How To Many firsts today including attempting my first knife

[honingblades]

Hey all,

Today was many firsts. First time cutting metal with a bandsaw, first time using a grinder of any kind; let a lot a 2x72 but I finally got my house and the garage more or less setup to make knives.

Here is my first attempt.

- AEB-L steel
- Lots of divots that ill try working out with sandpaper before I stop until heat treating.
- I need better control on the 2x72 (first time every using a grinder of any kind) but that will come with more use.

I didn't know what belt to start with so I just decided to go with an 80-grit ceramic. I'm using 220 sandpaper now to try and even things out, but many I should drop a couple levels and get something a tad rougher.

Thoughts and suggestions are much welcome.

https://imgur.com/a/C0YP4gG

Thanks to everyone that has answered my questions and just posted in general. I learned everything I tried today from reading and watching youtube videos.

 

[scott kozub]

Good looking profile.

With AEBL a lot of people including myself grind after heat treat for a couple reasons. AEBL warps like crazy so some thickness helps. I find AEBL weird to grind before heat treating. It's very grabby or gummy on the belt making it hard to control. Especially freehand. Once heat treated the belt skates over the blade easier. You do run the risk of burning out your temper though so be careful.

Do you have a work rest? If so try using the rest and a push stick. It'll help with the divots. If you can slow down the grinder that may help as well. Be careful the blade doesn't slip between the belt and rest. When I approach the belt I like to have the blade moving across the belt as it gets closer. This way i don't dig a divot if the angle is wrong,

Looking at the divots you have a lot of work if starting with 220 sand paper if you want a smooth finish. The type of paper makes a huge difference. Get some coarser rynowet to start. I start hand sanding with 220 but I grind up to 400 on the grinder and it looks very smooth before I start handsanding. A couple strokes with a hand sander makes the flaws jump out. There's not much of a point handsanding AEBL before ht.

Keep it up. You're on your way. As long as you try to do your best at each stage you'll be amazed how quickly you progress. Understand that your first knifes are strictly a learning experience.

The feeling is great the first time you use your knife in the kitchen.

 

[kdnolin]

I agree with Scott on post HT grinding. I find grinding pre HT way too easy to get gouges in the steel.

 

[Hubert S.]

Looks good! Very ambitious for a first knife. I only made a kiridashi to start with.

I think it will take very long to even it out with 220 grit from an 80 grit belt finish. Do you have a 120 grit belt? I would try to clean it up with with that and do the rest after heat treating. To clean up some of the divots on the flats (and maybe even the bevels), you can use a magnet and grind lengthwise on the flat platen. The magnets used to align pieces for welding work well enough, but you can also buy a lifting magnet at the hardware store for about ten bucks. Get a feel for how hard the magnet gets pulled against the platen with the grinder off so you don't get surprised. Also, make sure the platen is slightly proud of the idlers when doing this. If you don't have a magnet, you can also hold it by the tang in one hand and push it against the platen with the other.

Good luck and keep posting about your progress.