First knife. Your opinion matters!

E

EugeneKruglikov

Joined
Jun 4, 2015
Messages
19
Hello! Thanks for your time. First knife, work in progress.
Some specs:

1/16" A2
6.5" OAL
.3/4" wide
Convex grind, 11-12 thou edge.

Please grade me 0-10 on 3 things:

1. Aesthetics
2. Functionality
3. Execution

Any additional comments or suggestions are welcome. Much gratitude in advance.


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I think when all said and done that the butt of the handle won't be very comfortable. I would round off the sharp edges and maybe make take the dip out of the middle. The edge looks like it's still .020" or so, which is good if you haven't heat treated yet. I would take it down to .010" for your final thickness.. Overall not bad for a first. Keep going and post some finished pics.
 
Kudos on making a small thin knife for a first blade. Far too many folks start with honkin' bowie...and fail miserably. A-2 was also a good choice.

Curve the top of the butt down and around the end. Those angles will not be comfortable. The same gores for the front clip. make it a curve up onto the spine, not a sudden angle. This will make the knife have a more curved look from tip to butt....which is a very good thing.

Your edge thickness at .011-.012" is a bit too thin for HT in most cases. It will probably survive in A-2, since it air cools, but using some sort of quench plates ( even steel would be OK) would avoid excess warp and ripple. Normally, about .020- .030"" is a better edge thickness for any carbon steel. Stainless can be thinner. A-2 falls between the two in thinness.

The jimping on the spine isn't really needed, but is OK. I think the knife would have looked cleaner without it. On other carbon steels, it might be a problem with cracks in HT from stress risers, but your A-2 blade should do fine.

1. Aesthetics - 5
2. Functionality - 8
3. Execution - 8

Overall, a good first knife. Fix those few things and it will jump to an 8-9.

Who is doing the HT?
 
On aesthetics, I'd go to 6. I took off a point for the jimping, and two points for the angular handle shape, and one for the dip in the handle spine.

Functionality, I'm at 7. Again, two points off for the angular handle and one for the dip in the handle spine.

Execution I'll say about 6. Mostly i took points off for the irregularities I see in the blade beveling. I realize it is intended to be convex, but the curves aren't as smooth as they could be. Also, the small nick you cut in at the base of the blade seems somehow just not right. Might even be something of a stress riser, though it's probably too small to be a problem.

On the whole, a nice first effort. I'm so accustomed to seeing people do a half vast effort of scandi grinding (apparently out of laziness) that even just seeing a full grind gets you and easy 4 points in my book.
 
Thank you so much for the extensive reviews guys! Much valuable info. Looks like my angular profile is hurting the scores. I figured if I`m making a knife from scratch I might as well make it unconventional, but now I realize thats an entirely newbie impulse. Knives have evolved into a certain profile for a reason, and I have yet to discover that reason. Lol. The jimping and angular "spanish" notch were supposed to keep it from looking like a paring knife, and hopefully provide some functionality. And it seems that heat treat is a unanimous concern. I will send out, probably to Texas. Can I expect cracks at my angular notches? Will rounding the notch help? Also thinness seems to be a concern (btw it really is .012", measured with calipers, the fuzzy pic probably makes it look thicker), maybe the convexed profile offers some stabilty? Will keep in mind to leave extra material next time. I guess I ground so thin in fear of ruining the ht with post ht grinding overheating. Is that a valid concern? Thanks!
 
Round the choil with a small round file.
Round the butt to make it smoother.
The clip isn't a big deal, so leave it as-is if you wish.

If the HT is done by folks who know knives, your thin edge should be OK.
 
I understand your will to do unconventional design, and it is not totally wrong!!
Just have a steady project and try to stick to it at the best of your capabilities. If you prefer grinding than drawing, take a sheet of steel and cut your pattern, try it and tweek it as you like it better.
 
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