My latest knife

I

Ian Fifelski

Joined
Oct 4, 2017
Messages
528
Hey all,

What do you think of my most recent knife?

I am 15 years old and this is my 4th knife that I have completed. I have done a few other grinding practice knives but they had no handles and weren't finished.

Specs:
-1095 steel, 1/8th thick, poor-mans stonewash finish.
-Goncalo Alves exotic hardwood handle.
-7 inches overall

Honest opinions are the best ones.

#1 What do you think of the knife?
#2 What do you think of the knife for a 15 year old boy with 1 year experience and a grand total shop set up price of less that $1100? (hand built propane forge, grizzly knifemaker 2x72)

I don't have imgur so here is the link to my website page: http://www.barefootblades.com/blades.html

Thanks, Ian
 
Your grinds look very nice for having only a year of experience. Fit and finish looks quite good also. I like your designs and everything looks well done.

After scrolling through your website, one thing I feel should be mentioned is the use of the word "forging". Based on the knife, and your explanation of the steps in making a knife, it appears what you are doing is stock removal, and not forging. No offence intended, but some people can be fairly particular about this and take it as misrepresenting a product. A forged knife would be shaped and profiled by heating and hammering, not just being heat treated inside a forge.
 
Thanks all for the kind words! I am pretty happy with it but I was not expecting such good feedback to be honest.

G Grayzer86 : Lol, yes. I have heard a bunch on that. I have been doing light forging on most knives and I realize now that it isn't mentioned in my page that is even titled 'forging' By light forging I mean light profile shaping and light edge forging just to knock off the 90 degree angle. I understand this isn't technically considered forging at that point. Honestly, I was going to change the page title because of similar comments and I have just not gotten to it yet. Also, my website isn't technically 'released' yet and I have been using it recently to share pictures on here.
 
Nice skinner design. Good grinds. Stonewash finish looks good. Good fit of handle to tang. I like the shape of the handle. So far you are far ahead of so many new makers. Two suggestions: 1) You left scratches on wood handle that were not removed with the finer sandpaper grits. You fix this going forward by looking carefully at the handle and moving it around in the light to detect remaining scratches. Good makers have excellent fit and finish because they pay attention to all the little details, even if buyer/user is not trained to look for them. 2) The tab of metal sticking down at front of handle will get in the way of using the back edge of knife. I know you included it thinking it was a safety guard. But, by making that rounded depression on bottom of handle for index finger, you have all plenty of protection from sliding hand over blade.

Your overall good design sense and good execution (especially considering the tools you own) mean you have the traits to be a good knife maker. Your sophisticated web site means you are focused and serious about it. Be encouraged. And be aware there is a long learning curve ahead. With only 4 knives under your belt, stumbles and discouraging lessons awaiting. Work through them. Learning never stops. To discover the things you may not think of on your own, seek information on what other makers do.

Consider looking at You Tube and Instagram videos by Nick Wheeler to get a sense for the various little details that separate good from great. Consider googling "knives" and any other words/phrases related to knife making. Look at all the images to see how others deal with handle shaping, guards, and other design elements.
 
Bob Dahl said:
Nice skinner design. Good grinds. Stonewash finish looks good. Good fit of handle to tang. I like the shape of the handle. So far you are far ahead of so many new makers. Two suggestions: 1) You left scratches on wood handle that were not removed with the finer sandpaper grits. You fix this going forward by looking carefully at the handle and moving it around in the light to detect remaining scratches. Good makers have excellent fit and finish because they pay attention to all the little details, even if buyer/user is not trained to look for them. 2) The tab of metal sticking down at front of handle will get in the way of using the back edge of knife. I know you included it thinking it was a safety guard. But, by making that rounded depression on bottom of handle for index finger, you have all plenty of protection from sliding hand over blade.

Your overall good design sense and good execution (especially considering the tools you own) mean you have the traits to be a good knife maker. Your sophisticated web site means you are focused and serious about it. Be encouraged. And be aware there is a long learning curve ahead. With only 4 knives under your belt, stumbles and discouraging lessons awaiting. Work through them. Learning never stops. To discover the things you may not think of on your own, seek information on what other makers do.

Consider looking at You Tube and Instagram videos by Nick Wheeler to get a sense for the various little details that separate good from great. Consider googling "knives" and any other words/phrases related to knife making. Look at all the images to see how others deal with handle shaping, guards, and other design elements.
Click to expand...
Yeah, I noticed the handle scratches. I just didn't have any finer grit and wasn't patient. Thank you for the suggestions and kind words.

About learning along the way, I have already learned alot! :D Along with other things, I've broken a knife in the post HT and pre-temper stage by trying to straighten it too much. (I knew that it would happen but you know, I had to just give the clamps that last twist.:p)

For the integral guard, why have I heard so much bad stuff about it? In all my experience using knives, I like myself a good guard. If this knife was a kitchen knife, of course, I wouldn't want that guard hitting the cutting board before the blade, but when using it for cutting rope, branches, boxes, piercing, skinning, etc. I like a guard for extra assurance of no hand slippage and also to keep what I am cutting away from my fingers. Don't totally understand the problem many people have with them.
 
The big issue with the guard sticking down is that it catches on everything and stops the back section of the edge from contacting flat surfaces. If you put the blade and guard on a flat surface, you will see that half the blade surface is not usable. It's also an issue in a hunting knife because this means that on slicing strokes, for skinning or processing meat, that back section of the blade can't contact the meat or hide. On this knife, my personal feeling is that the guard is a good 1/4 too long. It's not a big deal when cutting rope or sticks, but for many, the drawbacks of a bug guard hanging down outweigh the security of it. When I started, I made some large guards also, until I make and tested a few Kwaiken and tanto styles. This style has basically no guards or choil at all. At no point did I feel like I was in danger of slipping and running my hand up the blade, and that changed my mind somewhat regarding large finger guards.
 
I think it is an excellent knife, especially for your age, equipment, and experience. I am not a fan of the stub sticking out far below the edge. If it was even with the blade, that knife would look ..... cut ... and handle better. It would also be just as safe to use. There are some knives that benefit from a guard ( a proper guard), but a skinner isn't one of them.
Look at some photos of drop point hunters, skinners, and other knives and you will see what I mean.

I would suggest on any future knives you grind the stub back to even with the edge ( or almost even) and put a small semi-circle choil in. The choil you made with a hack saw is not smooth or even lookin. A small chain saw file will do the job fine. Send me your address and I'll send you some.
BTW, you should be able to grind the stub back considerably on the current knife. Go slow and dip in water often to keep things cool.

An addition problem with the handle you will realize with use - the sharp tip on the front of the wood ( where the stub is) will chip off easily in use. The scales should round over, not come to a sharp point.

Anyway, good job .... keep them coming.
 
Some very good remarks in the above. I have to say I'm terribly impressed with your results overall. You are far in advance of the usual new makers but do pay attention to the comments that need correction.!!!
Frank
 
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