New knife guy trying to not step on toes

Wow, that is a great 1st blade!

I dont know how you could get into problems with copying, unless you were doing it on purpose to make a knife "exactly" like another maker's. not just same blade shape, but same materials, same construction methods, same sheath, same everything including the mark. and then try to pawn it off as an original. you said yourself, a knife that you really liked, but changed some things to make it yours. with personal tastes being as finicky as they are, I think youd change at least something.

I have "copied" knives on purpose, becasue I liiked something about them and wanted to see if I would like them in person. Ive even copied knives that I didnt like, to see if it worked better. I remember seeing a knife in a makers book, and thinking that it didnt make sense how that blade shape would be anything but a bad idea, and that I really didnt care for how his sheaths were made, but the rest of the book made sense. So I made the knife as close as I could, including the sheath, tried it out for a hunting season, and fell in love with both blade shape, and sheath. now look at alot of my blades and you can tell who it was. does that make my blades "copies" of his? I dont think so, i use different handl materials, methods of manufacture, and changed some other things, to make my knives mine. and I sign them with my name. if someone asked me who my inspirations came from, I'd have to list every knife id ever made, looked at, used, or fixed, because when I step up to the forge or grinder, every knife Ive ever come in contact with has in one way or another influenced the blade that I am makeing, good or bad. that, and I cnat even copy my own knives exactly. sometimes, I will grind 4 blades from the same pattern, and come up with 4 blades that look nothing like each other!

Make what you want, what you feel looks, feels and performs best for your personal experiences on how a knife is used, and call it yours. because it will be.
 
Hi guys, thanks again for the kind words. Yeah, I'm pretty excited about pursuing this hobby, maybe even someday turning it into something more if people like them. Some of the knives i've seen here are just beautiful. Almost too beautiful to actually use. I've also seen a lot of "goodish" commercial knives that are all utilitarian but kinda cheap feeling and looking. I was hoping to kinda hit somewhere in the middle with mine. Knives that look nice and clean, but are hefty and well built. Something a person can use and abuse (to a point....no pun intended) and will still be there for them. But also something that a regular grunt could afford and not be affraid to use it. So i'm going to try to design the knives use good quality high value materials. I'm completely in love with damascus steel but i could never design knives around it (at least not knives I'd sell) cause I don't think people would use them? I'm no artist like I think most custom knife makers are. I'm more of a problem solver and i hope that my knives can reflect that. Though i wouldn't be against letting art in if it come's a'knocking in the future. :D
 
Thanks man, it doesn't matter I was trying to get a grip on how a first time maker could free hand those grinds. It's a great knife and one that I like a lot as will many others I'm sure. Skills are skills no matter which ones you've honed and you definitely have some.
 
icentropy said:
I also read that the main reason that 440C kind of feel out of favor was mostly because of the fact that it was old and boring, not because it wasn't a good choice for a knife?
Click to expand...

"Fashion" is part of it, and 440C does make a very good knife, but the simple fact is there are better steels available today. (many of which are built on chemistry quite similar to 440C) Crucible's CPM-154 is excellent, Carpenter's CTS-XHP is even better; ElMax is claimed to be equal to or better than CTS-XHP but I haven't tested it myself yet.

To be frank, if you're going to use state-of-the-art machinery and cheap out on the steel, you're only copying the big factories. People who shell out custom prices very often know quite a bit about steel, and they want the best.
 
FIRST knife?
Dang.
would you copy one of mine, please? I'd be terribly flattered. :D

-Daizee
 
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