Good evening. I am looking for some feedback on a few different designs that I have made. I have been lurking and slowly gathering the necessary equipment to make knives and have finally found myself at the point that I can make a knife that I'm not embarassed to show to people. None of these are perfect, I am not overly concerned about small amounts of scale still showing or completely getting rid of my temper colors because I am abusing them and asking other people to do the same to see how my heat treat is holding and the overall toughness of the blade. These are all 1/4", 1095 steel. I intend them primarily as a survival blade at this thickness but will consider making some that are EDC out of 3/16" or possibly 1/8" stock if I end up seeing a need and potential profit (I'm about 250 knives away from profit, if my calculations are correct).
These are the first 2 that I made. I had friends test them. One is still out. The other was used heavily by one friend with no problems that he encountered other than the wrap coming loose and some suggested modifications to the grip to prevent slippage onto the blade. It was then passed to another friend who, with a lot of effort, was able to bend the knife. I have since straightened it back out, did another heat treat, and began testing the edge.
This is the 3rd blade that I made. I rotated the blade slightly forward and lengthened it as well. It felt a lot better in my hand and seemed to have a more natural thrust to it. My grinding was much better on this one with very little scale still left, although the evidence of the heat treat is clearly visible.
The last blade that I made has received very positive feedback so far from friends. I tested the edge for a while on some hard wood yesterday evening and found that it seems to be up to the task of chopping if needed. Due to being designed as survival blades, I did not put a razor edge on them, opting for a slightly more dull (will cut leather, paracord easily, will not always cut paper and not shave-your-arm ready) edge that I feel is better suited to what this type of knife may be used for.
I would greatly appreciate any feedback anyone may have for me. I am looking to continue to improve and possibly begin selling knives by the end of the year if everything continues going well.
These are the first 2 that I made. I had friends test them. One is still out. The other was used heavily by one friend with no problems that he encountered other than the wrap coming loose and some suggested modifications to the grip to prevent slippage onto the blade. It was then passed to another friend who, with a lot of effort, was able to bend the knife. I have since straightened it back out, did another heat treat, and began testing the edge.
This is the 3rd blade that I made. I rotated the blade slightly forward and lengthened it as well. It felt a lot better in my hand and seemed to have a more natural thrust to it. My grinding was much better on this one with very little scale still left, although the evidence of the heat treat is clearly visible.
The last blade that I made has received very positive feedback so far from friends. I tested the edge for a while on some hard wood yesterday evening and found that it seems to be up to the task of chopping if needed. Due to being designed as survival blades, I did not put a razor edge on them, opting for a slightly more dull (will cut leather, paracord easily, will not always cut paper and not shave-your-arm ready) edge that I feel is better suited to what this type of knife may be used for.
I would greatly appreciate any feedback anyone may have for me. I am looking to continue to improve and possibly begin selling knives by the end of the year if everything continues going well.
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