G-shark's snarks (and other associated ramblings)

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TMHunt said:
I love seeing people jumping in with both feet into knifemaking. Its amazing to me how many different ways a cat can be skinned so to speak. I like this knife, and the last thing I want to do is discourage you into giving up, but let me assure you that if you dont know exactly the type of steel your working with, there is NO way you will ever get the heat treat right. even if you do know, some steels are a lot more complex to treat and in most cases without the proper equipment still impossible. this is a big reason why a lot of knife makers hire there heat treating done. because if it isnt right. all of your time and effort is wasted, and the makers that do do there own, has or at least should have educated themselves in the craft let alone spent considerable amount of dough on equipment. keep it up. but starting out, dont try to do to much, it may frustrate you to the point of quitting.

Diazee nailed it. there is nothing easy or cost saving making knives out of files. I know a lot of people start out that way, and I got to think once they work with a decent piece of steel that doesn need worked before it can be worked, they gotta know they did it wrong to start with. Ive made some knives out of old raspes per customers orders. It usually results in a higher bill for them and a wish to rather have my ass kicked for me and I have the proper equipment to do it.

Both of you guys. iwouldhurtafly and TDhurl. if you guys are not in a hurry, I would be willing to send you guys a piece of forgiving steel to work with. when you get to the heat treat point, send it back and I will heat treat it. That way you can start out knowing what its like to work with decent materials that can percissionally be worked to achieve your exact goal. to know you got a good knife instead of taking a shot in the dark will put you way ahead of most people starting out. You might have to bear with me a little, I got a lot of stuff flying out of the shop right now but Id be happy to help you guys out if your willing to accept that it will be a back burner project.
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Hey Todd and Daizee,

First: I really appreciate the advice. I'm definitely not in a hurry about making anything. I will reconsider the file thing. I know I will screw up, and I'm OK with that. What I'm really concerned about is jumping in with a good piece of steel and buggering it up for no other reason than I was just being an overzealous idiot. For that reason, I will see about getting a piece here on my dime, that way when I really screw up it's all on me. I have no intention to go about it at the expensive of some other's livelihood, that's just NOT OK with me.
Second: I have no idea what I'm doing or where to start actually. But I'd like to see if I can do it. I have no time constraints and would not be in a rush. I'd call it a test to see if I got the stones to finish what I started, or at least to see if I'm going to love it or hate it.

I'm not really all that serious about it at this point. I just need a hobby......and I've always been good at ruining perfectly good things.:D

Thanks Guys!!!!!
 
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TMHunt said:
I love seeing people jumping in with both feet into knifemaking. Its amazing to me how many different ways a cat can be skinned so to speak. I like this knife, and the last thing I want to do is discourage you into giving up, but let me assure you that if you dont know exactly the type of steel your working with, there is NO way you will ever get the heat treat right. even if you do know, some steels are a lot more complex to treat and in most cases without the proper equipment still impossible. this is a big reason why a lot of knife makers hire there heat treating done. because if it isnt right. all of your time and effort is wasted, and the makers that do do there own, has or at least should have educated themselves in the craft let alone spent considerable amount of dough on equipment. keep it up. but starting out, dont try to do to much, it may frustrate you to the point of quitting.


Diazee nailed it. there is nothing easy or cost saving making knives out of files. I know a lot of people start out that way, and I got to think once they work with a decent piece of steel that doesn need worked before it can be worked, they gotta know they did it wrong to start with. Ive made some knives out of old raspes per customers orders. It usually results in a higher bill for them and a wish to rather have my ass kicked for me and I have the proper equipment to do it.

Both of you guys. iwouldhurtafly and TDhurl. if you guys are not in a hurry, I would be willing to send you guys a piece of forgiving steel to work with. when you get to the heat treat point, send it back and I will heat treat it. That way you can start out knowing what its like to work with decent materials that can percissionally be worked to achieve your exact goal. to know you got a good knife instead of taking a shot in the dark will put you way ahead of most people starting out. You might have to bear with me a little, I got a lot of stuff flying out of the shop right now but Id be happy to help you guys out if your willing to accept that it will be a back burner project.
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No worries Todd, I know exactly what to expect out of found unknown materials vs known actual factual knife steel. I am not trying to polish a turd, but just having fun if you know what I mean. I am a trial and error kind of guy when it comes to this stuff and it is a lot of fun for me when I make something, fail, and try again, and then later actual succeed a little. This is just simply fun to me no matter what I am doing and I got a little bit of success from a little bit of failure on this project. Plus like I had said to TD, I am out zero dollars on all of this. Some of this is practice before I try on an actual piece of knife material.

IT REALLY means a lot to have someone like you with your talent and skill to any way shape or form acknowledge something I have done. That is truly freaking cool. LOL. I really appreciate the offer and of course will accept your assistance. I know that you know 1000X times more than I do, so for me to deny any help you are willing to give would be extremely stupid of me. I also really appreciate the kind way you shaped your responses. Once again this is all just a big ball of fun for me so its all good even if its bad ;) Thank you again Todd I really appreciate it.
 
