first knife WIP wharncliffe

R

reiko1078

Joined
Sep 1, 2011
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143
Well this is my first attempt at knife making. A little wharncliffe. All bevels are hand filed. I know they are not quite even or straight. I also kinda jacked up the front part of the ricasso

Question. I don't have any grinders only files. How thin do I make the cutting edge before heat treating? How do I file a secondary bevel or do I need to? Seems like the most important part of making the knife but I'm not sure exactly sure how to do it.

Here's some pics IMAG0093.jpgIMAG0092.jpgIMAG0091.jpgIMAG0093.jpgIMAG0092.jpgIMAG0091.jpg
 
lookin good! You still have quite a bit more work to go to get the edge ready. I typically HT with an edge that's about 1/16". Also don't forget to drill your holes (if you plan on drilling any) before you HT.
 
Oh yeah, holes would be a good idea Haha I wanted to wait till last minute to drill just in case I needed to change handle profile
 
Thats pretty nice. I would take my bevels to about the thickness of a dime, or a little thinner. the thicker they are, the less likely they are to warp, but the more you have to grind off after HT. grinding hardened metal is harder than grinding soft metal.
 
reiko1078

Dang! It's coming along nice!

I've known that we're supposed to leave about a dime's thickness to the edge for heat treating but for some reason I've not been able to. Sounds goofy, but they all ended up with a sharp edge at hardening time. Fortunately none cracked but I've had a fair amount of warping, probably due to the bevels not being even. Anyway, my bevels are now even and I've figured out that after I stop grinding the bevels with at least an 80 grit belt, I remove yet more thickness when I take sandpaper to the blade to get rid of the scratches. I normally go to 400 or 600 grit before hardening.

I believe the secondary bevel is for the cutting edge and would be put on after hardening and tempering.

Thanks for sharing your build with us.

- Paul Meske
 
Very nice start. Great profile for a first knife, hope to see more :thumbup:

All the advice given thus far is what I would recommend as well, best of luck!
 
Thanks for the tips everyone. I'm going to try and make a final push and finish the rough filing tomorrow. Then to sanding! However.......the more I look at these pictures the more I dont like the rounded handle profile. I will continue on with this as it looks now but it kinda bugs me. Can't wait to draw out the next one!! I'll report back after I.make more notable.progress
 
Before you start grinding at the handle, feel it. Identify the parts that feel wrong, and work on then till they feel right. do not start grinding becuase you don't like the way it looks. on most knives, function is more important than form, and curvy handles are really, really nice.
 
It's worthwhile doing some research on edge geometry. There are several posts here that are worth reading. As I learned here - the type of knife, type of steel, heat treat, and how much post heat treat grinding you expect to do are all factors. When I started I was thinking about a dime's thickness and worried about warping, not much else. I have found that a inexpensive digital caliper is very very helpful.

From your pictures, your edge looks really fat. I'm guessing that if your material is 1/8", your edge is .080. A dime is just over .050. Your material may be thicker. It's not thinner is it? - correct me if I am wrong, pictures don't always tell the truth or I may need glasses.

I think I posted this just so new makers using stainless know that a dime's thickness is not a great guide. I didn't get that part early on. Even when a dime's thickness is appropriate, a caliper is an indispensable tool. My stainless edges now generally get .005 -.030, but once again I'm working with stainless material and a dime's thickness before HT would not be a good idea on most of my knives.
 
Got my blade wet sanded to 440grit. And I am pretty happy with my work. Im not going to bother with the handle to much since there's some pretty deep gouges. I also jacked the ricasso up pretty bad during filing but hey its my first one. I still need to drill pin holes in the tang. I'm a little short on cash at the moment so I have been unable to put together any type of forge. It also may be a minute before I can get some handle scales. I'm planning on black micarta with maybe some neon green liners. Pretty excited at this point sucks to get held up. The edge is about half a dime thick.

Comments welcome!IMAG0105.jpgIMAG0104.jpg
 

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