Forged Camp Knife

P. McKinley

P. McKinley

Joined
Jan 27, 2008
Messages
2,010
This is the first piece completed from my new forge, and the first knife I've completely forged-to-shape including bevels. I wanted to make an ole' fashion mountain man's belt knife with rough forged finish and minimal embellishment. It is SCREAMING sharp!!

My hands are blistered and my arm is jelly, but I'm pretty proud of this first effort.

Blade: 7 1/2" x 3/16"(+/-) with forward taper, Aldo's 1084, 260 grit belt finish on bevels.
Handle: 4 1/2", spalted and figured Red Maple heartwood, 1/8" brass pins w/ tung oil and buffed conservator's wax finish.
Sheath: in-progress

Comments, criticism and advice for future work would be greatly appreciated.















 
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Can not give you any advise, since I do not know anything about it. It looks very proportional, blade has a good shape for general camp use, and that handle looks comfortable. I like it a lot,.. pretty wood.
 
I really like the looks of that knife. The thickness is proportionate to the general size, instead of being too thick for practicality. The simple handle is appealing, too.

My only suggestion is made simply because it's a matter of my personal taste. Since this is, for lack of a better term, a rustic knife, I like the appearance of hand-finishing. As such, the vertical grind lines detract from the handmade look. (Probably only a knifemaker or aficionado would notice, but still.)

I would use your grinder to get it shaped, then finish by drawfiling lengthwise (or using sandpaper wrapped around a block, etc.) to make the final marks *lengthwise*, giving it the appearance of handfinishing...because it was in fact hand finished.

Otherwise, that's a very good-looking utilitarian knife. It looks like a well made, sensible tool, which is what a knife ought to be, IMO.
 
I agree with makermook, The bevels look like you are still working on them. A bit of hand sanding and they will have a nice matte finish that will look really nice. A final mustard etch to add some age patina will be a good finishing touch,too.

My only other comment is the secondary bevel. It is hard to tell in a photograph, but it looks way too thick behind the bevel. The edge may be screaming sharp, but if it is too thick at the primary/secondary junction, it won't cut well at all. This is avoided by taking the main bevel down to about .010" in the finish grits before putting on the final edge. All too often, the edge is left at the .030-.040" thickness from HT and just cleaned up and sharpened.

Measure the blade with a good micrometer right behind the secondary, and see how thick it is? Let us know, if you do.

The hand sanding suggested above will remove most of this extra meat. I bet after doing a nice 400 grit hand finish, the blade is really screaming sharp.
Dull the edge first before any hand sanding, and then apply the mustard patina when the flats are smooth and no scratches left. Re-sharpen it after all the work is done.

Other than those suggestions, the knife looks good.
 
Thanks guys!

Maker, Stacey - I appreciate your comments. Yes, I agree, the secondary bevel is to thick. I ground to approx .020 before sharpening. I will take your advice and do some hand sanding on the bevels and bring it up to 400-600. I haven't tried a mustard finish, but I like the look..... I'll give it a try today.
 
Looks great, looks like it'd be comfortable in the hand and should make a great user.
 
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