My First Knife

I

idahohiker

Joined
Apr 20, 2002
Messages
56
Here is a pic of my first knife, made with the help of Bruce Bump. Also, are the steps made to complete this knife.

fce211ee.jpg


Started with a piece of 5160 hi carbon steel 1/4" x 2" x 8" long.
Clipped off one corner.
Forged at approximately 1800-1900 degrees.
Forged the edge to form the tip and flattened the clip to form the spine.
Forged the blade longer while giving it a distal taper.
Forged the tapered tang on the hydraulic press.
Flattened, straightened and trued.
Rough ground the scale off both sides.
Thinned the ricasso to 3/16" thick.
Cut the pattern from the paper drawing and glued it to the roughed out blank.
Ground the profile by grinding down to the paper.
Drilled the holes for the handle scales and throng hole located on the paper drawing.
Ground the tapered tang.
Ground the distal taper on the blade.
Centered the edge and tip and flat ground the bevels.
Heated in Barium Chloride (Hot Salts) to just above non-magnetic and back to black 3 times to normalize.
Heated to non-magnetic and held for a couple minutes and quickly quenched in 150 degree oil.
Tempered at 395 degrees for one hour, twice.
Started with 36 grit and stopped at Norax 30.
Wet hand sanded the flats from 320 thru 1500.
Milled the brass guard slot to 3/16".
Slid the guard on and drilled two 1/16" holes for pins.
Cleaned the blank and dipped in diluted ferric acid for a few seconds to show the temper line better.
Buffed the blade.
Sanded the front face of the guard and buffed it.
JB welded the guard and slid it in place, pinned it with two 1/16" brass pins.
Cut and surfaced the scales.
Sanded the slight angle on the ends to match the guard.
Super glued one scale on and drilled its holes.
Super glued the other scale on and drilled its holes.
Counter-bored for the hidden bolt rivets.
Installed the bolts and throng hole tubing using JB weld on the throng hole tubing.
Ground off excess wood back down to the steel and started shaping the wood handle.
Ground the finger groove in the guard with the Foredom tool.
Finished sanding the handle and guard to 1500 grit.
Final buffed with scatchless pink on soft buff wheel.
Hand polished and sharpened the edge.

Sounds like quite a bit of work and it was. I have to thank Bruce Bump once again for sharing his time, tools and knowledge so freely. It really is nice to have someone help a guy out just for asking.

I think the hand forging was my most liked thing, I'd never tried it before and found I wasn't too bad at it. And so Bruce knows, I tasted WD 40 for about 3 days. Hopefully I'll be able to get my shop set up and start turning out some quality blades. I know it will be a long journey, but I think I'm willing to take that first step.
 
You've done a great job. I'm pleased to see some of your top makers Like Bruce are helping out. With new guys.

My fist knife is no where near as good as yours.
Keep it up
Reg
 
Fantastic start! That is a blade an experienced maker would be proud of. I like the decription of the steps. I've never forged and this just makes me want to try it more. Thanks for sharing.

Bob
 
That really is a nice drop point hunter. Bob worked nonstop for 2 days. He is a natural forger. I made him learn the "Nick Wheeler method" with hammer and anvil. Then I showed him the Bruce Bump lazy way with the hydraulic press for the tang.

The WD40 must have soaked into his skin from all the flat hand sanding. It was alot of work but there are no scratches and the flats are very flat. The Ironwood and brass have a real clasic rich look together.

Thanks for looking
 
I wish I could see your pic. My current monitor does give much resolution. I can see a very intriging outline that looks good enough to make me angy about my good monitor going down a few weeks ago. I can say that you have very good patience in detailing procedure. It seems you are bitten with custom knife making and I expect to see much more of you. I wish I could forge here at my present location. As it is I will be stock removing instead. I may never see bladesmith as you have already gotten an exciting taste of.:)

Roger
 
That turned out really Great.
If you aren't scared off by now,guess it is time to start on number 2 and have some more fun:D
Bruce
 
Hello All:

Thanks for all the positive feedback. It is great to get some added motivation. Just need to sell off a few things on E-Bay so I can get some cash together for tools to get started on my own. I'm glad for all the help you guys have given, especially Bruce Bump. Without his guidance, I wouldn't have been able to find out what I was capable of. Thanks again and I'll keep all posted as to my progress.

Take Care,

Bob
 
Wow! :eek: Man that bloody kicks!

The whole package is one big class act - why don't you go ahead and do your charity work for the end of the year, and send that beautiful knife to me? Write me, I'll send you my address!

I must admit I have a weakness for handles like yours - deep taper, thin scales. Somehow these feel very good in my hand. So you'd do well to just send me the knife!

That temper line really stands out, and makes your fantastic finish even finer. To satisfy your need to do good works in addition to fine craftsmanship, you can send this great knife to me! I will gracefully accept it.

You are truly fortunate to have the opportunity to work with and learn from Bruce Bump. He's done much to help me along the way the last couple of years, including encouragement when I really needed it. Bruce once sent me a big pile of Blade magazines just out of the goodness of his heart, and would probably tell you to send me this knife too! Naturally, I would give it a good home.

I'll say once more that your description of your process making this knife is great. You should keep this as a record of your first effort, possibly even printing this thread to add to the documentation of the knife. You might even make a copy to send me along with the knife!

;)

Great work, I can't wait to see what comes next. Thanks for sharing,

Dave
 
Hey Idaho (you daho - old joke)
Welcome to the madness. Your knife looks good. Keep them coming...
 
Great work! good design, nice flow! Lots of work with that "Nick Wheeler" method eh?
I think for your next one you should try the "LHK" method....Hammer, Anvil, and ROUND BAR!

Enjoy and keep up the great work!

You`ve been bitten by a nasty bug, and the only way to make your self feel better is to feed the bug"
 
Bob I think you should go ahead and send it to Dave Larson. It sounds like he really would like to have it. :D
 
Very nice, I love the overall shape and desighn, temper line shows real clearly, and the brass goes well with the ironwood.

All in all a very nice pakedge!
 
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