Just wrecked my first knife! (Well, first in 7 years)

J

jaymeister99

Joined
Sep 14, 2010
Messages
819
Needless to say I'm really POed.

I just had a beautiful blade going that I got back from HT. I tried to fix a few relatively deep scratches I had and managed to make a small gouge. Then I tried to fix that and made a bigger one. Now I got a knife that isn't flat so the handles will look like crap on it.

I've praised my 2x42 Craftsman for a while now, but now its on my &$%@ list. Any recommendations besides thinning the blade further (I started with a .120" blade)?
 
Hard to make a suggestion without seeing the problem, but it sounds like it is on the flat. Taper the tang maybe?
 
A) It's not the grinder's fault. Using a fast machine (any machine, really) requires a light touch and lots of practice.

B) Never send a blade out for HT until it looks like it's ready for final finish and assembly. Deep scratches and wobbly grinds don't get any easier to fix once the steel is 60Rc.

C) The thing about scratches is, you can never "remove" them. You have to remove everything else around them until you have a clean surface again.

Not trying to sound preachy, I only know this because I made the same mistakes so many times myself :o

Justin King said:
Hard to make a suggestion without seeing the problem, but it sounds like it is on the flat. Taper the tang maybe?
Click to expand...

That could indeed work. Sometimes using a liner can help disguise a small irregularity in the surface of the tang... but you'll always know it's there. Pics would help, as Justin mentioned.
 
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I had some scratches around the plunge line, so I tried to touch it up. I couldn't manage to fix it before the HT and had planned to leave it. I should have just left it alone.

Its thinnest now around the bolster area. I was thinking about just thinning the rest of the handle area and leave the blade about the same thickness (I already took quite a bit off). I think I might be able to salvage it, make it into a steak knife.

Sorry no pics, I can't send em out from here (work).
 
been there, done that, same grinder, sometimes the darn thing is uncooperative. More and more I'm thinking a better grinder is going to come before the hardware to HT more complex steels than what I do now. It's not that my skills are so great, but that a better grinder will help me make fewer errors and more easily fix the ones I do make. HT is something I can outsource if the grind quality is good enough to be worth the added cost.
 
Remyrw said:
been there, done that, same grinder, sometimes the darn thing is uncooperative. More and more I'm thinking a better grinder is going to come before the hardware to HT more complex steels than what I do now. It's not that my skills are so great, but that a better grinder will help me make fewer errors and more easily fix the ones I do make. HT is something I can outsource if the grind quality is good enough to be worth the added cost.
Click to expand...

Hey Remy,

I havent seen your posts in a while. Good to see somebody else shares my pain! I'm thinking today I need to invest in a KMG.

But then I remember the posts I read about how much better you can be later if you can learn to use such a fast grinder like the 2x42.

But I'm starting to think I might take the shortcut:thumbup:
 
Don't feel too bad, I completely destroyed a wakizashi I was working on last week.

It happens!
 
I started a new job, so fairly busy relative to my old schedule for now. I'd love to pick up a KMG, or something similar. It will probably have to wait till next year though. I've got some free time coming up shortly and hope to get some significant work done on a few knives. :)
jaymeister99 said:
Hey Remy,

I havent seen your posts in a while. Good to see somebody else shares my pain! I'm thinking today I need to invest in a KMG.

But then I remember the posts I read about how much better you can be later if you can learn to use such a fast grinder like the 2x42.

But I'm starting to think I might take the shortcut:thumbup:
Click to expand...
 
I finished off the knife! Fixed the picture.
I'm fairly happy with how it came out. From all angles except the bottom of the handle you can't notice my screw up! Hows it look?

scaled.php
 
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jaymeister99 said:
I finished off the knife! Sorry I can't figure out how to post a picture yet, but here's a link.

I'm fairly happy with how it came out. From all angles except the bottom of the handle you can't notice my screw up! Hows it look?

https://www.facebook.com/mobileprot...035300889027.123817.1439357182&type=1&theater
Click to expand...

imageshack or any other web image hosting site that's free. It's easy to use , and then just copy paste the forum code which should look like [url stuff url] , dead link btw
 
duffy99 said:
imageshack or any other web image hosting site that's free. It's easy to use , and then just copy paste the forum code which should look like [url stuff url] , dead link btw
Click to expand...

Thanks. I went with Image Shack. Hows that look?

440C with 416 stainless pins and stabilized Box Elder Burl.

scaled.php
 
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Mitchell Knives said:
Don't feel too bad, I completely destroyed a wakizashi I was working on last week.

It happens!
Click to expand...

I did the same thing a few weeks ago, the wakizashi was "done" and I tried to pull the grinds a tiny bit closer to the handle... I almost cried! It was so nice!

Last week I decided to try to push my hollow grind a bit thinner and destroyed 3 knives during heat treat, now I realize they must have been paper thin at one point but not on the edge! Duh! Potato chip knives anyone?
 
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