My First knife

C

CMJ

Joined
Nov 18, 2013
Messages
14
Hi Guys, I completed my first knife tonight. I made a lot of errors with the bevels, and fixed them as best as I could. Over all I learned quite a bit and I'm almost done with my next one which is basically the same style, minus the mistakes. My first two knives are Christmas presents for my brother in law and my mothers husband. I also made a mistake with the ferric chloride, I thought I could get away with only submerging part of the knife at a time, oh well, live and learn. Now I need to decide on what type of sheath to make, kydex or leather. I used an angle grinder and a 1x42 belt grinder for most of the work. I know I have a long way to go before I'm making decent knives. Sorry if this is the wrong forum.





 
"Hi Guys, I completed my first knife tonight. I made a lot of errors with the bevels, and fixed them as best as I could. Over all I learned quite a bit and I'm almost done with my next one which is basically the same style, minus the mistakes. My first two knives are Christmas presents for my brother in law and my mothers husband. I also made a mistake with the ferric chloride, I thought I could get away with only submerging part of the knife at a time, oh well, live and learn. Now I need to decide on what type of sheath to make, kydex or leather. I used an angle grinder and a 1x42 belt grinder for most of the work. I know I have a long way to go before I'm making decent knives. Sorry if this is the wrong forum."



It looks to me like you are already making "decent knives". Especially for a first knife this one looks very good.
 
I'd be honored to receive a knife like that as a gift. Great job.

How did you get the blade so dark? It's not just the ferric right?
 
Excellent job! Your attention to details says you will go a long way in knifemaking.
 
That's a damn nice knife. What's your background? The quality of that blade suggests you've got at least some metal working experience.
How'd you cut out the tang? I've done one small neck knife like that and it's a ton of work with just a drill and files.
 
That looks great! Congrats on finishing your first. Don't worry about making mistakes - it's how we learn! :thumbup:
 
Wow guys, thanks for the kind words. Your making feel really proud of my first knife. When I refer to making decent knives I'm actually talking about making a knife with a real handle. I went the easy way with paracord. My wife and sister have put their names on the list for one too now. I guess by the time I get to my fifth knife, I'll be able to keep it.

What do you guys think, should I go with leather or plastic for the sheath? I've never worked with either mediums, and I don't have much time left until Christmas.

To answer some questions:
I don't have a background in metal working, I actually work at Fox Broadcasting. Machining interests me, I want to take it up as a hobby.
I recently picked up a Sieg X3 mill, that's what I used to cut the slots on the tang. That was my first time ever using a mill.
I used Ferric Chloride, then finished off with cold blue.
 
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Very cool. That's an even blueing. Gonna have to try it with a ferric dip first.

I'm not a huge fan of para wrapped handles, but it looks right on that profile to me. Same with jimping actually, but those are nice and even and look comfortable enough. Also like the swedge.

Man, there are some exceptional firsts coming out lately. :thumbup:
 
Very Nice First!
I'm new too, have not completed my first yet. Just getting started.
I'm a machinist, so the transition to knife making should be pretty smooth.
Since you are new to machining, you can PM me if you have questions for a machinist
 
Really great blade! I would not have guessed that it was your first knife!
 
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