First knife feedback - drop point hunter

Michael Black

Michael Black

Joined
Jun 29, 2014
Messages
451
Just finished my first knife and am looking for advice for next time, especially in regards to design. No holds barred! All my information came from searching the forum and reading as much as possible before starting. I used an angle grinder to cut out the outline, then hand files and sanding the rest of the way. 440C stainless blade and elk shed scales.

For what it's worth, I pretty much tried all the different stag coloring options, and I like how this turned out. I cleaned it with acetone, burned it with a torch, stained it with some Minwax, then sanded and added a clear lacquer.

I can't wait to make my next one! - Michael

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*edit, I followed the directions for posting pics, but I'm not sure it's working properly, so here are the links in case the embedding didn't work correctly.

https://imageshack.com/i/ey7f228dj

https://imageshack.com/i/hlf8f735j
 
Your knife looks great. The only suggestion I have is to taper the front of the scales a bit for a more comfortable transition into the blade and it would give the knife a more sleek appearance. On to the next one.
 
Well Michael,
I think you have done well for your first knife. Keep this one so you can look at it after you have 10-20-30---------

I suggest that you contour the handle more on your next. Taper it in on the front a little and relief the pinky finger area that so important. If the pinky is over stretched , It fatigues the whole hand.

So lets see the next one with some more stats on HT etc. 440C is a fine steel. If it came out today at it's price, it would be raved about in the knife mags.

Keep them coming!:thumbup:
 
Looks really nice. Perhaps a tad too much spine curve, but not excessive. Blade work looks excellent. Handle pins might have been a tad farther apart, and handle could have had a bit more shape ( very minor issues). I would give it an A+.
 
Thanks guys! In regards to the shaping of the handle, I was trying to preserve the antler as much as possible since it has some personal significance, but I still wanted to make a full tang design. I can definitely see what you mean though. The next one's going to have a micarta handle, so I'll try to avoid those issues next time for sure. Maybe I'll run it by you all for feedback before I pull the trigger on it.

I only have a crappy sharpening stone so I'm looking at getting a diamond stone. Any suggestions? DMT?

BTW, I haven't posted on a forum in quite a few years due to being annoyed by random jerks on the internet, but this forum is great!
 
We aren't random jerks here....we are specialized jerks :)

Get a DMT duo-sharp plate. They are superb. A set of two or three with the holder base will do almost everything needed.
 
Your crappy sharpening stone should be ok. It's mostly a matter of technique. Look for Murray Carter's videos on YouTube. He can get a knife shaving sharp on a rock or cinder block. But DMT plates are good.
 
My crappy stone is so warped it can hold a puddle of water in the middle and my skills are lacking, so I'm thinking I'll go with the DMT Stacy recommended haha

So here's another question: When I was making my knife, I read that I was supposed to leave about a dime's width edge until post-HT to prevent possible damage during the HT. I did this, but this left me with still a large amount of metal to remove. At what point, and with what tools do I remove that edge? I left mine until the very end, then went to town on it for an absurd amount of time with my sharpening stone. That seemed wildly inefficient. Thoughts?
 
After profiling and pin holes etc I do all of my tang tapering and bevel grinding after HT.

I use a variable speed 2 x72 and sharp fresh belts with a dunk in the bucket after each pass. I also do 90% of my sharpening on my 2 x72" .

So if you continue to make smaller knives you will pick up speed with each one with your hand tools.
 
Michael Black said:
My crappy stone is so warped it can hold a puddle of water in the middle and my skills are lacking, so I'm thinking I'll go with the DMT Stacy recommended haha

So here's another question: When I was making my knife, I read that I was supposed to leave about a dime's width edge until post-HT to prevent possible damage during the HT. I did this, but this left me with still a large amount of metal to remove. At what point, and with what tools do I remove that edge? I left mine until the very end, then went to town on it for an absurd amount of time with my sharpening stone. That seemed wildly inefficient. Thoughts?
Click to expand...

With a belt grinder and good belts, taking down the blade bevels post-HT isn't much problem.
When using hand tools, it is a lot more work. You use a hard block ( wood or metal) with the sandpaper wrapped around it. Having DMT plates can also speed this up. Once reduced to a thin edge (.005-.010" depending on the knife use) sand the bevels up to the final grit and after all the knife and handle work are done put on the edge. This will be a very sharp knife if all went well.

The old "dime" thickness is really way too fat for today's HT methods. Half a dime's thickness , or about .020-.030", is more than thick enough to avoid warp and "bacon edge". I regularly take the edge to .010-.015" before HT. On stainless, I take it to .005-.010".


BTW, with a coarse DMT stone you can flatten your bench stone. When flat, wash well and boil in soapy water for 10 minutes, then let dry for a few days. It will be brand new! They make a dedicated stone for this task, too. It is called a flattening stone. They come in diamond, or in silicon carbide.
http://www.sharpeningsupplies.com/Norton-Flattening-Stone-P29C25.aspx
 
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I use DMT to set the edge.
They have a gray 120 grit (for skis and snowboards) I start off with that and follow up with diafolds.
black-blue red-green Strop or use a fine waterstone and strop then.

You'll want a 20degree angle per side. Here's how to find that angle. I have a block that I use to check the angle after every so many passes.

If the angle between blue and yellow is 90degree's and yellow is 3x blue, the angle between red and yellow is 20degree's
(4x makes 15degrees)
driehoek.jpg
 
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