New member and first knife pics and thanks to all

R

RHess

Joined
Feb 18, 2015
Messages
31
Hey all,

After about 2 months of gleaning every ounce of information I could from this forum I thought I should finally join and introduce myself and give thanks. I started this journey about two months ago after finally taking the first step and deciding to build my first knife. I had wanted to complete such a project a long time ago but never really placed much emphasis on it until recently. After finishing this first I definitely want to continue and feel how this could be very addicting, which my wife is not to happy about.

I guess starting off I should introduce myself. I am from a small town in northwest Ohio called Minster, Ohio. I am a career firefighter/paramedic with little to no machinist or metal working experiences in my past, which were really tested with this first knife. I am purely looking as knifemaking as a hobby, and would love to attain even half the skill and creative finish as I have seen from some of the members on this board.

Before getting to my first knife I would like to thank a number of members whose youtube videos and forums posts I have watched and read, and were a wealth of knowledge to anyone starting out. I have to say I have watched all of Nick Wheeler's videos on youtube: in which he gives an immense amount of knowledge and pointers on knifemaking, along with making me feel in awe of his precision and attention to detail. Whitebone Knives videos have also been really beneficial and helpful in giving me a lot of great ideas and starting me on the right path, as well as the Counts sticky posts for first time knife makers. In all this forum and you guys have been a great resource of information and expertise for anyone trying to start out and I wanted to say thanks.

Ok now to my first knife. This first knife has sentimental value since it was an old Nicholson file my grandfather had and was given to my father and then to me. Working with files and a HF 1x30 I got it to shape and beveled it after annealing it. I hardened it with a home heat treat in a two brick forge and then put the handle on from a block of California buckeye burl. I left the file work on top intact as well as the branding for a somewhat rustic look I guess. Would definitely love your critiques and comments on it. You can be as harsh as you want, I have thick skin. In all this was a great experience and I cant wait to make the next one. I have already ordered some real steel and it is in the mail. Thanks again everyone for giving out all the great advice and helping others just getting started in this. Forgive the cell phone pictures.
feb b2015 093 by rayhess54, on Flickr
feb b2015 092 by rayhess54, on Flickr
feb b2015 090 by rayhess54, on Flickr
feb b2015 094 by rayhess54, on Flickr
 
Hello Rhess from a fellow rookie here in Ohio. The knife looks good and I want to tip the hat to you for having the cojones to use a nice piece of burl like that on a first knife.

If I had to critique anything I would say the handle looks a little wide compared to the width of the blade, you may have intended this so just my opinion here, and it looks like there are some voids that could be filled in the handle. That may just be the pictures though. But if so here is a thread with some good information from several folks and our resident moderator and knifemaking Jedi Stacy Apelt on using superglue (cyano acrylate or CA) to fill those voids.

http://www.bladeforums.com/forums/showthread.php/1122016-polishing-superglue-over-wood

Fantastic first knife, keep them coming!

On a side note, I am amazed at how many custom knifemakers there are here in Ohio!
 
Thanks Augus for the reply and comments. It is amazing how many knives makers are in the buckeye state, must have something to do with these nasty winters and needing something to do to make it to spring. You are definitely right about the handle being a little too thick, I thought the same thing once it was polished and done. Thanks for the link for filling the voids in the handle I will be trying that one.
 
I sure wish that was my case. My shop is actually a storage unit for those big RV/bus deals rich people have and it has no insulation. For the price it is great, I have a 100amp panel and lots of room. But this bitter cold winter has severally limited my shop time the last few months. I am counting down the days till spring!

One nice thing about Ohio for knifemakers is we have the Quad State Blacksmithing convention every fall and from my understanding its one of the biggest shows in the country. Even if you're not into blacksmithing there was one whole building dedicated to knifemaking supplies from several vendors. I also met some really cool people including the New Jersey Steel Baron who spent almost an hour chatting with my girlfriend and I. I found out firsthand why everyone speaks so highly of him!
 
First knife?! You did good. You should be proud. It's better than my first knife, thats for sure!

Now get to drawing number 2 and order some steel!
 
Ev13wt thanks for the reply and I have some 1080 on the way. Augus that's the first I heard of the blacksmith meet but I will definitely make plans to attend. It sounds like I should be saving up for that because I know I would want to buy way to many supplies if they are all within arms reach.
 
Hey RHess,

Great looking knife!!! For a first time go at it you did great! I have a feeling you will be producing some first class knives down the road. All the best!!!
 
Great looking first knife and a hidden tang as a first is impressive to try. Like someone else said with the buckeye burl you can fill those voids with CA glue then when you finish the handle they'll look seamless and disappear. Very nice work though.
 
Thanks for the kind words CatcusKid and Fletch. Just starting off doing a hidden tang was definitely a head banging into wall type of experience. I had to shape and file three different guards for the handle because I continued to screw it up, but surely learned a lot about it. I think the best part about the hidden tang was being able to shape the handle block and get creative.
 
Looks pretty doggone good for a first knife.

Whatever you do........... Keep that first knife. Don't let it get away from you. Whether you make 1 more or 1000 more, you can always look back at number one and remember where your journey began.

Keep up the good work.
 
Thanks Col Defender for the compliment it means a lot. My wife I don't think was as impressed and said "it looks like a knife" with contempt, because I spent way to many hours trying to get it done out in the garage.
 
Thanks Robert for the comments. I think I am aided by lack of quality in the cell phone pictures not showing all my mistakes which are numerous. I will definitely be holding onto this one for sure because it is my first as well as having some ties to my grandfather. Now I am ready to start with some real steel though and see how it goes.
 
Yep the little sister definetly has a chunky back side, But after watching the music awards I guess there is nothing wrong with that these days ;0)

Great looking knife, Much better then my first attempt
 
That's cool man, definitely an excellent 1st. :thumbup:

I like seeing people's first knives like this. They're original.
 
Thanks John and Nathan for the great comments. After being on here for awhile and seeing some of the knives you create, its humbling and encouraging to get some feedback from all you guys who are making some great knives.
 
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