Help me WIP my 2nd knife into shape

Richard Coyle

Richard Coyle

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Joined
Nov 12, 2019
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I’m working on my second knife and I just did the ht. I‘m very new so any help would be appreciated :)

It is made of 3/16 1084 from New Jersey steel baron. I did a normalizing cycle even though I did stock removal.


Before ht:
059831B1-EA02-4853-A073-CF91BF9CDA2A.jpeg

Normalizing temp:

E380B522-9FB3-4F75-A9B3-D951C545D168.jpeg

Ht temp:

B6DD8BE6-CB80-4325-AFF8-2F51B6F58BB1.jpeg

After:

AB72D2E9-78EC-4837-9D8E-3052A5200CD1.jpeg

I really should get an award or something for worst pictures ever.;)

What do you guys think? I’m not good at telling the color/temperature so I don’t know... it’s hard though, so that good.

I’m tentatively planning on shooting for a hardness of around 61, but I don’t know much about 1084.

So what do you think?
 
Your blade has a nice shape and your bevel and grind lines are excellent. As far as the hardness, a Rockwell hardness tester would tell you the hardness. You can also check with a file. Out of the quench, the file should not cut the blade.
You do need to temper or draw back the blade. A temperature of 425 for two hours done twice should do it.
What did you quench the blade in?
Your second blade looks much much better than my second blade.
 
Thanks for the compliments, I have a long way to go :) I did do the file test and it skated it, and I quenched it in canola oil.
 
This is what I’m thinking of using for the handles. It’s black walnut that I epoxied together. I know it’s probably not the strongest option out there, but I’m planning on this being a light use knife. I don’t have my heart completely set on it though...
CE42312C-18A0-481E-AFCD-E31139557658.jpeg
 
Blade looks excellent.

Terrible idea on the handle scales. End grain will split easily ... even with light or no use. Your hard work on the blade may go down in flames because of a handle failure. Laminated end grain is like tossing gasoline on the fire. Use straight grain walnut or any strong wood.
 
Yep, have to agree with Stacy, end grain is too weak for what you will be doing. If you have access to some oak, ash, hickory, or other hard wood, I would just use it. Walnut is ok for a grip, but it's really pretty soft (use the thumb nail test to see). Osage orange is really hard & tough. Your blade looks excellent, especially for a second try, so use a good slab of wood on it!
 
Thanks guys for the advice! Looks like I will scrap the handle idea that I had and use some stabilized maple burl. Hopefully I’ll be able to get some grinding done on it today.
 
I got it mostly ground today, but I still need to address some things.

This is where it’s at now.
6ED0D1AC-0203-480B-B982-036A0CC48F9F.jpeg
53995289-F3E0-40E5-9345-6EEA930C0E43.jpeg
The grinds we’re looking awesome till I tried to do the plunges and messed them up a little. :rolleyes: Overall I’m happy with it though.

It’s .4ish mm or .0135 inches bte right now.
Is that thin enough? Too thin? Just right?
I do want it to be pretty slicy.

Also I got the tapered tang nearly finished.
5C369014-7926-4132-AB67-2B25C9983BDC.jpeg

What do you think?
 
I’m about to place an order from usaknifemaker.com for some g-flex epoxy and some liner paper. The shipping is $10+ so I’m thinking I’m going to pick up some sanding belts also. I haven’t bought belts yet, I’ve just been using the ones that came with the grinder, so I don’t know what to buy.

What would you guys recommend?
 
36, 60 and 120 ceramics is what you will be you using most. Trizact gator belts are used for cleaning up the grinds and plunges (a100, a65, a45). Sharp blade, read the discussion on thickness behind the edge. You want it closer to 0.1mm.
 
Work with sharp belts when you are on that last steps and if you can slow your grinder down. If you feel confident, you can also lightly convex from 0.4 to 0.1. You can do that on the slack portion of the belts or putting a piece of leather between your platen and the belt. Couple of passes and you are done!
 
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