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I think you just need to sign up with a new username and just pay the basic, gold, knifemaker or platinum membership fee. that's all. no mods required!
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My first knives
- Thread starter psycho78
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I think you just need to sign up with a new username and just pay the basic, gold, knifemaker or platinum membership fee. that's all. no mods required!
Stacy E. Apelt - Bladesmith
ilmarinen - MODERATOR
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When you first posted the photos ,I asked my wife to take a look. She looked and said, "Aren't those points too fine?" She has never made a knife, but could take one quick look and know that the super fine tip will break at the first contact with a hard object.
What I would do is slightly round down from the spine to the edge ( micro-wharncliff) about 1/4" back from the current tip. It will only take a second on the belt grinder, or a minute on the bench stone to do that. It will make the blade much stronger.
If the knife is to be used as a stab weapon, and will only be used once ever ( not even cutting open a box), then I guess it doesn't matter, but knives are made to be used, and the minor modification will still give you a great SD weapon...as well as a useful knife.
I do agree that they are good looking first knives.
What is your association with tsukamake?
What I would do is slightly round down from the spine to the edge ( micro-wharncliff) about 1/4" back from the current tip. It will only take a second on the belt grinder, or a minute on the bench stone to do that. It will make the blade much stronger.
If the knife is to be used as a stab weapon, and will only be used once ever ( not even cutting open a box), then I guess it doesn't matter, but knives are made to be used, and the minor modification will still give you a great SD weapon...as well as a useful knife.
I do agree that they are good looking first knives.
What is your association with tsukamake?
Thanks Stacy and Pohan.
Stacy - I was thinking about doing what you were talking about, or make that angle a little more obtuse. I like the warncliffe shape an awful lot.
My association with tsukamaki - I learned how to do it from a really old book when I was a kid. Forget the name, but it had a small diagram that I studied. I used to take old shoelaces and wrap any oblong shape I could get my hands on. Later on in college, I had to choose a physical education course. I had Jeet Kune Do, or Aikido to choose from. JKD was all full up, so I enrolled in the Aikido course. I fell in love with it, and the instructor invited me to be a student at the actual Dojo. I didn't have a lot of money, but they offered an "uchi-deshi" type system where you could do various tasks to help pay for your monthly dues. I would stay and clean the place up, wipe down the mats etc.
My sensei gave a tameshigiri cutting demo once, and his sword looked to be in rough shape in the handle dept. He acknowledged it, and made the comment that he needed to get it "professionally done somewhere". I told him that I could try it, that I knew how. He was confident enough in letting me take his sword home.
I got the thing home, took all the ito off the handle, washed it, ironed it, and wrapped it. I returned it to him, and he was very pleased. Other Sensei, and high ranking students in the Dojo also approached me for tsukamaki work. From then on I was wrapping sword handles in exchange for my training.
Stacy - I was thinking about doing what you were talking about, or make that angle a little more obtuse. I like the warncliffe shape an awful lot.
My association with tsukamaki - I learned how to do it from a really old book when I was a kid. Forget the name, but it had a small diagram that I studied. I used to take old shoelaces and wrap any oblong shape I could get my hands on. Later on in college, I had to choose a physical education course. I had Jeet Kune Do, or Aikido to choose from. JKD was all full up, so I enrolled in the Aikido course. I fell in love with it, and the instructor invited me to be a student at the actual Dojo. I didn't have a lot of money, but they offered an "uchi-deshi" type system where you could do various tasks to help pay for your monthly dues. I would stay and clean the place up, wipe down the mats etc.
My sensei gave a tameshigiri cutting demo once, and his sword looked to be in rough shape in the handle dept. He acknowledged it, and made the comment that he needed to get it "professionally done somewhere". I told him that I could try it, that I knew how. He was confident enough in letting me take his sword home.
I got the thing home, took all the ito off the handle, washed it, ironed it, and wrapped it. I returned it to him, and he was very pleased. Other Sensei, and high ranking students in the Dojo also approached me for tsukamaki work. From then on I was wrapping sword handles in exchange for my training.
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That is a really nice job on both! Good work Psycho.
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Nice plunge lines on both.
RP
RP
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Great looking knives and even better story. Sounds like we could be living in parallel universes. I've mopped many a mat and cleaned many a restroom in exchange for training while in college.
I also wanted to second a previous poster's comment regarding hanging in there when a design isn't working out as planned. I've had a couple of new design concepts "introduce" themselves that way.
Take care and keep up the good work!
Taylor
We are lucky to have instructors who really do care about their students, and love what they do. Most Dojos are just out for some poor kid's parent's money. Sensei gave me a key if I didn't have anywhere to go at night. Spent alot of time there, and it taught me alot. Just as much, or more mentally as physically.
The thing is, the design kind of worked exactly as planned.... lol. I was going for cool and pointy factor instead of thinking of strength or anything like that. I drew the knives this way and made a couple of different patterns, and they came out just like the patterns and drawings. I'm surprised that the tip didn't burn up, or grind off in the process. It surprisingly survived the grind, and a few cutting/piercing tasks I've put it through. It has alot of meat behind that point since it's chisel ground.
I do think that it is a bit thin, and will make that angle a bit more obtuse for added strength on future attempts. I think it will still maintain the look i was going for too.
I'm gonna be making a bunch of these in the near future. I love this design. It's extremely simplistic, and could serve multiple purposes. It's utilitarian looking, yet aggressive.
Thanks everybody for the nice words!
The thing is, the design kind of worked exactly as planned.... lol. I was going for cool and pointy factor instead of thinking of strength or anything like that. I drew the knives this way and made a couple of different patterns, and they came out just like the patterns and drawings. I'm surprised that the tip didn't burn up, or grind off in the process. It surprisingly survived the grind, and a few cutting/piercing tasks I've put it through. It has alot of meat behind that point since it's chisel ground.
I do think that it is a bit thin, and will make that angle a bit more obtuse for added strength on future attempts. I think it will still maintain the look i was going for too.
I'm gonna be making a bunch of these in the near future. I love this design. It's extremely simplistic, and could serve multiple purposes. It's utilitarian looking, yet aggressive.
Thanks everybody for the nice words!
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