Most Dreaded/Most Scrutinized?

Kevin Jones

Kevin Jones

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Oct 28, 2006
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I have often wondered what elements of a knife's construction do makers dread the most or find the most difficult? Joe Mandt has said on occasion that he struggles with guard/handle fit-up. How about the rest of you makers?

Collectors, what part of the knife's construction do you scrutinize or critique the most? What bothers you the most if it's not right?

Wonder how many of these most dreaded/most scrutinized elements are one in the same?
 
Grind lines that are symetrical and even, on folders when closed I look to see no daylight between liners and scales, no sharp protruding edges, when open, I like to see a smooth transistion between the back spring and the back of the blade.

Just my 2 cents worth.
 
A few:

1) Uneven plunge cuts. (see this at all levels).
2) Less than "flat" flat-grinds. (let the light play along the blade length and watch for dipsy-doodles and woo-hoos - technical terms :p ). Newbies sometimes struggle with the dreaded 2" mark.
3) Asymmetrical clips (unless it is deliberately chisel-ground).
4) Poor hand-rubbed satin finish - gotta get those scrtaches parallel and straight before you go to the next grit.
5) Off-center or poorly fit guard (something I don't see all that often).
6) Handles too short. (do not put a 4" handle on an 11" blade). Although this is more am issue of design than execution.

I don't expect perfection in a handmade knife, and none of the above are universal deal-breakers on their own (except the shorty handle).

Roger
 
Anticipating what the customer will think of my work that I have "scrutinized to death" and pricing.

When I look at knife-making and knives which I have seen some great examples, even some "Hall of famer stuff" and even in what you would think should be the most perfect example no excuse's right? Had mistakes or what I like to refer to as "human error" or character to some?

I really strive for even grind lines and the best fit and finish I can deliver.......I really dislike any sharp edges other than the cutting edge.

Spencer
 
I don't "dread" one step of the manufacturing phase - I find it all quite exhilarating!
But - design is a hurdle.
Doesn't matter how well you put it together if the design isn't right.
 
Design for me is not a problem, but, then again, I am not attempting anything crazy/complicated like Karl's take down feature....lol. The plunge grinds still give me headaches, but nothing like they did a year or so ago. Ditto for the wiggles, dips and the dreaded 2 inch mark when flat grinding and putting the edge on the knife. Schmutzes from doing those last two are not hard to smooth out, but it takes a while hand sanding and time is the enemy of the knifemaker.
 
Blade symettry is critical, and was one of my biggest concerns early in the game, but now its the fit and finish of handles.

The guard area where the tang meets the brass, and where the brass meets the wood are the big concerns as far as skills go.

The other one that I have no control over is the quality of the handle material. I recently made a pair of fighters, inwhich when grinding the handles into shape came into some awful flaws in the wood. One of the layers of the stablized wood I was using had holes hidden, but as I ground into the wood I had these ugly blems come to the surface.

I decided to leave the handles on instead of replacing them. They gave the knife some charactor, and not worth the hassle of tearing the handles down.
 
This all depends on how much I am spending and what I expect in return. couple of years ago, I had to medium cpm3V users made for me and they turned out nice with a BB finish, nothing fancy or special but then again for $300 I didn't expect anything fancy.

About 10 years ago, I ordered two Folders from a prominent Custom Folder maker, who had gotten a lot of press in the magazines of the time. He made me two of his knives each costing me $600. When I received them I was appalled at the super blunt edge, which could barely cut paper without ripping it. But what made it even worse was the actual construction of the folders. The slabs were secured at the butt by one bolt and the only thing securing them at the other end was the pivot. These knives were so flexy it was rediculous. I sent both back to have bolts added even though the EXPERT Knive maker stated that it was not necessary. Apparently I was more of an EXPERT than this well known knifemaker when it came to construction. These knives flexed so bad that they would unlock when force was applied in cutting and since the edge was blunt I had to apply a lot of force. The knives were beautifull, but they were also intended for hard use as the magazine review had indicated.

This scenario left such a bad taste in my mouth that I went to high end production folders for sometime since I had not had any issues with them. I ended up getting rid of both folders in trades in which I was on the loosing end big time. I never made that mistake again.

This also led me to the understanding that most Magazine reviewes perform "knife impressions" not real tests.

So what bothers me the most is not getting what I expected.

On the other end I have gotten knives from Carson, lightfoot, rodebaugh and several others that I was thoroughly happy with.
 
