Looking to Expand My Bladesmithing Skills

Thanks for the advice nine4t4; it's very encouraging to hear from someone with a very similar design ethos:)
 
As is the case with many indigenous designs, there appear to be several variations on the parang. This is the type I based mine on:
 
The only reason the edge is straight on mine is because I was using a piece of excess steel I had on hand. I took a design that was a proven chopping tool, and adapted it to fit the design constraints of the metal I was using; I've heard some knife makers call blades of this sort "shop goblins."
 
How do you feel about the quality in making knives? Do you feel that there isn't a need to have good finishing work as well ass quality in the materials, or that "style" is enough? I see the knives you are showing to be poorly conceived, and rushed over in both the blade and handle finishing. Please don't say these things don't matter. Your work at this point appears very crude. Certainly, these may be a few testing blades and if so please show a well finished one. I don't see the quality of work you seem to believe is there.
Frank
 
That's a slightly loaded question, but I'll answer it to the best of my abilities. However, please understand that I am not trying to invalidate any of the design philosophies of anyone who has taken the time to reply to this thread, and I respect all of you as the master craftsmen you are, and I hope I have not offended any of you with my opinions because that was not my intention at all. That being said... Knife making is something I do purely as a hobby; I enjoy the process of coming up with my own designs, or modifying previously established designs to suit my particular design aesthetics. Do I think my designs are the best in the world? Absolutely not. Could I spend more time on executing each of my designs so that every single tiny detail is absolutely flawless? Certainly, but I could also run the risk of ruining a perfectly adequate tool and losing all the work I've put into said tool. Knife making is not my livelihood, so I'm not trying to scam people out of money with hastily done trinkets that literally have no capacity for usefulness whatsoever. I am simply making knives that serve the purposes I have designed them to fulfill. I am an artist at heart, and I find beauty in what I've made, *and* as an added bonus, I can use the tools I've made.

To sum things up, I am pleased with the progress I am making, and I will continue to learn from the mistakes I make in my designs. However, they are my designs and I'll continue to make them in a way that I enjoy, unless someone wants me to make them a knife, in which case I will be happy to make it exactly as they want it to the best of my abilities.

That's my opinion. You can accept it as what works for me, or you can disagree with me. I hope you'll accept that that's just the way I enjoy doing things, and that I'm not trying to say my way is the best way of doing things, but feel free to form your own opinion of me and my ideas. I'll respect your opinion as long as you respect mine :).

Thank you all for replying to my thread, I honestly do appreciate it :)
 
If you are happy with your knives, and you are the only one being pleased, don't change anything.

If you are asking for advice, critique, and improvement from makers who do it every day...you will need to make changes. Ergonomics/design, and fit and finish are what shows the most need for improvement.

Learning by mistakes is a very poor method in education. Learning from example, mentoring, instruction, by proper example, etc. is how to do it right. Medical students don't just start doing surgery and learn a bit every time the patient dies until they get it right, do they.

As far as personal expression, only after you know what is inside the box can you really work outside it.
 
I see the point you're making with the medical student analogy; that's very true. In the future I will give more thought to the practical aspects of my designs, and I will continue to improve the fit and finish of the knives I make. In hindsight, I think I let my pride get the better of me yesterday, and for that I apologize. One of the reasons I have been less interested in flawless finish on the knives I've made so far is because of the steel they are made from. Up till this point I've been using old tool blades that have already been heat treated to a functional level. I understand that the quality of the steel is a bit sketchy since I have no idea what type of steel I'm actually dealing with, but I test each type of steel I use, and I've had fairly good results with the steels I've used so far. I cut blanks out of the steel in a way that keeps the section of material I will be using from losing its pre-existing heat treatment, and as I said before, the results I have achieved thus far have met or exceeded my expectations. I do plan on learning how to do things properly though; that's why I want to branch out into forging, so I can learn how to do every part of the knife making process from start to finish. I also plan to start purchasing quality pieces of steel when I start forging knives (I'm thinking 1084 or a comparably easy to work stainless/alloy steel).
While I'm on the topic of forging, I've been considering saving my money for a good propane forge. I've seen some forges from Majestic Forges (I think) in the size that I'd like to use (2 or 3 burners) for around $450. I have no qualms about paying that much for a proper forge that will last many years, but it would be nice to know if I can find a better price on a forge of the same or better quality than the ones I'm currently looking at. Do you know of any that would beat the $450 price range?
Also, if you have any thoughts on steel choice, I'd be happy to hear them :)
 
Stacy E. Apelt - Bladesmith said:
If you can make it happen, go to the Moran School of Bladesmithing in Hope Arkansas. ( Texarkana College)
http://www.americanbladesmith.com/index.php?section=pages&id=128

It will teach you more in a week than you will learn on your own in a year.

Also, check out the classes in western NC held by the ABS and others. These are often called "Hammer-in's". They have weekend and all week events and classes.
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Yep, we've got an ABS school here in Clyde NC, which is only about 3 hours away from you. Very well equipped facility, and we select the best instructors for various classes year round.. We've typically got 2, 2-week intensive Intro to Bladesmithing classes a year. In fact, James Crowell, MS. is teaching one starting next week.

We're not having the fall Hammer-in this year, but we'll have a really big one in the Spring of next year.

I highly recommend getting involved with other makers in your area and/or attending classes if you want to further your skills. I took a Handles & Guards class (with James Rodebaugh MS) at Haywood a few years ago and consider it the best investment in knifemaking I've ever made, and believe me, I've made some big ones.
 
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