Heading down to Johnny Stout's next week

Bob Ohlemann

Bob Ohlemann

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Dec 5, 2013
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I signed up for Johnny's Basic Knifemaking Class. Seems he runs about one class a month, two students per class. I met him at the Lone Star Knife Show and he mentioned that he had added a class in June. Says the 4-day class can cut up to five years off your learning curve. I'm mostly looking to advance my bevel grinding skills but, obviously open to learning as much as I can from one of the greats. I will try to update this thread each day with what we do in class while I'm there.

Here's a link to his site if anybody's curious. Johnny Stout Custom Knifemaker

Bob
 
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Several times now Johnny's advice has sped me up, mostly because when I listen to him I usually stop screwing up the task at hand.

There is SO much to learn from him. Not just about how to make a knife or impeccable fit and finish, but also about business, photography, etc.

Even though my style and goals couldn't be further across the planet compared to his, I've still picked up more from him than any other knifemaker to date.
 
Made it down to New Braunfels. I just don't enjoy driving like I did when I was younger. I hit Austin at evening rush hour...PITA! Looking forward to getting started tomorrow.

Bob
 
I guy doing work like he does and who makers speak so well of desires to be talked about. Give us the whole gum ball when you get back !!! Thanks. Frank
 
Day one complete! Started at 9:00am. I got there about fifteen minutes early and just stuck by my truck. His shop is at his house so I didn't want to be wandering around. It was a nice quite place; he had deer grazing in his back yard. Johnny came out of the house within a couple minutes and informed me that the second student had cancelled so it would just be he and I for the next four days. We went in the shop and he showed me around. It is a small space but certainly big enough and it is air conditioned. That's a big plus in the middle of Texas in the middle of summer. Here's some of what I saw when I walked in.


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After showing me around he said, "First thing you need to know is that you don't need all this to make knives". That may be true but, that doesn't stop me from wanting all of it. So we talked about my knifemaking experience, his knifemaking journey over the last 33 years, and what it is about knifemaking that is so interesting to us.

Then we jumped right into it. He gave me a stack of mild steel blade blanks (15 I think) and showed me his belt progression and how he sets up to flat grind. He did one side on a blade and then had me take over. He grinds sitting on a stool, using a 2" wide rest, and a push block. He told me to do it however I wanted and he would watch and give me pointers. I ground standing up, using the rest. I used my cut resistant gloves and no push stick. My thumbs are pretty sore right now. I burned them at least a couple times on each blade.

He had me just work my way through the stack of blanks with a 60 grit Blaze. Half of the blades were 1/8" and the other half were 3/16". I didn't grind the whole stack. When he was happy with my grinding he had me start grinding through the belt progression. His progression is 60 grit blaze, 160 Trizact, 65 Trizact, 45 Trizact, then 600 grit cork. I did one of each thickness all the way to the 45 Trizact and he said I was done. Here's my stack of blades. The two on the left are the Trizact finished blades.


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There is no way I could have achieved these results when I walked into his shop this morning. He gave me a lot of tips that helped me make sense of it all. I also discovered the joys of using a push block.

Tomorrow, I get another stack of blanks and learn to hollow grind. Had a great time today. Johnny is incredibly knowledgeable but, easy to talk to and ask questions.
 
Great write-up, Bob! Really enjoyed the shop photos, too. Looking forward to hearing how tomorrow goes. Thanks for sharing. :thumbup:
 
What an awesome experience! and to get it 1 on 1. I can't deny that I'm more than just a little bit jealous.

Chris
 
Had another great day hanging out with Johnny. Today was all about hollow grinding and surface finishes. He said to me, "Do you remember everything you learned yesterday about flat grinding? Well, hollow grinding is the same thing". I just laughed, "Uuugh, okay Johnny. If you say so". He showed me on one side of a blank and it looked like he was doing it the same way but I knew better. He got up from the grinder and said "Have at it".

I started out standing up like I did yesterday but it didn't work out. Yesterday I was working on the upper third of the flat platen and it was high enough for me to see clearly while standing. Working on the 10" wheel, I had to do my grinding with the work rest just below the center line of the wheel. I had to sit down to get my old eyes close enough to see what I was doing. It turned out that sitting was way more stable for me and it didn't take me too long to unravel the mysteries of hollow grinding. It was just like flat grinding!

There hasn't been one giant thing that has stood out in his instruction. I've learned so much here in this forum from all the fantastic knifemakers who generously share their knowledge. What I'm getting from Johnny are those little tid-bits that come from someone watching you and suggesting small adjustments.

Here are the five blades that I hollow ground today. Three are 3/16" and the other two are 1/8". All were ground on a 10" wheel and used the same belt progression as yesterday. I then finished all five out with a 800 grit cork belt w/ green compound. They came to a pretty high shine and the cork removed all the Trizact 45 scratches. From there, I did different finishes including a 800 grit hand rubbed, a 1000 grit plain new cork, and a fine Scotch-Brite


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Tomorrow we will start on my actual project knife. Looking forward to that. Thanks for the replies. I'm glad you guys are enjoying the posts. I have to say, if you are a new knifemaker like me, it is so helpful to spend some time with a really knowledgeable maker. Even a few hours can make a huge difference.

Bob
 
Well Done Bob. The knives you have ground look wonderful! Johnny is a great guy and you are a learning from one of the "greats".
 
Day three complete. I have plenty of pictures from today's progress but, lets start with one of Johnny. I don't remember what he was telling me, I should have been listening instead of taking a picture.


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I know there are lots of ways to make a knife. This is Johnny's way and he does heat treating before grinding in the bevels. Here is my blade profiled with holes for the bolster and handle pins. It is 440c.


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Here Johnny is showing me how he wraps his blades for HT.


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My blade is in the pouch with a little baby powder. Ready for the oven.


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Going into the oven at about 1500 degrees. It will continue to ramp up to 1950 and will then hold for 20 minutes before coming out to be air quenched in a vise.


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After allowing the blade to cool, Johnny showed me how the hardness tester works. The blade tested at 63 on the "C" scale; pretty hard. Next it went in for a tempering cycle at 350 degrees for an hour. It tested between 61 and 62. It went in for another tempering cycle at 400 degrees for an additional hour. It then tested between 59 and 60. Good to go.


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Next the blade gets surface grinding down to a Trizact 45. Came off with a really nice finish.


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Before I can start grinding the bevels, I had to prep the bolsters.


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After shaping them on the rotary platen, Johnny shows me how he cleans them up with a customized Scotch-Brite wheel.


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A couple more wheels and they look like this.


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