New to forum..first attempt at knife making

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Bearklr

Joined
May 8, 2018
Messages
22
Hey everyone, I've been lurking here for awhile but am a new member to the forums. There's some awesome info here for sure! The reason I joined is that after years and years of collecting and being fascinated with knives I finally decided it's time to try and make my own. I am always trying my hand at making one sort of thing or the other and seeing as how I have loved knives and been fascinated with them since I was a kid I figured it would be a fun project. The real driver too is that I wanted to make something for my dad and brothers to remember our first elk trip coming up in September and a handmade knife seemed like it would be perfect. I figured I'd post the progress photos as I move through this process to get feedback as everything I'm doing was learned from watching countless youtube videos and reading countless threads on here. I decided on AEB-L stainless and will be sending the blanks away once finished to have them hardened and tempered. Trust me, I know as a noob I should start with carbon steel but my brothers aren't the best at takling care of things and I didn't want to put all the work into it only to have them let it rust. The handles will be a mix of stabilized burl and curly maple. I started last night with making the first blank (below) and will slowly be moving through the rest over the next few months and posting pics so bear with me if there are some breaks in the updates. If you guys see anything I'm doing wrong please let me know!

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I would have put a little more drop on the top rear of the tang rather than just a straight line tang. By doing the little drop you get the handle to rest comfortably in the palm.
 
Good point and I can still do that. I just initially designed it to look good to my eye which is why there isn't a drop. I'll hold it and play with it a little to see what it feels like in the hand. Thanks for the suggestion!
 
Hmm...that's odd. Busto could see them and they show for me. Are you behind a firewall?
 
I'll bet that Busto can't see them anymore. I could see them when this post went up, but can't anymore.
 
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Bearkir,
Welcome to Shop Talk. The images do not appear. Probably because the hosting site pulled them. Use the instructions in the Stickys and post them again.
 
Can you see them now? They're on Google photos and I always have trouble getting people to see those because of access rights. I put them in a shared folder so hopefully they're view-able. I know I inserted them in the post correctly.
 
Thanks for the feedback guys, I already tweaked the handle and rounded it almost exactly like you have drawn up there Robert. I'll have to think on the blade shape. I like the way it looks currently to the eye but agree that the one you have drawn it probably a little better for performance. I wanted to try and design something a little different than what I normally see though. I have so many knives I'm always drawn to something that's not the standard shape.
 
While I'm not a professional that uses this kind of cutlery or a maker of cutlery one thing I will say is people can only go where their imagination can take them we may not all see what you see as the end so even the good advice doesn't need to be jumped straight onto.
 
I definitely appreciate all and any advice but also understand we can't do it all. Seeing as how this is the first time I've ever attempted making a knife I am VERY humble in my approach and am sure I will do some things that make some of the pros on here cringe lol. My only hope is to learn from each one I make and store all the advice to be used in the future. It's all appreciated!
 
What I did when I was working out my first few pattern was to bring it inside and while watching the tube or other mindless action was to kept the blank in my hand and keep looking at it and rolling it my hand! It can help quite a bit!!
 
Also, take the blank and do some simulated using of it as intentioned.

It looks to me like the edge needs to be brought back to a straighter shape. Somewhere between half where it is now and what Robert drew.
Definitely drop the top of the butt.
 
Another practical idea is to tape some cardboard about the thickness of your proposed handles to the tang and just smooth it up a little and fiddle with it for a while see how it fits your hand and simulate cutting actions you would perform.
 
Ok, so I did the bevels yesterday, or made my first attempt at doing bevels I should say. I found that at the width of the blade and the thinness of the steel the bevels started coming pretty far up the blade. Then I thought to myself, why not just bevel the entire blade so it looks like one smooth piece of steel as opposed to having the bevels noticeable. I have zero knowledge as to if this is a good or bad thing but figured I'd try it anyway. Heck, someone could come on here and be like "thats a big no no" lol who knows. I'm curious if this is an acceptable practice and what you guys think. I spent a few minutes hand sanding and a quick polish so I could see the deeper scratches better to sand them all out (which I didn't do yet) but that's about it. This hasn't been heat treated yet but I figured it would probably be best to get as much sanding done as I can now before it's hardened. I'm curious to hear what you guys think and if you have any suggestions. Please let me know if you can't see the pics in my first post or this post. I've been having issues with Google photos.

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Bearklr,

Welcome. A few thoughts:

Generally speaking, for folks who are new to this it is usually a good idea to start with drawings of your designs so that changes can be made easily and inexpensively before you start grinding steel. But I understand the enthusiasm and the urge to get started. Maybe you can share some sketches before starting the next one. It just allows folks around here with a lot of experience to help guide you away from beginner mistakes.

Keep in mind that a design may look cool in your mind or on paper but a knife is a tool that must work in your hand. So always test the design in your hand. Make a pattern out of a softer material like Masonite hardboard, plexiglass, etc and play with it in your hand for a while. See if the handle is long enough or wide enough. Or if it curves enough to lay nicely in your palm. See if there are sharp corners that will irritate the hand when using the knife. Notice if the forefinger of your hand fits comfortably in the curve from the handle down into the heel of the blade.

I would say, it seems like the handle is a bit small and not shaped well to be comfortable. As others have said, a bit of a curve to the handle is usually more comfortable. Try to make the handle big enough to hold onto when your hands gets bloody and slimy. On a guardless design like that, the curve at the heel of the blade is important because it acts as the guard. A light slope with too little curve like yours may be a risk of a hand slipping over the heel onto the cutting edge in slippery conditions. The radius of between a quarter and a nickel should be sufficient to keep the hand from slipping.

I like the taper but it looks a bit thin towards the tip. If you are going to be dressing elk you might want something a little stronger at the tip. AEB-L is a fine steel and should work well for you, especially if you are having it professionally heat treated. There is no issue as far as not having a plunge line to your bevels. That is a personal choice. Many would tell you that not having a plunge line makes your blade stronger.

Have fun with your project. I'm sure your family will be thrilled with the knives. Just work out the design bugs in the drawing stages and work on one knife at a time so you don't make the same mistakes on all the knives and you'll be fine.
 
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