Recommendation: If you proceed with making a knife with a file, anneal it completely first. It's not hard to do. Hell, you can even do it in a wood stove. If you try to work hardened steel you will likely never complete the project. If you temper it to knife hardness first you will get farther, but it will still take 5x as long as working soft steel and then re-heat-treating it, even with backyard techniques.

Read the stickies in the shoptalk subforum! Yes! LOADED with AMAZING info!
 
TDH & IWHF No problem man, by all means do what is most fun for you guys. Thats kinda my point. I remember how fun knifemaking was to me when I had no tools and didnt know shit. (not saying you guys dont know shit) exploring new techniques and the satisfaction of completing something that I worked way to hard on for no other reason than self gradification. thats why I encourage it for anybody. Today, knifemaking doesnt have that new sense of adventure I enjoyed years ago. But its much the same in the respect that when Im in my shop, Its still about pleasing me. Making something that Im happy with I find is harder than making things that please the masses. Believe me, there is no one in this world that is harder on me than me. When Im satisfied with with a knife, then and only then is it good enough to send to a customer. I dont mean for this to sound like a sales pitch because its not. Im just trying to tell you I know the satifaction that comes with completing something you did yourself and incourage everyone to try it.

My offer stands to you guys. if you need help with a project or want to take advantage of the offer, send me a PM. If you wanna keep doing what your doing, by all means go for it. I just get excited for other people starting out cause I know how it feels. Sadly, Its been a while since Ive been that excited about something.
 
Tdhurl1103 said:
Hey Todd and Daizee,

First: I really appreciate the advice. I'm definitely not in a hurry about making anything. I will reconsider the file thing. I know I will screw up, and I'm OK with that. What I'm really concerned about is jumping in with a good piece of steel and buggering it up for no other reason than I was just being an overzealous idiot. For that reason, I will see about getting a piece here on my dime, that way when I really screw up it's all on me. I have no intention to go about it at the expensive of some other's livelihood, that's just NOT OK with me.
Second: I have no idea what I'm doing or where to start actually. But I'd like to see if I can do it. I have no time constraints and would not be in a rush. I'd call it a test to see if I got the stones to finish what I started, or at least to see if I'm going to love it or hate it.

I'm not really all that serious about it at this point. I just need a hobby......and I've always been good at ruining perfectly good things.:D

Thanks Guys!!!!!
Click to expand...
Tom, I can totally respect this (and I love your attitude), being a breaker of unbroken things myself. Sometimes you get lucky though and turn a thing into different sort of something for which there is no purpose or use just so you can say "I made that!". Any artist will tell you: it's not about the final product, it's about the process. I find the process to be the most enjoyable part. Let loose the dogs of creation! Grind until the streets run black with slag! Cut and sand and cut some more! Let the sparks fly!
That's just about enough outta me.
 
daizee said:
If you try to work hardened steel you will likely never complete the project.
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Tell me about it LMAO

I took a knife made of 5160 and wanted to change the profile of the blade and thin the handle just as a project for fun.... Using only a file and the work sharp grinding belt.... I spent an hour or 2 just trying to get the handle thinner... It never worked, that some hard stuff!! I barely even managed to chamfer the edge of the handle much less make it thinner.

One day ill grab a piece of un-hardened cheap steel and play with shaping it, but im guessing ill need a real grinder first.
 
Check it out WW. Made these for you.
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A Johnson Adventure Blades Piggyback just arrived. It's not bad for under $10 shipped.

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The blade is bigger than the Remora and the handle is much bigger and more comfortable.

 
granitestateofmind said:
Tom, I can totally respect this (and I love your attitude), being a breaker of unbroken things myself. Sometimes you get lucky though and turn a thing into different sort of something for which there is no purpose or use just so you can say "I made that!". Any artist will tell you: it's not about the final product, it's about the process. I find the process to be the most enjoyable part. Let loose the dogs of creation! Grind until the streets run black with slag! Cut and sand and cut some more! Let the sparks fly!
That's just about enough outta me.
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Thanks Mike! Much appreciated.
 
worldwood said:
One day ill grab a piece of un-hardened cheap steel and play with shaping it, but im guessing ill need a real grinder first.
Click to expand...

Heheh.
Annealed/sphereoidized steel feels like cream cheese under a sharp file compared to a hard piece.
 
Stripped some blades today. Got done right about the time my new BK7 showed up.

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Also picked up the kershaw package deal from that one department store. $20 for a Swerve, Freefall, and a half-decent flashlight. Good deal but no surprise the knives are not built to the same standards as the original AO versions you can get anywhere else. I plan on doing an in-depth comparison later, maybe in a video, but right now I need a nap.
 
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