I finished my second knife, I sure learned a lot.

[Widerstand]

Wow! That looks great. I wouldn't be able to tell it's your 2nd knife. Keep up the good work, man.

Thanks for the kind words.

I just ordered some white G10... No kidding... lol.

Yeah I really like the look of the white G10.

Widerstand,

Let me begin by saying that is a super looking knife in almost all respects. The only thing that lets it down is the finish. The problem isn't the grit you started with, it's the grit at which you finished. It has been discussed in other threads but this is just another example of the great early work being turned out by new makers. The new guys (like me) have so much information at their disposal and so many talented makers who have come before them laying out the footsteps to success so us new guys can avoid much of the frustration and wasted time of figuring it out for ourselves. You realize already that the finish could have been much nicer. I put aside a knife I'm making for a few months because I really wanted to do my best with it but I wasn't ready to wrap my head around the work it involved. Well you can't finish if you don't start. So I began the work and I'm almost done now. I'm glad I waited until I was ready because the product will be worth it. Yes, even a well sanded blade will patina but that's no reason not to do the work. Maybe you just weren't ready. It is clear that you have a good eye and sense of design. Your product is worth the effort.

I guess I kind of just felt a bit discouraged by it. Maybe Ill work on it in the morning and try to rub those lines out. Thank you.

It's a great knife, and especially since it's only your second one ! You tried the 36 for bevel grinding maybe try a 60 and look at that? We often think that we don't influence the makers around us but there are makers saying they not only liked that white but are going to try some themselves. My material may be different but I do some with white handles too. Frank

Thanks for the advice.

The handle is great - you nailed it!

The bad news is the blade isn't finished being finished.

The good news is there's still a TON of steel left on that blade. Go back with a new 60 or 80 grit belt and grind it down even thinner. Be careful not to overheat it, make sure you dip in cool water often, and take a bunch of steel off. You could make that blade a whole lot thinner before you weaken it, and it'll slice like a fiend with better geometry. I'd go 80 grit, 120, 220 and 400. Leave it with a machine finish, don't bother trying to make the grinding marks go with the blade. Just make sure that the grit progression eliminates the marks from the previous grit. A nice 400 grit finish that's consistent across the blade will still look nice!

I know this sounds nuts - I had to be dared to grind my blades thin. Now my THICK knives are below .020" where your edge bevel is!

I double dog dare you. Try it! You'll be stunned at how much nicer the blade cuts, AND you'll be fixing your finish faux pas!

I guess I felt like I was removing to much from it to try and get the lines out. Do you think it would be better to try and do this on my belt grinder or hand rub it?

 

[Matthew Gregory]

Grinder.

ONLY USE SHARP, NEW BELTS!!!!

You'll overheat it for sure if you don't!

Hardest words of advice to ever accept as a knifemaker are "use belts like they're free." If you're pushing too hard, it's because the belt under your knife is dull and it isn't cutting. If you push too hard, you risk slipping or losing perfect control of the knife and make mistakes. If you're pushing too hard, you're developing heat.

If you don't have variable speed, make a pass and dunk the blade. Grind in one direction only, one smooth even pass, dunk. Repeat. The idea is to remove steel in an efficient fashion. I used to peck away at it, making pass after pass, and after talking to a few makers and seeing some of the top guys do it, they waste NO time. They apply firm, even pressure at the plunge and pull the blade across the belt in one even, steady motion, reducing pressure as they approach the tip.

If you want to, try practicing on a scrap piece of steel. Not sure who said it first, but it's geometry that cuts!

Really, man - nice knife!

 

[Widerstand]

Grinder.

ONLY USE SHARP, NEW BELTS!!!!

You'll overheat it for sure if you don't!

Hardest words of advice to ever accept as a knifemaker are "use belts like they're free." If you're pushing too hard, it's because the belt under your knife is dull and it isn't cutting. If you push too hard, you risk slipping or losing perfect control of the knife and make mistakes. If you're pushing too hard, you're developing heat.

If you don't have variable speed, make a pass and dunk the blade. Grind in one direction only, one smooth even pass, dunk. Repeat. The idea is to remove steel in an efficient fashion. I used to peck away at it, making pass after pass, and after talking to a few makers and seeing some of the top guys do it, they waste NO time. They apply firm, even pressure at the plunge and pull the blade across the belt in one even, steady motion, reducing pressure as they approach the tip.

If you want to, try practicing on a scrap piece of steel. Not sure who said it first, but it's geometry that cuts!

Really, man - nice knife!

Thank you for the advice, ill give it a go in the morning and see what I can't do.

Advice like this is why I love this forum so much!

 

[Shaw Blades]

Your knife looks great. If I mess a knife up and I'm going to trash it or break I still finish out the bevels to a satin machine finish and sometimes hand sand. If nothing else it's great practice. I've found once you get past the big glaring mistakes the little detail/finish issues are the hardest to nail down.

 

[jedi bk7]

Very nice job!!!!! The talent here is amazing. Looking forward to seeing your kydex sheath and your third knife!!!!

 

[Widerstand]

Very nice job!!!!! The talent here is amazing. Looking forward to seeing your kydex sheath and your third knife!!!!

Thanks.

I haven't had time to get back into the shop to finish this guy but as soon as I do ill have some photos up here.