First knife I ever made w/ pics

Mr.Conservative

Mr.Conservative

Joined
Nov 23, 2013
Messages
196
This is my first post just showing my first time ever making a knife. Im only 18 and never did anything like this. The only tools i used were a hacksaw to cut the rough shape out of the bar stock. A dremel to clean up the shape. And a file to put on a bevel. I the Steel from "Texas knife maker" its O1 12" x 3/16" x 1 1/2". I hack sawed the shape out, cleaned it up with the dremel, beveled it with a file, heat treated it with a torch, then quenched it in vegetable oil. tempered it in the oven for 1 hour on 450 ( 2 cycles). thinned the edge out again with the file, the took it to my cheap whet stone. The scales are made from "rare, high quality" 2x4 i had laying around. I used liquid nail to glue the scales on Then used the dremel to put some texture on them (i think its called pimping). Also i used some soldering wire as pins. they did not peen over like i thought they would lol instead just folded over. Then i rubbed the scales with some coconut oil. Which brought out the deep grain of the beautiful 2x4. It was a fun experience and i learned alot. i did not care to polish the blade, but it is all scored and scratched up because at one point i got mad and just started scratching the blade with the file lol. Its not the prettiest knife but its sharp and pop hairs lol. The bald spots on my leg will testify to this :) . I had the most basic of tools. Total coast of this project was about $20 for the steel. i know that slow cure epoxy and brass pins, and better handle material would be better, but i used only what i had to see what it would be like. and i loved it. i will be investing in a cheapo 1x30 harbor freight belt sander and angle grinder. also the right epoxy and pins. But im proud of how it came out. Check out the pic's

P.S. if you cannot view the pics let me know. And the JLS on the blade are my initials. And yes i drew the "s" like the "s" in KISS (the band)

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As a registered user you will have to use something like photobucket. Upload image to photobucket. Then copy IMG code and paste it here in the thread.
 
ok Thanks its my first post and i dont know really how to put up photos. i put the url of my photobucket page but i guess its not working, is there a better way to do it. thanks again.
 
It probably took me about 4 months lol but at one point i put it down and did not work on it for 3 months. So actual work time 3-4 weeks of working every couple days.
 
Welcome to Bladeforums.

Your knife is a pretty good first knife. While I am not a big fan of those scalloped handles, that one looks pretty good.

Where you need to improve is in the finish. The blade is pretty rough. With your minimal equipment, hand sanding is the way to go. Get some Wet-or-Dry paper from the auto store of hardware shop and use it wrapped around a block of hard wood. After filing in the bevels, start with 100 grit and go up to 400 grit. When done, the blade should be smooth and flat before HT.

HT is where you need to learn a bit more. The stickies have lots of info to read. From your description, I doubt the blade is hardened. If it was, you couldn't file it after HT.

Once the HT is properly done, you go back to the hand sanding and smooth the blade up again, leaving the edge just barely flat .... about the thickness of a business card. You can sand from 120/220 grit up to 400 again, or take it to as high as you like. The Wet-or-Dry papers come in grits to 2500.

The handle shape is pretty good, but the point on the finger grip should be a little less pronounced. It should form more of a smooth swell.

While the knife looks pretty good in the overall shape, if you look at it you will see that it looks "stiff". That is because it is a straight bar of steel shaped into a knife. You did drop the tip a bit, which was good. What it needs to have "flow" is a slight curve from butt to tip along the spine. It does not need to be much, just 1/8" to 1/4" curvature will make a huge change in the look and feel.

BTW, there is a good HT company right in your area - Peter's Heat Treatment. The guy there is Brad, and he can do the HT perfectly. Just make sure the knife is perfectly sanded to 400 grit before HT, because deep scratches and rough places are really hard to sand out of a hardened knife.

Keep at it and work on making every knife better than the last. Don't rush to finish a knife, but take your time until it is done right.
 
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Wow man thanks a lot for taking your time to write all of that out, it means a lot. And I understand completely what you mean by "stiff" looking. I also know that the finger groove should have been smoothed out more. Also I have already picked up some sandpaper and will put more time in to the finish look of my next knife.
About the heat treat I don't know how much it would be to have it done but since I will only be speraticly making knifes I think I am going to just try to HT them in my backyard with a charcoal fire and a blower. I also don't think the torch sufficed. But it did have that glassy sound and feel after wards when I ran a file across it.
I also don't really like the scalloped scales but I felt the need to fancy it up a little lol.
Once again thank you for taking the time to throw some constructive criticism may way. And thanks for the support!
 
Good on you mate. That is the way to make great knives....make each an improvement on the last.

As to the "glassy sound and feel" it is a common practice to check the hardening, but fire scale and even coarse pearlite can skate a file easily. It has its uses, but you sort of have to know what you are listening for.

Looking forward to seeing your next drawings.
 
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