my 2nd knife - Brass guard and subhilt, walnut scales, square pins, curved 1080 blade

[Arklan]

EDIT: stupid fingers... brass, not grass dang it!

back in june last year i posted my first knife - http://www.bladeforums.com/forums/s...irst-Knife-mild-steel-cocobolo-and-brass-grip

it took me until december to even get another piece of steel, but i've finally finished my second knife! 1080 steel, brought to critical (nonmagnetic and probably well beyond... some melted) in a charcoal fire and quenched in warmed canola oil, then tempered at 400 for an hour, twice.

8" over all, blade is 4".

handles scales are figured walnut, finished in Mahoney's walnut oil with brass guard and sub hilt. at least i think that's the right term, sub hilt. please correct me if not. some filework/jimping on the spine too. fun stuff, that.

not bad considering i don't have a belt grinder, eh? this was all a dremel, hand files (from walmart, they're already getting dull) and of course sand paper. honestly i'm having a hard time seeing anything but the mistakes, myself. the two bits of the sub hilt are misaligned, the jimping isn't evenly spaced, the spine follows a different curve than the edge, there's some pin holes on the right side near the spine from where it overheated and burned, the square pins (i just have to be different.) aren't really square, etc.

 

[John A. Larsen]

Keep at it, doing a great job for only your second knife. John

 

[Arklan]

thank you very much, John.

 

[Craig Daniel]

I think you did a very good job on this one, Any mistakes are how we learn and you pick up on them fast so you will be making better knives every time.

 

[BladeScout]

I like it.

 

[Lorien]

i was going to offer it for sale here, but i don't have the money to get a paid membership at the moment.

you are pushing it with this sentence, which is pretty clearly a solicitation. Edit out that part and you're good

I edited it out for you.

 

[snubbie]

I am quite impressed with this being only your second knife. It is quite attractive with a lot of workmanship apparent. At the same time, it being only your second knife, it is a bit ambitious. Learn from your mistakes and if I may offer a small bit of advice as lifelong craftsman... It may be advantageous to start with some simpler designs and as you become proficient, add other features such as square pins, spacers, bolsters, etc. Small steps, mastering each one along the way, and yes, learning from mistakes.
Most importantly, get your heat treating down pat, especially before trying to sell anything. You want to put something out there that is a quality tool, not potential problems waiting to happen. Trying to sell a "sorta good" product will come back to bite you. "Almost good enough" isn't good enough.