My first WSK??

Nice Knife Skunk. Are you planning on keeping the handle solid or cutting out, You reffered to it as a bigger badder Necker thats why im asking?

I cant wait till you get to the "Abuse" picks when you get to take it afield.
 
I'd finish shaping it and then send it off to Bos to get it heat and cryo treated.
 
Wow, Skunk, that looks great. I love the design, the handle looks quite comfy in shape. :thumbup: Just curious, what kind of grinder/belt sander are you using? I'm wanting to try my hand at knifemaking as well, still in the planning stages currently, though I am keeping a weather eye out for tools.
 
Wow, thanks everyone, let me run down the answers and see if I can catch them all:

Kyp- thanks, I'm an old guy (46) and have been collecting tools for a long long time. So I am using the things I have on hand. Metal cutting bandsaw for profile,shape. USed a handheld angle grinder for rough work. Bench grinder, then my 4x24 hand belt sander-but I made a wooden base for it so it can be used upside down as stationary sander. Of course, Files.

Mrostov- agreed, "IF" it comes out nice, then I will look into a commercial heat treat.

EMSRescueGuy- it's pretty heavy right now, in the handle, so I had originally planned on holes or skeltonizing it a bit, cut down on weight a little. And give some balance forward, nose weight.

SpookyP - I didn't find a step by step. I picked up tidbits here and there, listen to the knife makers, read about steel. I picked the 5160 because the knifemakers all say it's easy to work with, and it's still a decent steel for strength. It also is supposed to heat treat nicely. I couldn't find 1095 in "bite size" pieces for knife making, so I passed.


Grease-man, yes, I'll get all of the work done prior to heat treat, that only makes good sense. Thanks for the oil temps! Can I use dirty oil?
I have a 5 gallon bucket of the stuff.

THANKS ALL.
Will put in a couple of hours tonight, maybe some skeletonized-handle work.
 
Skunk, you can probably get away with using dirty oil, as long as it's not as black as a witches heart. At the Bill Moran School of Bladesmithing, we had some HT oil that was so used, it looked like used motor oil! It worked pretty good for HT'ing the 1084 we were using. (it at least did a good enough job for my test knife to pass :D) IIRC 5160 needs a bit slower quench than 1084, but it should be fine. Used motor oil might actually be better than new, since the viscosity has already been broken down some during use. -Matt-
 
grease-man said:
Skunk, you can probably get away with using dirty oil, as long as it's not as black as a witches heart. At the Bill Moran School of Bladesmithing, we had some HT oil that was so used, it looked like used motor oil! It worked pretty good for HT'ing the 1084 we were using. (it at least did a good enough job for my test knife to pass :D) IIRC 5160 needs a bit slower quench than 1084, but it should be fine. Used motor oil might actually be better than new, since the viscosity has already been broken down some during use. -Matt-
Click to expand...

Nice. I have HT oil also, new and used for my tractor.
So, slower quench means something with a little more insulative value, ie; doesn't transfer the heat away quite as quickly.
 
Nice looking design ya got there Skunk!! I agree, it's got a fair chunk of Becker Necker/Crewman in its pedigree. And that's not a bad thing. :D

SkunkWerX said:
I was thinking about some fire bricks, some coal, and a compressed air line, slightly cracked, as a lazy man's bellows.
Click to expand...
Two words: Hair Dryer.

As someone else noted, if you haven't already done so, check out the Shop Talk forum here on BFC for advice from some very forthcoming (and occasionally galoot'ish ol' fart) knifemakers. The makers that hang out there have historically been very patient and generously outgoing in advising new makers who are just starting out.
 
RokJok said:
Nice looking design ya got there Skunk!! I agree, it's got a fair chunk of Becker Necker/Crewman in its pedigree. And that's not a bad thing. :D

Two words: Hair Dryer.

As someone else noted, if you haven't already done so, check out the Shop Talk forum here on BFC for advice from some very forthcoming (and occasionally galoot'ish ol' fart) knifemakers. The makers that hang out there have historically been very patient and generously outgoing in advising new makers who are just starting out.
Click to expand...

Thanks RokJok.

I was even thinking 600°/1100° Heatgun, instead of hair dryer. :eek:
Yeah, I've read the knifemakers topics for a while now. They are great help.
A few of them stop in here from time to time, give us "what fer" , slap us around a bit, but always with a smile. :D

First things first, I still have much work to do before heat treat.
"I got blistahs on my fingahs!"
 
Skunk, Sorry for being too concise. I think I caused some unnecessary confusion.

The hair dryer is just to force air into the forge (a motorized continuous-feed bellows).... not to provide any actual heat. A unit with broken heating coils would work. You just want the fan & nozzle parts.
 
RokJok said:
Skunk, Sorry for being too concise. I think I caused some unnecessary confusion.

The hair dryer is just to force air into the forge (a motorized continuous-feed bellows).... not to provide any actual heat. A unit with broken heating coils would work. You just want the fan & nozzle parts.
Click to expand...

Gotcha, understood. BUT, forcing HOT air through can't hurt, right??
 
GibsonFan said:
Hey SkunkWerx, are ya gonna put the bottle opener on that handle like the Necker? ;D
Click to expand...

Dontcha think fer a second I hadn't given that a bunch of thought! :D

Only downside, I want a heavy duty flat pommel surface for pounding and hammering.

I'll keep eyeing it though! ;)
 
Worked a little bit more this eve, after work.

Here are a couple pics:
(remember, it's 8" long, pics can be deceiving)

KnifeDesign2a.jpg


KnifeDesign2b.jpg
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top