My first noob grind

D

dperk

Joined
May 16, 2006
Messages
132
Hello,

This is my first grind. It's 1/8" 1095 from Aldo shaped on a newly built GIB. Besides a grinding test, this is the first blade I have ever tried to make. Let me know what you think. I know I have a few things that are messed up and I plan to fix what I can. Is this good enough to send to HT, or should I stick it in a drawer and start another?

Any critique welcome.


Thanks for looking!
-darren

IMG_1990.jpg


IMG_1991.jpg


IMG_1992.jpg
 
To my untrained eye it looks pretty good, especially for a first grind. I say finish it out. Tip looks a little burnt on one side, not sure what you can do about that, maybe it's just the pic.
Don't forget to drill the pin holes BEFORE the HT. Don't want to be back here posting an "OOPS" thread in a few weeks.
 
Yes, the holes.... I plan to drill the tang still and to finish up more file/sanding work in the deep curves of the handles. I don't have any wheel that can get in there.

The tip did discolor a tiny bit.
 
Looks excellent, even if it were your 20th grind. It could just be the picture, but your edge looks quite a bit thicker by the plunge than it is at the tip (this is a common problem). If this is the case, you'll be a lot happier if you go back and fix it before the HT. There's also a little bit of unevenness and non-squareness in the profile of the handle that will be much easier to take care of now (which you seem to be aware of). For cleaning that sort of thing up, I like to use either a sanding drum (or round stone) on a drill press or really coarse sand paper wrapped around a dowel.
Definitely go ahead and finish this one.

- Chris
 
Might want to add a choil. That edge is going to get a bit tricky as it approches the plunges. A choil will aid in sharpening and remove a good bit of the curvature in the edge thickness as it approches the plunges. Just that much more you don't need to remove to clean up the edge thickness.
 
The edge is actually a bit thinner near the plunge, but it needs to be fixed a little by hand directly in front of the plunge. I do intend to fix the handle. I hit it with a rough file some, but I need to get into the sand paper to make it how I want it. I just picked up a 1" drum, so I may try to get as much as I can with the drum before switching to paper.

For the Choil, I'm not sure how you add that? Would I just use a chainsaw file and put a 1/2 circle at the back?

Thanks guys for the input!!
 
I think a 1/2 inch would be way over kill. Not many knife designs can support that large a choil. I was thinking 1/8 or so. Chailsaw file will most likely work. I think I'd clamp a couple peices of steel on either side of the area to be filed to use as guides, the file between them. Placement is up to you. I'd try to center the plunge in the choil, but I guess there is no reason you couldn't or shouldn't have the choil end at the plunge.
 
Not everyone likes choils (Ed Fowler, for example, is an outspoken opponent of them), so it's up to you whether you include one. It will make sharpening a little bit easier, though. Depending on the size of the knife, I use either a round needle file (~1/16") or a small chainsaw file (~1/8"). Some people like to put the choil completely on the blade side of the plunge, others like to center it at the plunge. It's really up to you.
 
I have to think about the choil. I may not even have a small enough file. Mine is 3/16 I think.

here is where I am now with a little tweaking of the tang shape:

IMG_1993.jpg
 
I think it looks exceptional for a first grind; looks like you are a natural! I'd say it's definitely worth finishing out, and any of the problems should be able to be fixed...probably before or after HT.

What kind of steel, and what is the thickness at the edge currently? How are you doing HT?
 
Thanks! I'm going to send out for HT. I don't have anything yet. This is 1095 steel from aldo.
If I'm reading my caliper right, the edge is 20 thou near the plunge and almost 30 at just before the tip. I hope that is ok.
 
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I might be tempted to wait until after HT to fix the problems (at least from what I can see in the photos). If you don't feel confident enough yet and don't want to risk messing up a blade after HT, it might be wise to try to fix them now. Make sure you are using fresh belts...some of what I see in the photos can be caused by using worn belts (I've learned the hard way ;))

Good luck!
 
I sense a little confusion about the difference between a ricasso and choil.
The ricasso is the flat behind the edge of the blade where it joins the handle and I like them to be long enough for my finger to safely ride on them between the handle and the blade.

A choil is the nick between the ricasso and the beginning of the blade edge. I do not like them on my knives and consider them to be of no functional purpose, other than ease of manufacture and to be a very real and serious potential stress raiser in the blade, i do not put them in the blades I make to allow them to exist in the knives I have to use.

We are all free to make the knives we want to make the way we want to make them. I replied because I felt there was a little confusion in this thread.
 
Thanks for clarifying things, Ed. It has become very commonplace for people to refer to a finger groove as a choil, but as you've pointed out in the past, a choil is nothing more than a notch in the end of the sharpened edge of a knife that some think can make sharpening easier. I have used them on some of my knives but most of my designs don't incorporate them. I do have finger grooves in the forward part of many of my handles. but they aren't choils;) Ed may be a stickler for detail, but I agree that it's important to know the anatomy of the knives that we make.

Ed Fowler said:
I sense a little confusion about the difference between a ricasso and choil.
The ricasso is the flat behind the edge of the blade where it joins the handle and I like them to be long enough for my finger to safely ride on them between the handle and the blade.

A choil is the nick between the ricasso and the beginning of the blade edge. I do not like them on my knives and consider them to be of no functional purpose, other than ease of manufacture and to be a very real and serious potential stress raiser in the blade, i do not put them in the blades I make to allow them to exist in the knives I have to use.

We are all free to make the knives we want to make the way we want to make them. I replied because I felt there was a little confusion in this thread.
Click to expand...
 
Thanks guys!

I just ordered some more steel from Aldo. This is one of my better grinds, but I'm starting to get the feel for it more each time. I corrected my stance and added bright lights on each side of the grinder. I am also trying a push stick.

This site is such a wealth of information! Thank you guys for replying!
 
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