First knife

T

travis551

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Feb 12, 2014
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I have been reading everything I can on here about making knives. Unfortunately I don't have a ton of expendable income, but I had an old file that I attempted to anneal then used my little 1x30 belt sander to profile the file. I thought it would be easier the do a straight bevel like a sheeps foot or a stabber. I decided to go with something along the lines of the "stabber." It was very difficult grinding the bevels and keeping everything even. I plan on getting a bubble jig to help with that and next time I will for sure scribe a center line, and leave a little more meat on the tip that I can just later grind off. Anyway here is a picture of my first knife I hope I can figure out how to up load it. Lastly is their anyone in the Salem area that would be willing to help me out with heat treating my blank? Since it is unknown steel I figured I would just bring it up to critical temp, quench and then temper it in the oven. I don't have the tools for that :grumpy:





 
Thank you both so much! There are obvious imperfections, but this was all about putting my what I have read into practical application and see how it turns out. I am excited because I think I found an oven at my guard base I can use to heat treat it. I need to drill a few holes in it but if the oven they have can get up to the desired temp then I will be good to go! This blade isn't really my style but I will keep working on it and post pictures as I continue to work on it.
 
A good file will probably be similar to 1095. Take it up to a uniform shade or two beyond critical @ 1475. You should probably normalize first. I think there is a sticky on making a knife from a file. You might see if you can find it.
 
Excellent job on the filing and sanding.

On the next knife do some planning on the shape and features before shaping the metal:
1) Decide what function the knife will perform. If it is a cutter, what will it cut? If it is a stabber, how will it be used?
A "stabber" will be most likely used in a reverse grip part of the time. That will make the large point in the handle a problem. Also, a stabber may encounter hard objects, like bone. That very thin tip will break easily. "Stabbing" knives should have strong and thick tips, and normally have smooth reversible grip handle shapes. Take a look at a "chute knife" fro how this combo works - http://www.sandownforge.com/Sandown_Forge/Chute_Knife.html
What you have is a basic Wharncliffe style ( AKA, Wharnie). These are used as slicers for softer things normally. It is also used on "slashing" knives. The tip can be rather frail, so use it gently. Other than the "stabber" nomenclature being the wrong description, your knife should be a super sharp cutter for rope, food, and cardboard. I would say that the tips on most wharncliffe knives don't last long. I have re-shaped dozens for people over the years when the point breaks off.

2) Think about how the handle will interact with the hand. This is called ergonomics. That point will chafe the two fingers a lot. If it is made half the size and rounded it will still perform its task in creating a firm grip, but won't be so uncomfortable. Also, adding a small amount of palm swell to the bottom of the main handle area will make the grip better and more comfortable. Both these changes can still be done to this knife. After taking down the point on the finger grip half of its height, grind/file in a little more behind the finger grip and before the bird's head. Make that into a smooth curve so the middle of the handle bulges a tad. Feel it and adjust as needed for a smooth grip. It only takes a tiny palm swell to make a nice grip. 1/8" is plenty.

Hopefully, one of the photoshop/drawing guys will draw what I described on the handle.
 
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[/URL][/IMG]Thanks for the advice. I get what you are trying to say, I need to do a LOT of hand sanding still so before I do that I will make the suggested changes not quite sure on how to change the tip so maybe I will just leave it and hope for the best
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[/URL][/IMG]. I just had it heat treated with a torch and had access to a Rockwell tester. It is currently at 65. Any suggestions on temper times and Temps? Also it seemed to curve a little. I will try to straighten it after I temper the blade. Also I need to add it sucks to drill through without the right drill bits. I was only able to get one hole in it at this time.
 
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Well I guess ya live and learn! It got a slight bend in it when I heat treated it. After tempering I tried to straighten it...... a lot of curse words came to mind! Anyway how does the grain look? Do you think I over heated it when heat treating?
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thanks for the encouragement....... I have already started on another one that I like much better! maybe I will take pictures of the process and post them all up after the knife is compleatly done lol then I dont have to admite failure if I ruin it :D
 
Cool design overall. It's too bad it broke on you... I think you should adjust the handle on the next one. A smaller point on the finger choil might look a bit better.
 
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