Knife in Progress.

Keith_H

Keith_H

Joined
Jul 20, 2007
Messages
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Here is what I have so far, I drew it up on Google Sketchup (great program I recommend it) and have it traced out 5/32" O1 that I got from Rob Ridley http://www.knifemaker.ca/comersus/store/comersus_index.asp.
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I sometimes I think that I should use the as much steel as I can, and wonder if I should make the spine wider, using the 1/8"- 3/16" above the knife, what do you think?
 

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Just use as much steel as you need to for the knife you want to make. There's no point in trying to get the "most" out of the steel if it isn't the knife you want. I don't think the blade needs to be wider. I would lay the blade out with the spine at the top of the bar, however, so you have less material to remove. You can cut out much of the bottom stuff, but the entire spine will have to be ground since it's so little.
 
If you move the knife up on the steel,you could get a little more 'drop' at the butt. It's better to cut things a little bit bigger and work down to what looks and feels right. If you have the room, why not use it?

Just my opinion. :)
 
Thank you. I figured I would lay it out like that because the handle curves outward and I would have that straight precision ground edge without any filing.

I better get cutting! More photos to come!
 
It's just a lot more work to take off the stock on the top. The edge doesn't have to be straight anyways ;)
 
Thanks, I hope so! I have been procrastinating, but I have an altered design that I like better.
 
Thanks for the tip on google sketchup Keith, appreciate it.

I'm sure most of you already know about Lloyd Harding's drawings, but it was new to me.
So I thought I would post this link for other newbies such as myself.
There is a lot of good stuff on this CD. http://hurleyknives.com/lloyd.html

Best of luck to everyone on this project. - Cliff
 
I was putting off my knife for a while, I think because I wasnt sure that my design was perfect.

Here some work that I finally did today.

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I don't know why I procrastinated so long, it was easy and pretty fun.

Oh and this will be my second completed knife, I have one and 1/2 done before this one.
 
That knife is the exact same design I had on my drawing board.:eek: I even bought some O1 to make it, but now I've seemed to be flooded with other work...
 
Off to a good start, Kieth! Keep us posted.

When I get an idea, I leave everything well oversize and then work down to what looks & feels right. Just a bit at a time, 1/8" makes a world of difference sometimes. Anytime I cut too close to what I thought I wanted, I wished I had a little more to work with somewhere. Just the way I do it, everybody develops their own way. That's what I ment by my earlier post.

Make a few and see what works for YOU!! And have FUN!! ;):D
 
I think that i would profile it with files into something that looks like a slightly smaller version with no real crisp lines if i didn't draw in finite lines, I assume you use some sort of grinder, I think that it would be easier to see the progress with one.
 
I forgot to mention in the title that this is the knife that I am exchanging for the gift exchange and that I did curve the pommel a little more.

I may regret making the knife before knowing who I am making it for, but i figured that I could make a blade profile that most people would like, then put on a handle that the owner would want.

I hope to start the bevels tomorrow. (Takes forever, I think I will have to buy some new files)
 
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Keith_H said:
...I hope to start the bevels tomorrow. (Takes forever, I think I will have to buy some new files)
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Hey Keith! That knife looks great so far. I am sooo jealous of your workshop that you woldn't believe... also about that sweet precision flat ground O1 you are using. I only have hand tools (well, and a drill, an angle grinder and a Dremmel) and I have to use leaf spring steel (which is not flat or precission ground by any means).

Just a quick advice. Seems like you are lacking a belt sander... just like me. I built myself a rig like this (ala GreenPete), which helps a lot in keeping the right angle while cutting out the bevels. With that shitload of equipment you have there I am sure you can make one for yourself in no time!
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The square tube is about 3 feet long.

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The square tube lies slides over a perpendicular piece of 4x4 I clamped to my working table. That way the angle of the file and the blade is always the same.

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I learnt this the hard way. Once you are done cutting one side of the bevel with the file DON'T REMOVE THE BLADE FROM THE RIG!!! Cut a few strips of 80grit sandpaper and put it between the file and the bevel. This way you will be able to polish most of the scratches right away. It takes FOREVER if you try to do it by hand later on.

One more tip. Once you are happy with one bevel (it takes some tweaking with the bench vice untill you get the correct angle) DON'T REMOVE THE RIG FROM THE VICE!!! Just loosen the two screws on top, slide off the blade and slide it in from the other side. This way you will end up with the very same angle on both bevels.

I only use two HUGE files to cut my bevels, coarse and fine. And of course I don't remove all the steel with the files... I cheat as much as I can! I file a bit, check for scratches, use the angle grinder, file a bit more, check again the scratches, grind more, etc... Be gentle with the angle grinder when you are about to finish so you don't screw up at the end.

I will also be making a knife for the exchange, but I still didn't have the time to get at it.

Mikel
 
Lookin good! Please keep the pics coming. Wear a mask when you saw this stuff. Steel is airborne for a long time.
 
Thank you for the support. Nice jig! My dad's shop isn't that great, i just got a blade for the bandsaw, and the drill press could probably use a re-build. I tryed to position the camera to show only the clean parts of the shop, the rest quite cluttered.

I quickly built this jig a few months ago, I took a peice of flatbar that was in my garage that had a hole it already then bolted the handle from my drill on there (or was it an angle grinder?). I clamped on a file using a little c-clamp and ran my extended file across one of those rolley supports for cutting long stock and the work in the vise that I leveled.

This was to be my second knife:

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I figured that the saw dust was not air-borne or small, it is a good consideration next time.

My high school shop class, even though it has a window fan, the air in there still gets cloudy, I was warning this gr.12 student to not cut GALVANIZED sheet metal with the plasma cutter for 2 hours... He did it anyway.
 
Keith_H said:
Thank you for the support. Nice jig! My dad's shop isn't that great, i just got a blade for the bandsaw, and the drill press could probably use a re-build.
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Yes it is! You have a bandsaw and a full size drill press. All I have is an angle grinder and one of those vertical supports for a hand held drill. Anytime I try to drill 8mm holes, I end up with the drill bit stuck and the drill about to shatter in pieces! :D One of these days something is going to happen and it won't be fun at all...

Keith_H said:
I quickly built this jig a few months ago, I took a peice of flatbar that was in my garage that had a hole it already then bolted the handle from my drill on there (or was it an angle grinder?). I clamped on a file using a little c-clamp and ran my extended file across one of those rolley supports for cutting long stock and the work in the vise that I leveled.
Click to expand...
If you don't want to mess arround with soldering anything, it is ok, but try to use a bolted on construction. Better than C clamps and less bulky. I will also suggest you using square tube instead of flat bar. When filing we (at least I) tend to lean into the file a lot and you can get the flat bar to flex easily... resulting in a not so flat bevel.

Keep posting pictures, the knife looks great so far!

Mikel

Yes i
 
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