Knifemaker 1st's maybe even Then/Now

atakach

atakach

Joined
Jan 17, 2008
Messages
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Just was wondering.....I see alot of new makers and hobbiest, posting their first attempts at knife making. And I thought it would be very interesting to see some of the veterans of this trade post similar works of theirs. Not their first JS/MS knives, but their first (or one of their 1st).

I myself am no claim to fame and my work has a long way to go, but I have improved considerably......with a long road ahead of myself.

so if they had cameras of even electricity when ya started making and you have a pic that your not embarrased to admit you made let's have a look.

Im really hoping to get some of the "TOP SHELF MAKERS" to come out of the woodwork and post, maybe even a then/now post of their work. I feel it would be a great inspiration to would be upcoming makers, to see that their not alone in their shabby first attempts at making a knife.

I'll even get the ball rolling....:rolleyes:

This is the first knife I made that ended up in someone elses hands.
It's made from a file ,packawood,and lovless bolts......:barf:
But at the time it was all I could do. Never even annealed the file....:o man i can remember the blisters i had on my hands.

It went to an uncle, who hooked me up with a ton of sand paper,4'' contact wheel for a bench grinder,buffing wheels , and some other misc. supplies.

Then

1stknife%20r.forkey%20(1).jpg


Now

bowiepics.jpg


Spikes Then

1st%20spike%20knife.jpg


Spikes Now

rrspike10-08.jpg


Thanks
Andrew
 
Thanks for sharing! This is a neat idea and like you said may give some inspiration to others. You even have the date on the pic. You've come a long way in over 4 1/2 years!
 
Great minds think alike! I was just thinking the other day that this would be a cool idea for a thread. Thanks for posting! I will take a shot of my first as soon as I can and post up a then and now.
 
I've been lurking around here for a bit. I have to admit I spend a lot of time on another knife forum or two.

I'm just a beginner myself, but I'm starting to find people who want my knives.

This is my first attempt done back in May, with a Brusletto blade.
med_1221530254-keepers_026-1.jpg


This is my last completed knife. The blade was made by me with stock removal on a small piece of 15N20.
med_1230562923-2inch2_03.jpg

I'd really be interested in seeing some as requested. Some of the guys who have been working a decade or more. I've seen some progression in my craft in just a short time. It would be interesting to chart it some over the course of years.

Thanks,

Walter
 
Nice stuff, improvement indeed.

I hear ya, there's alot of full other full time makers on this forum, who frequent this section daily, and we all know our first knife we thought was like some holy grail....meaning we thought it was wonderful. and just had to take a snap shot of it.

So somewhere out there is a file or folder that's got some great first time pics in it. so lets see'em Pleeeeaaassseeeee!!

andrew
 
Heres my first ever sole authorship knife....after a number of kits...made a number of years ago.

I still actually use it around the shop!

firstthumb.jpg
 
I don't know if mine count because I've only been doing this for about seven months, but I feel I've made at least a little progress. I also started with kits, but I'm showing my first attempts without training wheels. My first knives were actually my first two... finished the same day at least, so I'll show those versus my last two. I know i have a LONG way to go, but it's all about baby steps.... anyway...

My first(ish) knife #1 (June '08) was a small camp chopper cleaver belt knife..
smchopper.jpg


and one I finished in Nov. for a buddy of mine in Iraq...btw... I posted this in the gallery and got ZERO feedback... does it suck? I know it's a little rough, but he seems to like it....
combat.jpg


ok... so first(ish) knife #2.. a little chute-ish knife
minichute.jpg


and my current project... about 98% done with this one...
JillsKnife.jpg


It takes me forever and a day to finish a knife right now, but slowly and surely, they get finished.

-Mark
 
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mtredmon said:
Thanks Andrew! :thumbup: I guess I missed the part about "Top Shelf"....kinda bottom drawer at this stage of the game :o

-Mark
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no i ment EVERYONE!, ya do nice stuff. I just ment it would be nice for some of these top makers to post some of their first botch ups.

andrew
 
Here's my first
picture.php


Here is my 5th/last one completed. What do you think? Slight improvement?
picture.php
 
here's one of my first ones made from a lawn mower blade.
 

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keep'em comming......i like this. every one always shows their best stuff, so i like the change of scenery........

over 300 views????? funny i thought a few of those would have been some of you master smiths out their.......i know ya all didn't start your first knife with a 100lb. little giant ,ivory and mosaic damascus....:rolleyes:

andrew

???anyone second this opinion???
 
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Here's my first knife,

01a.jpg



And here's my most recent one,

90_121808_Arashi_Tanto_Combo_Sm.jpg


I took several years off recently so I'm still trying to get my chops back! :D I always enjoy these threads, good idea Andrew. Thanks to everyone for sharing their work, it's all excellent and great to see.
 
ddavelarsen said:
Here's my first knife,

01a.jpg



And here's my most recent one,

90_121808_Arashi_Tanto_Combo_Sm.jpg


I took several years off recently so I'm still trying to get my chops back! :D I always enjoy these threads, good idea Andrew. Thanks to everyone for sharing their work, it's all excellent and great to see.
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Dave I dont see much differance from early to late knife skills. Both are sweet.
BTW that last one has one of the most gorgeous handle material I've seen. Is it ivory? I cant tell.
 
very nice stuff ......maybe one day i'll be half that good....and i mean that sincerely.

Bruce ya got anything to offer?

andrew
 
Great thread. I'm kind of amazed at how good you guys's first knives look. I hope to be there by my tenth. :p Keep em' comin!
 
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