my first one

[Mike Davis]

i finally finished my first knife to post. does it suck?

sorry for the crappy pictures

 

[BadKarma05]

i really like the blade, the handlehas a good shape to it too. bottom line in my opinion it does NOT suck, id like to think i can make a blade as pretty as that one one day! nice work!

 

[Stacy E. Apelt - Bladesmith]

Not bad lookin'. Can't tell if it is the photo or not but the handle looks a bit squared off.It is a good idea to round the handle edges a smoothly,with a sort of overall egg shape cross section.

 

[Stag & Steel]

If it's your first..or even second, third or fourth...good on you! Tell us a little about it (specs). Your off to a good start, look at other makers pictures and you will begin to refine things like bladsmth mention above and you will get better and better.
Jim

 

[Frank Eaton]

Very good first, I would agree that you could round it off a little, feels better in the hand. I guess you found out about driving pins and splitting wood right off the bat. Good Job.

 

[Jim Rehrer]

I like it...i like the shape of the handle and the small blade! The rest comes with time and practice...good job!!!
gonna try your hand at leather work now?

 

[Mike Davis]

thanks for the comments guys.the blade is norm shenk damascus,1095 and 15n20. it has a stick tang with a brass pin. the handle is curly maple(that i split putting the pins in...ooops)haha. oh well thats one of the funny little things that makes me enjoy making knives! the guard is 1095 also.as far as rounding out the handle, one of my friends was here when i put it together, he said the same thing. im working on rounding out a scrap peice to work on it. thanks guys i appreciate the comments.
blade length is 2" and overall length is 5 1/2"
mike

 

[bennett]

This knife is great, dude! Very well done:thumbup:

 

[butcher_block]

i ll 2nd for more round handle but nice no less
butch

 

[Chant]

Great! You are courageous to have started your first with damascus. I ruined my first attempt at grinding (which was, luckily, junk metal). My second grinding is much better and should get finished as my first knife. It would possibly be done by now, but I, too, cracked the handle with the pins, and ended up tearing them off to start over.

Keep up the good work!

 

[Maybeso]

Looks really nice! I hope my first blade turns out that well!

 

[nozh_scrap]

Thats a really cool knife man....I really like the design. I'll just say again that I think the handle and guard could maybe use a bit more work, maybe a finish of some type on the handle....But I think you did a great job. That knife is a winner.

 

[John Andrews]

That first knife looks pretty good. For you kids that are cracking your handles with pins, don't pien the pins. Rough them up on the to-be-glued surfaces of the pins and then do the regular epoxy routine.Be sure to coat the pins with epoxy, also. They will hold. I would suggest going ahead with ordering some Brownells AcraGlas Jel, and use it instead of the cheap epoxies. The small size order of the Glas will do several knives for you, so it's not really expensive, considering the super holding power.

 

[Mike Davis]

thanks i was pondering a way around that. i am thinking about removing the handle and starting over with it. i have another blade nearly identical though.thanks for the advice guys i greatly appreciate it
mike