Knife #2 WIP (Kind of)

J

JustAFleshWound

Joined
Jan 10, 2012
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I apologize in advance for acting as if I knew everything, and for brushing aside all of your advice that you so freely gave. I've discovered that I knew practically nothing about knifemaking and metallurgy at the time of this thread.



Hello folks. Today I had a lot of free time so it was out to the "shop". (corner of the garage converted into a little knife making area;)) I forgot to take pictures for the first few steps but I think it will be alright.
This is what I started with. (I know, I know, "never use junk steel")
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Next, I cut out the basic blade shape with a speedy cut in a pneumatic die grinder.
I then annealed the steel. (black heat then a quench in brine)
Now that my blade was soft (the last one tested 38hrc after annealing) I could start shaping with files.

After the outside was all filed and the French notch and file work were completed, it was over to the bevel filing jig with this sucker. (Here is a photo from after the bevels were pretty much completed)
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I completed the bevels, so it was time to draw file.
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The plunge area was giving me trouble...
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so I moved to a triangular file.
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All done with draw filing! :D
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FALSE EDGE TIME!!!!!!!!!!!!:D

Marking center line...
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All clamped up and with the file guide in place.
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Here is where a stink bug started stinking and a piece of hickory was offered as a burnt sacrifice.

I fought through the stench and continued...
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Here she is with the handle area all flat filed (I did not get my swedge and primary bevel lined up perfectly with the thickness of the blade so this was necessary)
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That's all that I have completed today, the stench from the stinkbug became unbearable.:barf:

I hope this wasn't too hard to read.

Thanks for looking!:thumbup:
 
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Thanks!!! I don't know what type of handle material I'm going to use yet. I will either buy some canvas Micarta or use some of the hickory or oak that I already have.
 
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Just figured I'd update this... Got the blade sanded to 240 grit, drilled the pin holes and the holes for lightening to pass through.;) (sorry, no pictures) Got some Micarta in the mail and finished the heat treat today. Unfortunately the blade has a slight right hand bend, presumeably from uneven filing.:( I will finish it anyway! More to come later.
Signed,
Someone who really doesn't need to post after 2300 hours.:p
 
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Not all is lost yet. There are several methods to straighten it. I use Mark's method and take some metal C clamps and clamp the blade to a flat surface or one slightly bowed so it wants to bend the other way a tad. Place it in the oven and heat to your temper temperature then tighten a tad and keep heating. Check after an hour or so for straightness. I have straightend a couple of blades this way.
 
I would hate to mis-quote him, but I think it was Bob Engath who wrote something like this:
"If you are going to make knives, you'll have to learn how to straighten them."

I have used the method quint suggested with either a dime, penny, quarter, or loonie clamped under the blade to give the desired bow, in order to get the warp out.

Bruce
 
Thanks for the kind words everyone. I am hesitant to straighten with heat because I quenched in oil, to prevent cracking, and it did not get incredibly hard. (58hrc before tempering) It is a very slight bend at the tip, so I do not think it will cause to much degradation of function. Although I would like it to be straight, I do not think I will be able to straighten it.
 
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I just had another thought, if you are using a steel c clamp to clamp the blade during straightening wouldn't its ht be ruined? I only have one so I probably get overly concerned about things like that.
 
Little clamps suitable for such a task are around a buck apiece at the hardware store, if that makes any difference to you. And tempering temperature shouldn't be hot enough to ruin a HT, if my research is correct. I could be totally off base though.
 
So... suppose, hypothetically, you put a knife in the oven at 400 to temper, and then completely forget about it for two hours. What would happen?
 
I completed the knife yesterday and gave it to my Father for his birthday.
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Top view...
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In hand shot...
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Thanks for looking!
 
Well done! Time to start on #3:D

I suggest trying some 1084 from the New Jersey Steel Baron. Its pretty cheap considering the work you put in to build a knife.

Bruce
 
I apologize for acting as if I knew everything, and for brushing aside all of your advice that you so freely gave. I've discovered that I knew practically nothing about knifemaking and metallurgy at the time of this thread.
 
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