First knife (WIP)

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kailand09

Joined
Mar 13, 2013
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Didn't really wanted to clutter with another post but decided I had to before I mess up the work I've done so far...

To explain my profile - started with a buddy who brought 1/8" 1095, about 9" OAL, and 4.5" edge from the tip. Blade is 1.75" wide. Used for camping (cooking/bushwacking/some chopping). Didn't want a choil area, just a full edge for better cooking and I'm not too fond of the choil.

Sanded out all of the scale, and profiled with a hack saw/hand filing. All the bevels/edge will be done by hand with a file. The black line is .75" from the edge, and the blacked out edge marked a bit more than a dime's thickness. Should I continue up to that .75" line, or is that too much? I seem to be taking off too much from the edge without getting up to that line, should I decrease my angle with the file?

Should I be draw filing instead of push filing on the sabre grind I'm going for? I do realize I need to clean up my ugly plunge lines... But here is my progress:

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Let me know of your criticisms! I know some may not like how I did my handle, but the pointer finger bump is to keep me from going into the edge and honestly it feels very comfortable in my hand.

Thanks!
 
Welcome to the club of free hand filers! You definitely want to bring that bevel higher so decrease your angle, and remember doing it by hand takes a lot of time so patience is the key. The handle design boggles my mind so I will stay away from that. I used Peter's heat treating and they recommend for the edge thickness to be at least .015 thick. Get as close as this as you comfortably can because your wrists will thank you later. It's much harder to thin behind the edge when the blade has been hardened. My first knife is very thick behind the edge, I won't make that same mistake again, trust me :) . Keep at it and keep us posted with pics!
 
It's slow going but i will update . I'll keep those tips in mindmind thanks!

If i may ask what don't you like about the handle?
 
kailand09 said:
I know some may not like how I did my handle, but the pointer finger bump is to keep me from going into the edge and honestly it feels very comfortable in my hand.

Thanks!
Click to expand...

I think he is mostly referring to this^. I would make less of a main hump and suggest you rethink the quote above. Just my opinion.
 
Ok so you think the main "swell" in the middle is too big? And I guess I'm not sure what there is to rethink, the hump nearest the blade is there to keep my hand from sliding. I'd say many knives have some sort of guard commonly done differently. A prime example I found in the exchange quickly:

http://www.bladeforums.com/forums/showthread.php/1080145-Another-new-design-The-Nordic!

I don't like the idea of a choil though, but still wanted a way to hug my hand in. Is it more ugly, or it won't actually be functional in use? I can still change it, so I want to understand the issue to properly fix it.
 
I applaud thinking outside the box and breaking with tradition can sometimes be a good thing but aside from size all hands are basically the same. The example knife you have linked looks to be very comfortable (and by the way is choilless) whereas that extra index finger hump you have does not. I think it is also counterproductive in that it will actually place your index finger closer to the edge and not allow for a secure hold. If your hump went curved in the opposite direction it will be more comfortable and less likely to slip. This would still be part of the handle and therefore not a choil.

Of course, having said that, you should do what makes you happy. Keep it up.
 
^agree^

Also, sometimes you want to choke up your grip on a knife and I think It'd be awkward at best with that hump. Try it out. Choke up your grip on the knife, like you would on a chefs knife sometimes, and see how it feels.
 
Take the profiled blade as shown in the pics and grip it in all positions. Make cutting motions with it against a piece of wood or something, make stabbing motions with it, make upward cutting motions with it. Does it feel good in the hand (forget the fact that it doesn't have scales at this point)?

If you are comfortable with the way it feels (you will know it when you finally get there), then work on the blade geometry. Think "Thin" to cut, and "Thick" to chop.

You will never know until you finish one to the best of your ability. After you make a few hundred knives, you will begin to see what you really need to do in order to take it to the next step.

(By the way, save that first knife. Don't let it go to anyone...... You will thank yourself later as you reflect where you started down this long hard road of knife making)

Robert
 
Know, I'm nowhere near what I'd call more than reasonable at this whole knifemaking gig... But if it were me, I'd change the handle shape to look more like this (please excuse my poor photoshopping, I'm better with a hammer than a mouse). Apart from the odd bump in the handle, I think it looks pretty good, though somewhat chunkier than I prefer myself.

By doing this, you get a way to keep your hand from going onto the blade, and it feels much more comfortable.

 
Thanks for all the awesome response. I think I may end up trying to move more towards the way oldanvil has shown. To be clear, the index finger is meant to be before the index hump, I'm not sure if everyone got that. I definitely see that it is really uncomfortable to choke up on the handle, pretty much doesn't work. I have been holding on to that hump a lot, though, because it is so comfortable for me in my hand, but I can see how it is probably more against function.

The unfortunate defect in the palm swell is almost a dent that I hadn't noticed until it was all cut out to the profile, too late and I thought I could just fill that in with epoxy or some sort of liner.

I guess I lumped the guard in that link as a choil. I should specify, my personal preference is a full edge as my design shows without any interruption when running along a flat surface (like a chef's knife). Purely personal preference on that. I'll have to come back with an update hopefully I can fix a few things up.
 
update, redid the handle and gave more of a curve leading into the blade. Didn't mean to go so deep on the index groove but I kept filing it lumpy and had to make it perfectly round but it's not bad. Also decreased palm swell.

What do you think?

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Looks like proper handle thickness is going to be important for a comfortable grip.looks good though.have you thought of doing a convex edge?
 
I've thought about it, and can still go that route. Not sure I'd be able to pull it off properly on a first knife though.
 
Yes, much better. I hadn't realized it was as big as it is. Not that there is anything wrong with that.
 
Another update. I worked on the grind a bit more, and the plunges. I still have to clean everything up, but I'm not sure if I should continue the grind up the blade more? It's at .75" right now, and the edge is about that of a dime. I guess it just doesn't look like there's as much definition as everyone else's knives on mine from the grind.

Also, what does everyone think of jimping/spinework? I decided to give a first test trying it on a piece of scrap.

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Other side + edge (right by my fingers is the dime). Is the edge ready for heat treat? Do I need to do more on the grind?

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Get the knife to where it is almost finished, sand it up to like 220grit getting all the previous grits' scratches out as you go. Drill the holes in your tang. You can take the edge down to about half a dime. Sanding hardened steel is a PITA!
 
half a dime? Interesting thought it was just a dime width but that makes sense. I'll keep goin, and yeah I know I still have the holes for the tang and sanding to go, but wanted to make sure my grind is finished first.
 
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