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First knife picture post

scottickes

scottickes

Joined
Oct 27, 2005
Messages
2,527
This is the first of my knives that I've posted a picture of. It is stock removal, but I've recently begun forging. Please feel free to comment, since I have a desire to learn and improve. No need to be gentle.

Scott (Ickie) Ickes
 
The execution looks pretty clean.
I'm not sure I like all those dots, and I think just two mosaic pins would be enough.
To me, it 'feels' like the blade is a tad shortish for that much handle, but some folks like that.
I like the character of the plunge line, pretty unusual. Signature mark is nice too.
Keep it up!
 
Looks pretty goo from here! I kind of like the pins, busy as they are. The only stuff that I would change would be defining the plunge line a little more (I file mine in, my preference is for very crisp plunge lines...but hey, that's just MY preference), and I might have made the plunge line at the same angle as the front of the bolster.

Excellent fit & finish though...let's see some more!

-d
 
Looks like a hell of a lot of work for a first-time knife. Well done there. Again, just a little nit-pick (we all have them, you just pick and choose which ones you agree with :D ), 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!!!!

Best,

Darryl
 
You made it and was proud of it enough to share it with your knifemakin bros here. Kudos:thumbup: :thumbup:

:confused: 12 holes and 12 pins:D You got something cool going on there.
 
It looks like you have the handle and bolsters down fine but the blade looks like you may have been unsure of the profile and grind.
Overall I think you did good for the first one. BTW I like the pins. All that drilling is a challenge for even the seasoned veteran.
 
You've sure got a lot of patience with all those pins! I don't even want to think about getting it all to fit cleanly.
 
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
 
Oops, I accidently fibbed. This one wasn't gun blued. I never looked back at the picture. I started gun bluing my W2 knives shortly after this one.

Sorry.
 
scottickes said:
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.
Click to expand...

Black epoxy covered pin "holes" eh? Since you don't need ALL the pins down in there for holding power, you might try stewmac.com for a material that is used for dot markers on guitar necks. It's a plastic rod and is available in black and white I believe and maybe even simulated MOP

Only white and black available...heres the link http://www.stewmac.com/shop/Bindings,_trim/Trim:_Side_dots/Plastic_Side_Dot_Materials.html
 
Thats the thing about knives, that like art every one has a different opinion of what a knife should look like and do. i personaly like that knife. but what matters is does this knife fit your style. do you find your self saying i like this knife.
thank god as a student of the craft i can worry about my own style and not what a customer wants. And over time you'll find with out knowing you've been putting your own style in everything you make any way, may it be your hammer swings or the type of metal you like to use. good job man.
 
Do comments from users count ? It really beautiful design, I don't feel its handle is "overcrowded". If it was up to make I'd make the blade longer (to make the knife look more balanced; now it appears to be handle-heavy, judging by the pic, which may or may not be true) and to remove slightly less material at the cutting edge side of the blade (to keep blade wider compared to the height of the handle), say 5-8% wider. Remember that every person sees things differently so what looks good for me may not work for you.

There, you asked for honest comments :) Keep up the good work!
 
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