My first three, constructive criticism please.

J

Johnbeck180

Joined
May 16, 2011
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He all these are my first three knives I've made. Even at three knives in I've learned a lot, from over sizing you point and blade to leave room for draw filing, to getting a good distal taper on your spine. Not to mention the many different steels used to make a knife.

1. This was actually my first knife, made from a file and mild steel. Figured I'd jump in with both feet. There are only 36 layers so really it's not a true Damascus.
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2. This is going to be my test knife. The 2x4, shave, free hanging rope, cut paper,90 degree bend test. I'm sure it won't pass but I'm going to try anyway.

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3. This is my most recent knife, It was supposed to be loosely based on the design of some Scandinavian knifes called pukas.
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Well there they are. I will definitely be making more. I know they pale in comparison to some of the beauties I've seen on here. Thanks for looking, and thanks for any tips that can be given.
 
Wow! That first knife was a very ambitious project...damascus and bolsters! Looks like a good start to me as long as you keep learning as you go. One thing I would suggest is to hand sand your blades...it will take it to the next level. I take old 120 grit belts to start the length of the blade then 220 across the width...400 length and so on till the final grit.
Good luck
Mace
 
Nice job very ambitious, where do you plan to go from here. Fit and finish need some work but maybe you are focusing on your forging. Couple of suggestions, look at pin placement and make sure they line up properly, look a little off in the photo. Also use sharp bits and a backing board to prevent breakthrough, looks like some dark circles arround your pins.

Be sure to keep records of your test knife and keep the pieces (if not in one piece) later you can see where you came from and see improvement.
 
Thanks folks!

I did quite a bit of reading on Damascus before I attempted this knife. Also welded a couple of small billets just to get a feel of how hot the steel needed to be and what It looked like when the flux is on and it's ready to be welded. I did normalize 3x then harden and draw back to straw/peacock but all in all I just think it was heated to much. I'm happy with the look and feel of it in the hand, but the blade is far from usable (AKA I learned about oversizing your blades for filing on this knife lol). But it's my first so I will always have it.

Mace: I will definitely try the hand sand sound like it will make for a great looking finish. Thanks!

Patrickknifes: where do I plan to go from here, good question. As of right know I'm taking leaf spring steel and forging with that. When I do start a knife I do not have a finished product in my head. I just heat and hit and let the metal move where it wants to, very experimental at this point. You are right, I am focused more on shaping and moving the steel on the forge right now. Thanks for the tip on the backer boards for drilling. I noticed the rings to, I was just going to over size my grips then file back after all holes were drilled. But your advice sounds much the easier way to go. To answer your question, I hope I get to a point where I have made it through all aspects of the knife test and can make and sell a respectable work blade knife to someone, or even give one as a gift. Yeah that sounds good.

Thanks for looking and thanks for all the good advice.
 
looks good. Watch out for those sharp corners where in the area where the handle transitions to the blade like on that big one.
 
really only matterw w/ chopping knives probably, but that sharp right angle at the transition is something called a "stress riser" I think. It is basically a spot for a crack to start. Making a small radius there distributes forces that prevents a "tear" from starting there. I know this from threads about old CS trail masters breaking at that point.
 
Vulcanite said:
really only matterw w/ chopping knives probably, but that sharp right angle at the transition is something called a "stress riser" I think. It is basically a spot for a crack to start. Making a small radius there distributes forces that prevents a "tear" from starting there. I know this from threads about old CS trail masters breaking at that point.
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I will definitely make note of that. Thank you.
 
Mitchell Knives said:
Nice job!

Make more!
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Yup, I definitely plan on it. I'm getting a bigger forge soon I'm finding mine is becoming increasingly to small for me. I just have a disc break w/ a flange on the bottom that runs down to a T then a clean out below that. Have to heat my blades up in sections and thats a pain when anneling/normalizing/hardening. A friend of mine has a much bigger one, just need to find time to go get it.
Thanks. :0)
 
Johnbeck180 said:
Thanks Daniel!

There will be more Damascus I'm sure of it. I can't wait to buy my bigger forge, I want to try more patterns! As of right know and since it so much faster, I'm forging knives from spring steel so I can better my handles.
Thanks.
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BTW, I do have a 5 layer billet welded and ready to be drawn out. :0)
 
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