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Knife design and making - another newb here - with a plan :)
- Thread starter PecenkA
- Start date
- Joined
- Dec 11, 2000
- Messages
- 1,132
I was going to say that I thought the handle was a bit short, then read that you had shortened it more
The rule of thumb that I use is for handles on this size knife to measure something between 4.25 and 4.75 inches between the start and finish of the wood. In your case, I reckon that the wood is starting too far from the blade and that comfort would be improved if you took the wood further towards the bevel. Short handles work when gripped like a hammer, but, in such a grip, for doing power cuts on wood and such material, the tendency is for the hand to ride forward. You get more power by having your hand closer to the cutting edge, and it looks like you will run out of handle.
Longer handles work when you hold the knife in a sabre grip.
The handle shown was a bit big for me, maybe as much a 5", but I have smaller hands than the guy it was going to, and this is what I had pictures of uploaded.
Those are not the only grips you want to think about. I have been told by great makers that they aim for a knife to be comfortable in any grip that is used, I am not so great, so I tend to be satisfied if it works in five or six.
Reverse grip for chest lever cutting.
Side grip, good for skinning and food preparation.
And on knives with blades over 5 inches that have a bit of weight, a rear grip for performing snap-cuts can be useful.
A longer handle allows you to flare the butt, which is good for both hammer grip and rear grip, without the flare digging into you in hand in some of the other holds.
The other thing to bear in mind, is that the deepest part of your palm may not line up with your middle finger. If not, then you might want the widest/thickest part of the handle, when viewed from the spine, to be 1/4 inch nearer the butt than the deepest part, when viewed from the side. Parallel handles are easy to make, which is why they appear on factory knives so much, but your are making a custom, so go ahead and do some sculpting so it fits you like a glove.
Good luck with your project!
The rule of thumb that I use is for handles on this size knife to measure something between 4.25 and 4.75 inches between the start and finish of the wood. In your case, I reckon that the wood is starting too far from the blade and that comfort would be improved if you took the wood further towards the bevel. Short handles work when gripped like a hammer, but, in such a grip, for doing power cuts on wood and such material, the tendency is for the hand to ride forward. You get more power by having your hand closer to the cutting edge, and it looks like you will run out of handle.
Longer handles work when you hold the knife in a sabre grip.
The handle shown was a bit big for me, maybe as much a 5", but I have smaller hands than the guy it was going to, and this is what I had pictures of uploaded.
Those are not the only grips you want to think about. I have been told by great makers that they aim for a knife to be comfortable in any grip that is used, I am not so great, so I tend to be satisfied if it works in five or six.
Reverse grip for chest lever cutting.
Side grip, good for skinning and food preparation.
And on knives with blades over 5 inches that have a bit of weight, a rear grip for performing snap-cuts can be useful.
A longer handle allows you to flare the butt, which is good for both hammer grip and rear grip, without the flare digging into you in hand in some of the other holds.
The other thing to bear in mind, is that the deepest part of your palm may not line up with your middle finger. If not, then you might want the widest/thickest part of the handle, when viewed from the spine, to be 1/4 inch nearer the butt than the deepest part, when viewed from the side. Parallel handles are easy to make, which is why they appear on factory knives so much, but your are making a custom, so go ahead and do some sculpting so it fits you like a glove.
Good luck with your project!
@C_Claycomb
This post was most helpful, thank you very much. As far as the handle is concerned I went for the original one. The handle length is 4.75 inches after a slight modification.
I started working on the knife today and first I manged to almost perfectly straighten the steel bar. After a few hours with a hacksaw and files this has emerged:
And after some more hours of filing and sanding it is ready for a bevel:
This post was most helpful, thank you very much. As far as the handle is concerned I went for the original one. The handle length is 4.75 inches after a slight modification.
I started working on the knife today and first I manged to almost perfectly straighten the steel bar. After a few hours with a hacksaw and files this has emerged:
And after some more hours of filing and sanding it is ready for a bevel:
I got the knife back from heat treat today. It came out 60 (+/- 1) HRC and I am very pleased with the result. The handle part was softened to 35 HRC. Then I finished the blade to 400 grit which is as far as I will go since I'm using plain carbon steel and it probably does not make any sense going for a mirror finish. I bought a cheap 35 EUR wheel grinder / belt sander which helped a lot, but with 1/3 HP is "a bit" underpowered. Which is probably good, because I made one mistake of grinding on the wrong spot. Hardly noticeable but with a more powerful grinder it would be a lot worse. I also managed to cut myself a little with the blade not even sharpened yet so I have high hopes of achieving razor sharpness. Tomorrow I'm going to start working on the oak handle and hopefully the knife will be finished by wednesday.
- Joined
- Sep 10, 2000
- Messages
- 4,786
You are coming along very well. I want to suggest you take care in sizing the handle for width and thickness and for sure stay away from making it round. Small handles are fare more comfortable to use that oversize ones which have a tendency to tire out your hand. I believe you picked one of the top notch styles not only to work with but as a fine working knife. Lots more success in finishing as you want to have it. Frank
Knife is sharpened on a coarse stone and the handle is sanded to the final finish. It now needs some protective coating. I was thinking of tung oil. I also have a problem with sharpening on the fine stone. I only managed to get the middle portion of the blade to the shaving sharpness. Any more tips for sharpening because I watched a lot of videos online by now? I have the same problem with my kitchen knives.
Overall I'm quite happy with my first knife. It could be a bit lighter and I need to pay more attention to details for my next project which will be a kitchen knife. And soon I'll probably have to start paying for subscription on this forum
.
Overall I'm quite happy with my first knife. It could be a bit lighter and I need to pay more attention to details for my next project which will be a kitchen knife. And soon I'll probably have to start paying for subscription on this forum
.
- Joined
- Feb 5, 2010
- Messages
- 3,911
Personally, I would do some more sanding on the handle to round it out a bit better. It's a little blocky from what I see in the pictures. Feel for the hot spots in your hand. I also see what looks like a very coarse texture in the handle. Most likely the wood you used it too open grained. I would definitely seal it thoroughly, probably with Super Glue (CA). The last thing you want is for the user to get splinters while using it.
I'm also noticing scratches in the ricasso area, so if it was my project I'd sand it more. But now that the handle is on that will be challenging.
Overall, nice first effort.
- Greg
I'm also noticing scratches in the ricasso area, so if it was my project I'd sand it more. But now that the handle is on that will be challenging.
Overall, nice first effort.
- Greg