Help with knife design. Now a WIP. FINISHED!! Almost

A

amamachinist

Joined
Jul 6, 2012
Messages
136
There is something wrong here and I'm not sure what it is? I think it's the raised spine part. Do I need to bring the handle up? Or take the raised spine down shorten it move it forward?? I'm lost. Any suggestions will be really appreciated!

Thanks
Nick

huNTx.jpg


The triangle shapes on the blade will be pockets about .03 deep not thru holes
 
Last edited:
OAL is approx 11.75

blade is 6.625 from where the grind starts to the tip

cut from 3/16x2" O1

1.9 width from top of raised spine to bottom of the blade
 
I would just get rid of the thumb ramp, but I'm a thumb ramp hater. If you insist on having it then maybe make it less blocky in shape, like have it start flush & tangent to the spine and arc towards the height you have it now, with a slight concavity. Also instead of having an abrubt drop off at the front of the ramp, maybe raise the forward portion of the spine up to the ramp and then have the spine arc down to where the tip is now. Right now it kind of looks tacked on, and it looks like it would be really annoying if you wanted to baton with it. Also I don't think it needs to be nearly as long as you have it now, unless your thumbs are truly massive.

The cutouts are interesting. You going to mill those out? Should make for a light blade (although probably not any lighter than if you just put a full grind on it). Maybe not ideal if you want to chop with it.

Also, where are your bolts/rivets for the scales going to attach, with that big cutout in the tang?
 
I don't like the straight top of the knife from heel to tip. Maybe add some drop to the handle?

That's the glaring thing to me.
 
Forgive my brutal honesty. You asked. I sincerely do not mean to discourage or offend you.

It looks a design developed by someone who has never actually used a knife. It's a poor example of a "sharpened crowbar" with a boatload of "features" that only hinder its usefulness.

It is too straight for comfort, far too large for general utility, and too short for heavy work. The thumb-ramp and pockets add nothing but needless difficulty in machining. Moderate jimping and tapering the blade and/or making the bevel taller would accomplish the apparent needs (control and balance) much better. The tang needs at least one "crossbar" left in it for stiffness, and something to bolt through if it will have scales.
 
While not a bluntly direct as james, I agree that it will be mainly looks and not a lot of function. Unless you are a good machinist and have some knife making skils, it won't be a simple project.

That said, the best thing to try is to re-draw it with a raised handle and again with the jimping lowered to spine level. See which looks better to you.
 
I am not clear on why someone would want elevated jimping.

Aesthetically it looks odd. Functionally it offers little to prevent the thumb from sliding forward that jimping on the spine would not accomplish.

I like to step away from the pen and ink (once in a while) and grind a few mocks from simple materials (wood, plastic, or even modeling clay) and give it a handshake test;)
 
Robs92XJ said:
I would just get rid of the thumb ramp, but I'm a thumb ramp hater. If you insist on having it then maybe make it less blocky in shape, like have it start flush & tangent to the spine and arc towards the height you have it now, with a slight concavity. Also instead of having an abrubt drop off at the front of the ramp, maybe raise the forward portion of the spine up to the ramp and then have the spine arc down to where the tip is now. Right now it kind of looks tacked on, and it looks like it would be really annoying if you wanted to baton with it. Also I don't think it needs to be nearly as long as you have it now, unless your thumbs are truly massive.

The cutouts are interesting. You going to mill those out? Should make for a light blade (although probably not any lighter than if you just put a full grind on it). Maybe not ideal if you want to chop with it.

Also, where are your bolts/rivets for the scales going to attach, with that big cutout in the tang?
Click to expand...

I will mill the pockets. I think blending that raised spine helped and I want to use wood scales fastened in the updated drawing.
 
james terrio said:
Forgive my brutal honesty. You asked. I sincerely do not mean to discourage or offend you.

It looks a design developed by someone who has never actually used a knife. It's a poor example of a "sharpened crowbar" with a boatload of "features" that only hinder its usefulness.

It is too straight for comfort, far too large for general utility, and too short for heavy work. The thumb-ramp and pockets add nothing but needless difficulty in machining. Moderate jimping and tapering the blade and/or making the bevel taller would accomplish the apparent needs (control and balance) much better. The tang needs at least one "crossbar" left in it for stiffness, and something to bolt through if it will have scales.
Click to expand...

Forgiven. that's why I posted here. I have made 3 knives total and they are getting better but not anything special. I admit the pockets are just aesthetic. But I think that less weight would be a good thing. I could raise the bevels but I like that part of the design.

Thanks for your input
Nick
 
bladsmth said:
While not a bluntly direct as james, I agree that it will be mainly looks and not a lot of function. Unless you are a good machinist and have some knife making skils, it won't be a simple project.

That said, the best thing to try is to re-draw it with a raised handle and again with the jimping lowered to spine level. See which looks better to you.
Click to expand...

Stacy,

I think that about sums it up. Good machinist. Not very much knife making skills..yet. I'd be interested what you think about the new design.

Thanks
Nick
 
unit said:
I am not clear on why someone would want elevated jimping.

Aesthetically it looks odd. Functionally it offers little to prevent the thumb from sliding forward that jimping on the spine would not accomplish.

I like to step away from the pen and ink (once in a while) and grind a few mocks from simple materials (wood, plastic, or even modeling clay) and give it a handshake test;)
Click to expand...

I know it just didn't look right at all. I will make a plastic version before I cut the steel. Thanks for the advice.

Also. That is the coolest avatar I've ever seen.

Thanks
Nick
 
Drop the handle a bit, and forget about the triangles. They don't really serve a purpose and they will be a pain to make unless you're using a CNC machine or something. Even then, it's just weakening the spine of the knife.
 
While I'm all for some lightening holes in the blade, your placement seems a little chock-a-block, and detracts from the flow of the blade.

The jimping looks a little large and perhaps too far forward?

Just my .02¢....
 
amamachinist said:
I know it just didn't look right at all. I will make a plastic version before I cut the steel. Thanks for the advice.

Also. That is the coolest avatar I've ever seen.

Thanks
Nick
Click to expand...

Thanks.

I'm probably not a good one to hand out advice, but my hands don't lie (to me, at least). If it feels bad, there is no chance it will work any better with a blade on it.

If it passes the handshake test I still am not guaranteed of a good knife over all;)
 
Revision 1.2.

LM4gD.jpg


I dropped the top of the handle a bit. I brought the spine and handle up to match the jimping and I adjusted the triangles to flow a little better with the new design.

Thoughts are still welcome!

Thanks
Nick
 
Each drawing has been an improvement over the last, for sure. You might consider shifting the visual weight of the handle toward the butt end, if that makes sense. 2 reasons; 1) it would look nicer, i think, if the whole package didn't look so "weight forward". 2) Since this is clearly a large knife that will have fairly obtuse edge geometry (unless you take the bevels up higher), I assume it is a "chopper" or maybe a combat knife. In either case, the handle you have on it will be hard to hold on to if you hand is sweaty (chopper) or bloody (combat, if it were actually used that way). Most knives of this type have dropped handles with some significant contouring to help with the grip. Here is an example of what I'm trying to describe from Nick Wheeler:

images
 
them triangles bug me and the placement of the texturing on the spine doesn't look useful.
Tryppyr's question is one I have as well.
 
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