FNG question of the day

J

Jared P

Joined
Jan 18, 2000
Messages
220
Okay, I have a serious FNG question for you makers out there. I am getting a piece of O1 this week and am going to attempt my first hand ground knife. I have a general design idea, however I have no idea how to determine the best blade to handle ratio. Going from the limited custom knife handling I have, the type of balance I would like to acheive would be similar to Jerry Hossoms blades...his knives were almost perfectly balanced and I would like to get as close to that as I possibly can.

Anyway, that's my question. Any help would be greatly appreciated.

Jared

------------------
Broken promises don't upset me. I just think, why did they believe me?

I hope that after I die, people will say of me: "That guy sure owed me a lot of money."
 
Blade to handle ratio and point of balance are two different, though related, things.

If you have your mind made up as to where you want the knife to balance, you may have to compromise on the blade to handle ratio you had in mind. The reverse is also true. There are various things you can do to adjust the point of balance while keeping the same ratio but they only work up to a point.

The most important consideration is that you have a design in mind and you know how you want the knife to balance. All that's left is to make it happen.

As far as "perfect balance", that is a subjective quality. On your knife your opinion counts the most.
 
Balance depends on lots of stuff, handle and blade length, but also if the handle is drilled or tapered, blade grind, steel thickness and most importantly, how you want it to balance. Also, remember that different handle materials add weight to the knife. For a small knife, the balance will be different that a larger fighting knife.
 
Wild Bill, Taz-

Thanks for the info. Your right, I should have seperated the issue. Blade to handle ratio and balance are different ,but the same...so I guess let me just ask about blade to handle ratio with my knife dimensions in mind. I would like to have at least a 6" blade and have the knife balance right behind the guard. What should I take in to consideration to make this happen? I guess that's my real question.

Thanks again,
Jared

Wild Bill - If I were you I don't know if I would admit I knew about Flesh Gordon...but since you have, who was your favorite character Flesh or Hans Jerkinof?
biggrin.gif




------------------
Broken promises don't upset me. I just think, why did they believe me?

I hope that after I die, people will say of me: "That guy sure owed me a lot of money."
 
You can add or remove material in the handle to adjust balance. Drill holes a-la Tom Mayo for more forward heft if your blade is thin, or, if you need more weight behind the guard, you can actually hide a little something behind, under, or inside you handle (I actually heard of one maker who drilled out a hollow area under his wood handle scales, dropped in some steel scraps from his shop, filled with epoxy, and slapped 'em onto the tang over his spacer material). Grind the blade to the design and shape you want and adjust the balance with your "accessories."
 
as others have said there are many factors in both questens. i make my handles 4 1/2 to 5 1/2 for most of my culinary blades but have some field/collector designs whit up to 8 1/2" handles. heres how i design most of my knives, have the bar in your hand, in this case a 1ft since you want a 6" blade how play with the damn thing. flip it in you hand hold it flat,ice pick,etc now start to stech out a design then i start to profile areas that i know i dont wont then the design is disclosed to me as i work. its not very conventional and there are all kinds of other ways, but i realy feel this gave me a sense of the weight & proportion very quickly in knife making. GO FOR IT!

------------------
Laurence Segal www.RHINOKNIVES.com
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top