Giedymins big knives

[DesRosiers]

Fantastic looking blades! I really like your work.
Also like your archery gear, and the big bore blowgun!

A.

 

[Veesix]

Awesome blades mang!!!!!!:thumbup::thumbup:

 

[i4Marc]

Giedymin,

Can you maybe show us how you grind and polish out your bevels? You do a beautiful job with the finish.

 

[giedymin]

Thanks guys.

Giedymin,

Can you maybe show us how you grind and polish out your bevels? You do a beautiful job with the finish.

Unfortunately at the moment i do not have any pics from my workshop though it is very modest, small and dirty
I do not have professional KMG and i use 1050W hand helded/ stationary belt grinder to ruffly create bevels with 40 grit belts. Then a lot of file work and hand sanding. At the moment i have 3 types of finish. Polished - hand sanded to 2500 grit (not mirror polished though). etched which is the same as polished but etched in the end and than polished again (sometimes few times to reveal any activity after differential HT) and for some time now for my bigger working choppers or blades with G10 or CF handle i started to do 1000-1500 satin horizontal finish as it looks more aggressive.
I'm still working on my finish and try to improve it but the key i guess is patience (and i lack of it sometimes).
Hopefully in the future i will improve my workshop as well, and maybe buy a decent KMG and powerful stationary drill.
Regards
Giedymin

 

[i4Marc]

Thanks Giedymin. Many of us have pretty modest shops. It doesn't matter to me if you work out of the back seat of your car as long as you make great knives. You seem to turn out quite a lot of very nice knives. Since I know first hand that hand sanding is very time consuming I wonder what your technique is that allows you to produce so many cool knives with such nice bevel finishes. Can you give me an idea what kinds of tools you use to sand the bevels besides your hand held belt grinder? What kinds of fixtures do you use to hold the blade while sanding? What kinds of materials and dimensions do you use for your sanding sticks? How do you achieve the soft radius in your plunge? How long does it take you to sand and polish the bevels on a knife?

 

[giedymin]

I just catch a knife with the vice horizontally with the flat bar under it to avoid bending and to keep it really still. To hand sand i use other flat bar, about 5mm thick and 4 cm wide with rounded edges and wrap sandpaper around. For water paper i use duck-tape as well not to get it torn apart. Sometimes i wrap sandpaper around round file. Usually it takes me few hours to polish the bevels. Up to 5 i guess. I use WD 40 for water paper. I bought Fluid film as well as i heard it is really good but i hate the smell. After finishing with 2000 water paper i use felt wheel with polishing paste (mounted on drill with regulation of rotation speed) and then after it i go to 2500 or higher. It is hard to explain some things and maybe one day i will actually make some kind of tutorial. But if you look for really professional guidance i recommend you to check Nick Wheeler thread about making beautiful Damascus chopper. Many useful tips for beginners as well as experienced knife makers there.
Regards
Giedymin

 

[Bill_Mead]

beautiful work, I really like your style.

 

[i4Marc]

Thanks Giedymin. I have read everything I can find from Nick but I'm always interested to hear how others work as well. Everyone has their own way of doing things and tips to share. My eyes and ears are always open.

 

[giedymin]

Hi guys. Two latest knives from my workshop. Both are gifts first one for my accountant and second one for myself
N690 (440C) G10, SS.

NZ3 carbon tool high impact resistance steel, SS, nickel silver, v. fiber, leather. 17.50 " overall.
[video=youtube;ZdsLRam_Qtk]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZdsLRam_Qtk[/video]

 

[Lorien]

can tell you're proud of that biggun! And rightly so
the little knife is very nice also.

 

[willrise]

That bowie in the above post is by far my favorite of yours thus far! Amazing

 

[giedymin]

Thanks guys. I have plans to make about 15 big bowies like this (the same handle construction though every piece a little different, some with natural leather color handle, some with 1075 steel and hamon) in 2014/15. Really like this simple, solid and practical though nice looking handle construction.
Cant wait to use mine.
all the best
Giedymin

 

[John White]

Giedymin,

You've shown us a bunch of the neatest looking big knives ever! This big Bowie's another fantastic one.

15 of those babies would be enough to take over the world. I'd love to see a whole row of these laid out in a photo!

Beautiful blade shape, and as you say, good looking and very practical handle. Great job.

John

 

[giedymin]

Thank you very much Sir. Must say that your monster stag handled bowie is my favorite bowie ever only hope to reach your level of skills and knowledge one day.
All the best
Giedymin

 

[worldwood]

Another awesome knife!! Excellent work. That handle really looks comfortable as well!

 

[Silverthorn]

Yeah now I want that Chopper that WW posted a pic of, but with the handle like that Bowie...lol. Giedymin, I think I am going to have to email you soon.

 

[crimsonfalcon07]

Love your work, Giedymin. When you going to make a full-on sword, eh? I'm picturing an 18" blade like the ones you've been doing already, just longer, oval guard, and a handle like on the most recent bowie but half again longer in all proportions... You've gotta be pushing short sword on these anyways...

 

[robino]

Yeah...that last bowie is a beast.
What would be the US version of that carbon steel ?

 

[giedymin]

Thanks guys. I've been thinking about making a sword for a long time now but my electric furnace is not big enough and i'm looking for a place in poland that could HT it properly.

NZ3 carbon tool steel composition is somehow similar to AISI S1 but with higher amount of carbon. I think the best would be to compare it to L6 though.

 

[giedymin]

Couple of latest knives from my workshop

[IMGhttp://imageshack.com/a/img843/5306/qq4r.jpg[/IMG]