- Joined
- Mar 3, 2000
- Messages
- 2,785
A week ago I got a free talonite sample from Tom Walz ( thank you Tom ! ). And I used it to make a handmade little knife. Butt ugly, but entirely handmade.
And it can cut!
This is how it went:
Day 1 (SAT)
-made a approx 1/2" cut with the hacksaw. Tricky stuff. The catch is that you can not start the cut with the saw. I managed to start the cut with a synthetic Spyderco sharpening stone. After that I worked about 2 hours with the hacksaw. The 1/2" cut had completly dulled the saw blade (the teeth were efectivly "rounded").
Day 2 (MO)
-after work I got another hacksaw blade (the most expencive one) and rushed home to cut some talonite. With this one I have managed to finish the cut (this time about 1"). The blade was completly dull at the end. It took me about 2 hours. Then I got a "fine" file and tryed to shape the blade. NO WAY. Files are completly useless. At least that one. The only thing I managed to do was ruinning the file. So I had to find out something else. So I took a $2 sharpening stone (the grey ones that are shaped like a long romb) and started to "handgrind". It took me another 2 hours until I got too tired.
Day 3 (TU)
-continued to "handgrind" all around for a couple of hours. After I got relatively satisfied with the result (or maybe bored) I decided the shape was good. I took the Spyderco sharpening stone and ground the edge (it's convex, but what a hell...). It took me about 2 hours to do it (that stone works SO SLOW). Looked at the clock: midnight!
Day 4 (WE)
-got my handdrill (Bosch PBH20, you make 1" holes in soft steel with this one) and ... very dissapointing. It barely scratched the material. I kept trying until I broke the drill, I took a bigger drill (more resistant, did not brake) and kept trying until it was clear it's not working. Took some 400 sandpaper and removed some tiny scratches (some are still there). Improvised a ugly handle. Drunk a couple of beers to celebrate my first knife.
That's all folks.
[This message has been edited by flava (edited 02-01-2001).]
And it can cut!
Day 1 (SAT)
-made a approx 1/2" cut with the hacksaw. Tricky stuff. The catch is that you can not start the cut with the saw. I managed to start the cut with a synthetic Spyderco sharpening stone. After that I worked about 2 hours with the hacksaw. The 1/2" cut had completly dulled the saw blade (the teeth were efectivly "rounded").
Day 2 (MO)
-after work I got another hacksaw blade (the most expencive one) and rushed home to cut some talonite. With this one I have managed to finish the cut (this time about 1"). The blade was completly dull at the end. It took me about 2 hours. Then I got a "fine" file and tryed to shape the blade. NO WAY. Files are completly useless. At least that one. The only thing I managed to do was ruinning the file. So I had to find out something else. So I took a $2 sharpening stone (the grey ones that are shaped like a long romb) and started to "handgrind". It took me another 2 hours until I got too tired.
Day 3 (TU)
-continued to "handgrind" all around for a couple of hours. After I got relatively satisfied with the result (or maybe bored) I decided the shape was good. I took the Spyderco sharpening stone and ground the edge (it's convex, but what a hell...). It took me about 2 hours to do it (that stone works SO SLOW). Looked at the clock: midnight!
Day 4 (WE)
-got my handdrill (Bosch PBH20, you make 1" holes in soft steel with this one) and ... very dissapointing. It barely scratched the material. I kept trying until I broke the drill, I took a bigger drill (more resistant, did not brake) and kept trying until it was clear it's not working. Took some 400 sandpaper and removed some tiny scratches (some are still there). Improvised a ugly handle. Drunk a couple of beers to celebrate my first knife.
That's all folks.
[This message has been edited by flava (edited 02-01-2001).]
