My first knife - WIP

B

BobbyKelly

Joined
Feb 24, 2015
Messages
8
I've been reading on the site and admiring a lot of makers knifes. This is my first post and I wanted to share my first knife WIP.

I have had a good bit of help and advise from a local Journeyman Knife maker which is very helpful and much appreciated.

Forged from Aldos 1075, I have it heat treated and finished up to 1200 grit. I'm waiting on the ferric chloride to come in so I can etch the blade.



















 
The hamon did show up but its hard to get a photo of it right now. Its hard to tell right now but it looks like it did well, I can see some wispy action at the edges of the temper line.
 
Good looking first knife you have going Bobby. When I saw the first image I thought I recognized the anvil. Keep hammering, you have a good start.

Chris
 
Chris, I'm sure you have been around that anvil before.
The good start on the knife comes from good instruction and advice from a sound knifemaker.

I may leave it with his dad for a simple sheath when its completed.
 
Hmmm, let's see...a Journeyman Smith and his dad makes sheaths; I wonder who could be helping you?

Bob
 
You are correct. There is alot of B.S. help going on. I feel very blessed that he has taken his time to mentor me and teach me how to make a knife. He is a great guy to say the least, I look up to his work and craftsmanship.

I got to etch the blade and hand polish it tonight. I can still see faint figures in the hardened part of the blade, just not sure what to do to get the last bit of the white to show up.

Also next time I will bring the hamon down lower into the blade, about 2/3 of the blade. For the first knife I can't complain.

 
Very cool knife, especially for your first one! Beautiful file work too. The bevels and the hand rubbed finish look nice. Nice to see you rounded the tang for comfort too! :) First knife and you already have you own maker's mark!? :eek: ;) lol

I was curious if you split a hollow in the center of the tang and opened it up to form the handle "frame", or if you split it to the end making two pieces. If the latter, did ya just butt up the two ends together, or did you forge weld them together, if they were indeed seperate? Hope that makes sense lol.

Regarding the hamon and bringing out the more subtle activity like the ashi), a "loose" (powder) abrasive is usually the best way to go. You can use 1500 grit silicon carbide abrasive (from ebay), or pumice, or iron oxide etc. etc. It's mostly comes down to personal preference after testing different ones out. You mix the loose abrasive with some oil (such as 3 in 1 or Ballistol), or even water, and use it to rub off the oxides after etching. I also use Flitz in conjunction with a loose abrasive. A lot of guys use Ferric Chloride to etch with great results, but myself, and a lot of others like using heated distilled white vinegar, better, and sometimes lemon juice. It's a slower etch and obviously takes longer with multiple etching cycles, but it seems like the best way to reveal more of the subtle activity in a hamon. Also, if you do use it, add a drop of dish soap to the vinegar in order to lower the surface tension to achieve a more even etch. :)

Here's a good tutorial by Ryan Weeks: http://ryanwknives.blogspot.com/2013_01_01_archive.html

But of course, that's just one of many ways to etch/polish a hamon. :thumbup:

~Paul
My YT Channel Lsubslimed
 
Thanks to everyone, I owe it all to the JS that is by my side and pointing me in the right direction and assistance. I cant thank him enough, I'm sure it would have looked like a prison shank without him. LOL

Mr. Paul, the makers mark started out as an experiment with a guy I know that does silk screening. He had some old frames he didn't use so he cleared them and we made some test stencils. The emulsion he used was a bit old because I didn't want him to waste his good stuff. They came out ok considering it was a course mesh screen and the emulsion didnt want to wash out in the "burned" image.

I made custom wood crankbaits for years and had established a name in the custom world of crankbaits so I like having my makers mark. Its the same mark / signature that i used on my baits.

Since I am also a tinkerer and like to build things, I wanted to build an etcher just for the fun of it. It worked well, so I figured it would be nice to get better stencils and I can mark some of my nicer tools and wrenches.

The tang was split into two pieces, shaped, and forge welded where they crossed.

I used a 4:1 ferric chloride solution to etch and 0000 steel wool to clean the oxide on the first few etches. I didn't like how it looked so I cleaned it up with a wet sand using 1200 grit paper. I then etched again, neutralized the etch with ammonia and rinsed in water. I cleaned it and oiled it with 3 in 1 oil. I used Brasso to remove the first bit of oxide but felt it was too agressive so I went to 3M mild rubbing compound. I used a felt backed wood block and polished with the 3M, once I got things looking better I moved to a hard paper candy stick (sucker) to focus on certain areas.

I have some decomposed stone but I have to find where I put it. I tend to put things where I will "Remember" where I put and then I cant find it. :confused:

I will read Ryan Weeks post as well.

Again thanks and Regards,

Bobby
 
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