new guy here

R

Rick1-2

Joined
Nov 14, 2016
Messages
34
hello everyone, been reading on here for a while and thought it was time to introduce myself, i've always liked knives and about a month ago i was talking to my buddy about that show forged in fire and told him i would love to know how to make a knife(pretty much the knives they sell in the stores are junk) and i have basic skills working with steel, so as a joke i figured hell let me try it so i got a mowerblade and cut it to a knife shape grinded it and did a kind of a heat treat, for the handle i got a piece of cedar from 1 of my trees and used it to make a handle, when i was done i couldn't believe how it came out neither could my buddy it holds an edge better than my benchmade, and yep now i'm hooked, now i'm actually taking my time on one and if it comes out good might make so xmas gifts.here a pic they're ugly.

 
Not bad for firsts! A belt grinder will speed things up but a good set of files will work just fine. Make a filing jig if you're going to use files and find a drill press for the handle and scale holes. What are you grinding with? Welcome to shoptalk.
 
Hey Rick... nice solid name you got there.:thumbup: Forged in Fire has brought quite a few people to this craft. There are BF members here that have been on the show... and won! Salem Straub, comes to mind... he is such a Rock-Star:applouse:

For a first shot, those aren't too bad. If you keep at it, you will look back at those one day and be proud... but a little before that, you'll hate 'em and want to fix them up... DON"T. Keep them as a reminder of where you started. You'll be glad you did.

Welcome to the addiction!
 
Welcome, Rick. Not bad for a first set of knives. As Rick M. said, keep them and look at them in several years. You will be amazed. I still have my first knife from 55 years ago. It is a reminder that we all start off the same. From there it is a matter of how hard you work and learn to get fit and finish down.

The stickys at the top of the Shop Talk page have tons of info. There is a tutorial in them, "How to Instructions for Making a Knife". It has a lot of info on starting simple.

Get some blade steel, handle wood, and make some more knives. A good steel for your point in the craft is either 1084 or 5160. Cocobolo is a good wood for early knives because it doesn't require much more than shaping and sanding to look good. Ben Greenberg here on Bladeforums sells a lot of good wood at fair prices in The Exchange. He will help you in picking woods that meet your equipment needs, too.

A simple belt grinder/sander will make a lot of improvement. A Sears 2X42" model works, but a 2X72" knife making belt grinder is what you will want eventually. They start at affordable prices. There are also kits that you can buy to make your own if you are somewhat mechanical.
If the funds allow, get a variable speed knifemaker grinder like the Bader B-3, KMG, TW-90, etc. There are also a lot of mid-level grinders that are cheaper.

Use the Custom Search Engine in the stickys to look up things like grinder recommendations, grinder kits, GIB ( grinder in a box), etc. It will find past threads and discussions on anything we talk about here.
 
Very nicely done, sir. I wish I had your skills.
Keep it up, and you'll be selling knives here before you know it.
 
thanks guys, im amazed at the support here, i was kind of reluctant to join thinking it would be like a competition,
matt r i used a 4 1/2 in grinder for everything, cutting disk to cut the blades( well several) and 36 grit to shape it and bevel them then to finish i used a 220 paper that sticks to an attachment on the grinder, i went through a million of those when i get to close to the edge it would rip them off

thanks rick thats true about the name

the one on the left was the first one, the one on the right second, i made it for my buddy

for the one i'm making now i'm using a belt grinder, i have a little hf 1by 30 and made a bevel jig (i guess thats what its called) to bevel it and it looks good so far, when i'm done ill post pics

again thanks for the welcome and am happy to be a part of this community

forgot to add the knife i'm making now i cut it out of a piece of old angle iron, my neighbor has old machinery and gave it to me.
 
Strong work my friend! Welcome to knifemaking, the source of glee and frustration all rolled into one! Haha
 
Those are way better than my first haha... still have yet to take one to completion... but here are the knives ive made in order from left to right... the fourth blade isnt quite finished... i heat treated it and tempered it... and then tried to ginish up on the bevels and it was so hard i couldnt file it so i just put a torch to it and softened it back up... and ill reheat treat it when im done... the last one is a blank... im trying to figure out what bevel, and angle to use and how to mark it on the edge... fck really... well never mind... i was going to post a pic but i cant directly upload it... url really.... mk not worth an act of congress to post a pic... anyway nice work brother... keep practicing... and i agree with all of the advice... build a file jig if youre going cheap on your equipment... if i could post a pic id show you tge difference it makes... your work will go from looking like the 2 you made... to something you bought in a store
 
The only issue ive had with a file jig... is its hard to get a straight consistent bevel using hand forged steel... because if the metal is bent even a little... youll get a wider bevel towards the tip of one side thats a pain to even out and will require draw filing to fix... ofcourse thats just my experience and skill level or lack of talking possibly haha but for a beginner id suggest using bar stock...
 
Bayouforge said:
The only issue ive had with a file jig... is its hard to get a straight consistent bevel using hand forged steel... because if the metal is bent even a little... youll get a wider bevel towards the tip of one side thats a pain to even out and will require draw filing to fix... ofcourse thats just my experience and skill level or lack of talking possibly haha but for a beginner id suggest using bar stock...
Click to expand...

I second this!
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top