RogerP said:
A few:

1) Uneven plunge cuts. (see this at all levels).
2) Less than "flat" flat-grinds. (let the light play along the blade length and watch for dipsy-doodles and woo-hoos - technical terms :p ). Newbies sometimes struggle with the dreaded 2" mark.
3) Asymmetrical clips (unless it is deliberately chisel-ground).
4) Poor hand-rubbed satin finish - gotta get those scrtaches parallel and straight before you go to the next grit.
5) Off-center or poorly fit guard (something I don't see all that often).
6) Handles too short. (do not put a 4" handle on an 11" blade). Although this is more am issue of design than execution.

I don't expect perfection in a handmade knife, and none of the above are universal deal-breakers on their own (except the shorty handle).

Roger
Click to expand...

Mine are about as Rogers, except a too LOOOOOng handle bothers me about as much as too short from a design standpoint.

From an execution prospective final finish is big for me to.
It really bothers me when there's adhesive residue on the blade/guard/ferrule. Or the new knife is delivered dirty or with fine scratches everywhere. IMO, when makers finish a piece they should get a swab with solvent and look at the piece under magnification to be sure all adhesive and/or polishing compound residue is gone. If it's clean under magnification then it's clean to the buyer's eye.
 
Everything, from the integrity of handle material around a pin, to the inner radius of the choil and everything in between.

Stephen
 
As has been mentioned, price makes a big difference in what I consider to be acceptable. In more expensive knives, I am forgiving of very slight imperfections, but anything that I can notice at a glance is unacceptable to me.

Blades that aren't perfectly straight (warped) or are wavy, uneven grinds and plunge cuts, poorly fit guards, and handles that don't have a good fit or aren't in balance to the blade, are big no-nos.

Things I absolutely hate are clunky designs, a lack of overall balance in the design and the use of poor or mismatched materials.

If a knife is going to have embellishment, the work should be of a quality that befits the knife. Poorly done engraving, etching, scrimshaw or carving, will ruin a knife in my eyes.

This may be picky, but I also don't like makers marks that are either too large, or are very amateurishly done.

From the above, it would appear that I am very picky, but that's not really the case. All I expect is that due care and attention be used for a knife in its price range. If a maker is going to charge me $4000.00 for a knife, that knife better be as close to perfect as can be. If the knife is a $500.00 bowie, the degree of imperfections I am willing to accept goes way up.
 
Keith Montgomery said:
As has been mentioned, price makes a big difference in what I consider to be acceptable. In more expensive knives, I am forgiving of very slight imperfections, but anything that I can notice at a glance is unacceptable to me.

Blades that aren't perfectly straight (warped) or are wavy, uneven grinds and plunge cuts, poorly fit guards, and handles that don't have a good fit or aren't in balance to the blade, are big no-nos.

Things I absolutely hate are clunky designs, a lack of overall balance in the design and the use of poor or mismatched materials.

If a knife is going to have embellishment, the work should be of a quality that befits the knife. Poorly done engraving, etching, scrimshaw or carving, will ruin a knife in my eyes.

This may be picky, but I also don't like makers marks that are either too large, or are very amateurishly done.

From the above, it would appear that I am very picky, but that's not really the case. All I expect is that due care and attention be used for a knife in its price range. If a maker is going to charge me $4000.00 for a knife, that knife better be as close to perfect as can be. If the knife is a $500.00 bowie, the degree of imperfections I am willing to accept goes way up.
Click to expand...
Do people actually sell warped blades?!!?! I have thrown away 2 blades in the last month that were warped. I have never had any luck straightening them. To me, that is a most obvious flaw that cannot be repaired by all of the sandpaper in the world...:eek:
 
Warped blades?..Yes, hard to believe but they do. I thought i was getting a deal on a maple handled 9" bowie i saw on a website. Turned out the blade was Warped badly. The maker's JS stamp. I don't know why he ever let it out of his shop.


Roger, you mentioned the dips in grind, uneven. Do you know if these are more common in flat ground, or convex ground.. I've only noticed it as some convex ground blades, but haven't examined a lot of flat gound blades.
David
 
2knife said:
Warped blades?..Yes, hard to believe but they do. I thought i was getting a deal on a maple handled 9" bowie i saw on a website. Turned out the blade was Warped badly. The maker's JS stamp. I don't know why he ever let it out of his shop.


Roger, you mentioned the dips in grind, uneven. Do you know if these are more common in flat ground, or convex ground.. I've only noticed it as some convex ground blades, but haven't examined a lot of flat gound blades.
David
Click to expand...
I used to get those "whoop di do's" when i first started trying to make knives. What caused them for me was trying to grind vertically on a contact wheel the way that Charlie Ochs does and Bill Moran did. Of course, it goes without saying that those guys were both very good at it and had ways to smooth/flatten out the blade afterwards (Mr. Ochs uses a disc grinder) Once I started flat grinding on the platen, those went away, but I would get the wigglys from light backing belts bumping and bunching up. The rotary platen for my KMG and some good old hand sanding has fixed that problem.
 
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