My first attempt at making a knife

If you are just using a torch to heat treat, remember that there is no need to heat the tang area, or even the spine for that matter.
 
Ok so after 2x 1 hour temper cycles at 400 degrees, I set out to try to salvage the big one and the file still skates right off of it. Does that mean it is still too hard and needs another cycle?
 
Ok thanks. Just wanted to make sure. This is going to be a rough go finishing this edge.
 
i temper @ 425 two times for 1084, maybe once more at 425 would not hurt, although i do not think it would bring it down in hardness enough to be noticeably easier to sand. especially when hand sanding, bring your edge down to about .025 before heat treat. is will save you some work. looking good !
 
Yes unless you have carbide files.For your next attempt, I have found when using a long throw sharpener such as the Hapstone. I run a line from the edge end of the ricasso to the tip. I make a mark at the center of the spine. I align the center mark with the of the jig and align the horizontal with the edge of the jig. For sharpening without reprofiling (i.e., retaining the factory bevel) this alignment works well. I should be transferable to retention of a stock removal knife grinding. This setup does no produce a ricasso. To do this of a jig, align the spine with the jig center line which should align the center of the file with 1/2 the width of the file.
 
there has to be a nuance that is implied here. I don't own anything flirting with a hardness of 65, let alone anything that is noticeably higher.
 
Softer than a file still doesn't mean you can file it. You can scrape up something at rc60 with a file, but you'll ruin the file before being able to remove a noticable amount of metal
 
Geoff Flato said:
Softer than a file still doesn't mean you can file it. You can scrape up something at rc60 with a file, but you'll ruin the file before being able to remove a noticable amount of metal
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Yes my file will remove some metal but very little compared to before heat treating and it is difficult to do it evenly because the file likes to slide on the edge.
 
Ok so if you recall, I warped the hell out of my first two blades. I have since bought an OBM 2x72 and I figured I might as well learn how to grind on them anyway. Here is my first attempt.

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It is hard to judge how well I did because there were so many wobbles in the blade but it felt pretty awesome to finally be behind a grinder. I can't seem to get rid of that scale where the blade dips on the one side so I'm probably going to hand sand it out. I did have to reshape the tip because I took it off. Learned the technique for not doing that. Overall pleased so far!
 
i looks like your edge is thinner at the ricasso. If that's the case, this is why you can't get that area clean, it's not in line with the rest of the blade. grind the blade edge vertically on the platen, tip down until the edge is the same thickness from ricasso to tip. Then proceed to flat grinding until the edge thickness is to your liking, but still the same thickness ricasso to tip. Be careful to apply even pressure and smooth movement as you grind and keep it dead parallel to the face of the platen to avoid this in the future. It's very common. Hope that makes sense and helps.
 
I don't have a picture but after heat treating the edge did kind of an 's' shape starting right after the ricasso. I did try doing a bit of a surface grind on that side which is why my plunge line is screwed up but I couldn't seem to get it all the way out. May have to try it again.

I did all of this with a 120 grit ceramic belt. Haven't read much about post HT grinding except to use a bucket of water. Not sure if that was the correct thing to use or not.
 
Are you doing a Full Convex grind? When You have a lot of scale its best to use a 36 grit and grind the side as flat as possible this will eliminate any dips hidden by the scale.
 
Was supposed to be a full flat grind but at this point it is a little of both.
 
Dumb question. When trying to hold it tip down on the platen...how do you physically hold onto it?
 
Feezle said:
Dumb question. When trying to hold it tip down on the platen...how do you physically hold onto it?
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I use a welding magnet so I can use both hands to control the pressure and guide the blade.
 
Won't that make the steel shavings stick to the blade? Also should I do this to knock the scale off the tang?
 
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