- Joined
- Dec 27, 2010
- Messages
- 6,852
I actually just bit the bullet and made my first knife as a kind of release from my regular job (which I love, but it's nice to have a creative outlet). I don't think I ever want to sell them, but the idea of making something useful myself really appeals to me. It's not quite done yet, but has been a great learning experience.
I started with a file, and used a portable grinder to grind down the sides and shape the edge into a VERY basic shape. Then I made some scales out of bloodwood. One thing I discovered is that when you're grinding, you have to be really patient, or else the metal burns. I also learned that you have to start with a big enough billet to grind the tang to the same shape as the handle you're going to make. Mine was a file, so it wasn't very wide, and I ended up having to fill the gaps, so it's not ideal. Also, the grain on the wood is running the wrong way, which I figured out was wrong pretty quickly, but didn't want to waste the wood. I also learned that it's insanely hard to grind the edge evenly with a portable grinder. I really need something that will lock on so I can get a bit more precision, and even then, I think flat grinds will be beyond me for a while.
Having attempted this project now, I have to say I really respect the work that the custom makers on here have produced. It's kind of amazing to look at my own creation, which I'm pretty happy with for being a first knife and having made all the mistakes that I did, and seeing the mindblowingly awesome stuff that gets put up here. There's a whole different level of craftsmanship and art that goes into really making knives for sale, and an amateur like myself trying to learn the basics myself. And when I say a whole different level, I mean the difference between the Ozarks and the Himalayas.
From what some of the makers are saying though, I almost think I got the better end of the deal as an amateur who doesn't have to worry about selling. I mean, I have had a BLAST on this project. I would hate to make something so beautiful as some of the blades I see up here and feel like it's work, or have to worry about selling, and such, and have lost sight of the joy that I get from creation.
I started with a file, and used a portable grinder to grind down the sides and shape the edge into a VERY basic shape. Then I made some scales out of bloodwood. One thing I discovered is that when you're grinding, you have to be really patient, or else the metal burns. I also learned that you have to start with a big enough billet to grind the tang to the same shape as the handle you're going to make. Mine was a file, so it wasn't very wide, and I ended up having to fill the gaps, so it's not ideal. Also, the grain on the wood is running the wrong way, which I figured out was wrong pretty quickly, but didn't want to waste the wood. I also learned that it's insanely hard to grind the edge evenly with a portable grinder. I really need something that will lock on so I can get a bit more precision, and even then, I think flat grinds will be beyond me for a while.
Having attempted this project now, I have to say I really respect the work that the custom makers on here have produced. It's kind of amazing to look at my own creation, which I'm pretty happy with for being a first knife and having made all the mistakes that I did, and seeing the mindblowingly awesome stuff that gets put up here. There's a whole different level of craftsmanship and art that goes into really making knives for sale, and an amateur like myself trying to learn the basics myself. And when I say a whole different level, I mean the difference between the Ozarks and the Himalayas.
From what some of the makers are saying though, I almost think I got the better end of the deal as an amateur who doesn't have to worry about selling. I mean, I have had a BLAST on this project. I would hate to make something so beautiful as some of the blades I see up here and feel like it's work, or have to worry about selling, and such, and have lost sight of the joy that I get from creation.
).
