My Second Knife - Could use some advice on changes

A

A.F. Holowaychuk

Joined
Aug 3, 2016
Messages
17
Alright, this one got away from me and only after getting it all assembled did I realize I just don't like the design. (Sorry for the blurry pics, but I'm just worried about profile right now anyways).

I feel like the blade is too long, and the belly is an awkward slope up towards the tip. I have to re-profile it a bit anyways because the tip snapped off while I was hammering on the guard (was all taped up so I didn't realize this until after the glue-up). The balance is ok-ish (about 1/8 inch in front of the guard) but I'd like to shift it back into the handle a bit because it just feels blade heavy to me for a small knife, and it just looks funny.

I was going to take off about 10%-15% of the length, and reshape the drop point. I'm not sure if there's anything to be done about the belly shape (getting scary close to the guard for grinding and re-finishing, I think I might be better off to leave it). The blade finish isn't good enough to start with anyways, it'll probably end up improved by this whole process.

Any last minute thoughts before I go hit the grinder?



Boy did I learn a lot through my mistakes on this one!



 
Overall, it isn't too bad, but there is a combination of things that makes it look a bit "off".

I will return to my standard knife critique comment:
When looking at a feature on a knife plan, ask yourself, "What does that feature do?"

The large choil has no real purpose. If the knife had no guard, it could be where the finger would sit, but since there is a guard, it serves no purpose except to waste edge space. A tiny 1/4" choil .3" to .5" in front of the handle would have looked and worked much better.

The handle is oddly shaped and does not look secure in the hand. The butt should be fatter and the swell less.

I think the blade length is OK, but the edge shape could use a little tweaking, as you already mentioned.
I would have carried the edge straighter from the handle about 2/3 the way and then tapered up to the drop point.

Look at some photos of Loveless drop points and other knives in the Gallery and online for inspiration on how these features should look and work together.
 
REALLY appreciate the feedback yet again! The operative word here would be "plan" and this is a pretty good example of what happens when there isn't one.

1. choil - agreed, I winged it because I thought it looked cool, and I was wrong. Totally understand your point about wasted edge space.

2. handle shape - I see what you're saying, would be much more comfortable with a fatter butt.

I was trying to take inspiration from Caleb White's handle designs, and again it just got away from me with my freehand shaping. I THINK it's secure in the hand, but I won't know until my friend holds it. She's tiny, and this is way too small for me to accurately judge by feel myself (I worked from a photo of her hand, holding a standard sized house key as a reference). I might even be able to widen the butt by shortening it slightly, but I'll have to check my size reference.

3. that straighter edge - was my intention, but I accidentally ended up with that long sweep due to over-grinding my bevels towards the point. I'll see if that's salvageable when I do my re-profiling!

All that said, I'll make my next knives a continuation of trying to learn the "hunter" style, and I'll study the heck out of the loveless ones you suggested to keep understanding where I'm going wrong.
 
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