Thank you all for the opinions, compliments, and assistance. I should clear one thing up though. It isn't a first knife, it's a first knife picture post. I've made about 50, and have been working hard on my fit and finish for a while. As for some of the comments, I've already decided that I want to move more to flat grinding with more defined grind lines. I've been working (and struggling with it for the past two or three months) and I figure practice won't make perfect, but it will make it consistently better.
I've also found it difficult to keep that many holes perfectly laid out and lined up so that they look well executed. Some of my more recent knives have been "less" instead of "more" with the pin work. But only because I get frustrated when I can seem to get them just right. It's soooo much easier to line up a few pins, as opposed to many pins.
In case anyone was interested, the black pins in the brass are actually short brass pins that I leave recessed in the holes. I then fill the holes with 3500# Devcon two part black epoxy. So far, I've never had any epoxy come out in use. I made a knife with brass pins and brass bolsters, and thought it looked silly when examined closely. All that pin work hardly showed at all. I like the way the black looks against the brass background.
The steel is an old file from the Timken Bearing cage room. I used to 50# of files for $1 through our scrap steel sales program. I checked with the salesman that supplies these files to Timken and found that they are W2.
I didn't keep this knife, but gave it to my brother. He is a policeman in Irving, Texas and carries it as a boot knife on duty. I gun blued the blade to keep it a little more resistant to corrosion.
Once again, thanks for the comments and suggestions. I'll probably try all of the suggestions, and then pick and choose those that I like the results of.
Scott (Ickie) Ickes
), but I'd not have stepped in the blade further from the choil, and would have given it a more full cutting surface. Also agree that it could be 1/2" - 1" longer and have lines that are a bit cleaner, but I think for a first effort it's a real competitor. An excellent benchmark. Keep it handy, learn from it, and most importantly, experiment!!!!
Keep up the good work!
12 holes and 12 pins