real usable area of a piece of bar stock. Ill have to look into JM's work I'm not familiar with it. Do you think I could cut down the finger guard on the first one to solve the straight spine conflict (I personally like a straight spine, I always seem to be sizing things up using my knife as a ruler or a straight edge). Seeing as I'm going to redesign the blade of the second one Ill probably incorporate a curved spine. (it'll probably look better anyway)
Thanks again,
-Jon

 

[Remyrw]

If you want a completely straight spine it might work best if it's straight all the way back, with just a little rounding at the heel. Really it just depends on how you do it, and this is one area where knives with guards have an advantage. You can do a nice curvy handy and then the guard gives a design stop point before a straight spine on the blade.

You probably could shrink the finger guard if you wanted to leave more room for a little curve, or just tweak the handle design and leave the straight edge along the spine of the blade... Lots of options. My 1.5 = 1.4 is just a rough estimate, usually there's a bit of a curved edge and you lose some space there. When I'm designing I always figure I'm going to lose a little. It's rarely an issue, since I freehand my profiling and the traced outline is just a guide, not a law.

When it comes to design, all that matters in the end is that the owner of the knife is happy. If that's going to be you, play with wooden samples, redraw a couple dozen times, grind a couple out.... until you have what works for you. Don't worry one bit about whether it suits me or anyone else. We can offer advice and ideas, but that's all, in the end it comes down to whether the knife's user is happy with it.

 

[TheWambo]

Yeah right now I'm just designing these for me, I don't really have enough experience to be working these out for anybody else lol. just figured Id do some preemptive trouble shooting before I dive into some new designs, the only other knifemaking I've done is some sloppy little carvers I worked out of scrap metal. Thanks for the advice, and I'm sure these will go through a series of reworking before I'm half satisfied with them.