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Need Input Criticism For New Knife Design From New WannaBe Knife Maker
- Thread starter madupree
- Start date
Actually what he is showing is a drop point. The design is so it feel better in the hand while skinning.
That flat back on a blade get tiresome after some use because it is does not fit natural in the hand.
Here is a blank I just profiled which is kinda what he is showing.
You will see this time and again on certain knives because it came to be with field experience.
I mean you can have straight lines on a knife, but it seems with experience makers tend to add a bit of curve as time goes on.
That looks nice. Clean flowing lines.
Good for you for taking the given advice to heart. You now have a classy design to work with, don't degrade it with jimping.
Chris
The design is looking good. I notice two more items that you may want to think about. It has been mentioned that the ricasso area looks a little off and that you changed the spanish notch or sharpening notch to a more angular design. Looking at the handle scales, the front of the scales that come to a point at the front of the finger choil, is susceptible to breakage with many handle materials. I do not know this by experience but have been advised of such and it makes sense. You could round it off more and have it end somewhere in the lower part of the finger choil. This would change the look of the ricasso, for the better in my opinion, by not making it look so narrow. I too like the look of an angular sharpening notch, but you must radius the acute point where the two sides of it converge so as not to make a weak point in a vital part of the knife. Just some rounding of the intersection should do it however the strongest design for such would be a half circle. I believe this potential weakness is called a stress riser but I could be wrong in this nomenclature. Regardless these are two very minor considerations but considerations none the less. Crazy how much goes into designing a knife, let alone the intricacies of actually constructing one. As to jimping, the popular consensus by experienced makers seems to be leave it off. However if marketing a knife, the buying public seems to like it. I personally have never needed the extra traction for my thumb while using a knife and it could prove to be uncomfortable if not done correctly. But it can look good and add some nice detail to the overall package. It is almost a requirement on some knives like the sgian dubh however.
So really you're saying I need to do a slight radius only in the area of where the scales would come to a point on the bottom of the knife? I see you're point about giving it the possibility of being able to be broken off. And dang it I was starting to dig the little point sticking down but I would rather have long term looks of a slight radius than a knife owner upset because their knife broke because of not fully thinking about a weak spot on a knife. Good input! I'll hit that spot on my template I just cut out with a lil sand paper to round it over and adjust my CAD file as well. Also I see a lot of knives with a lanyard hole; is that something that's popular on lots of knives? How is that accomplished? Is that structural as a pin?
- Joined
- Feb 6, 2010
- Messages
- 1,427
Your latest design is a big improvement in my opinion. The blade shape is classic and the grip looks comfortable...just make the tang long enough to fit the grip of most hands. If it needs to be a 1/4 inch longer then take it out of the blade length. I would make this knife with a length of 7 to 8 inches. I sometimes change the scale of the knife design and grind both a smaller and a larger knife and see which one I like the best before filing away a paper pattern of the design. Of course this is a matter of taste and we all have different opinions of what is beautiful but I like this design... for what it's worth. Larry
I think I can better illustrate the two issues I am speaking to with... well illustrations. 
Please excuse the crude representation of part of your design, I know it is not exact.
First the potential issues of the sharpening notch and the front bottom of the scales.
Next my suggestions for potential fixes.
I hope these pictures are more clear than a thousand of my clumsy words. Also please keep in mind that it is your knife and by no means do I think that you are obligated to change your design to fit my advice. These are just things that I try to keep in mind when designing a potential knife.
Please excuse the crude representation of part of your design, I know it is not exact.First the potential issues of the sharpening notch and the front bottom of the scales.
Next my suggestions for potential fixes.
I hope these pictures are more clear than a thousand of my clumsy words. Also please keep in mind that it is your knife and by no means do I think that you are obligated to change your design to fit my advice. These are just things that I try to keep in mind when designing a potential knife.
I like the slight radius in the sharpening notch and how the scales are moved back slightly. Also, after cuting it out I feel as if the back side of where the index finger goes is a little too high and needs to be dropped down some more (maybe 1/16"-1/8") to keep the index finger from wanting to roll out of that area, which when I pull that intersecting point down it will also pull down the radius where the other fingers go and make that area a little fatter in the process (it feels like that needs to be done also), looks like I'll be cutting out another one tonight......
