Newie questions

[guitardemon]

I am working on my first knife, and have a few questions. I am almost done sanding my bevels. At what point in the knife making process do you put the edge on the knife? I am following this guide: http://discussions.texasbowhunter.com/forums/showthread.php?t=38358

but cant find for the life of me where he talks about putting the actual edge on the knife

Also what do you use to to bevel the the edges of thong tubing? I have a cone shaped cutting bit for my dremel that works great on the brass tubing, but the steel tubing just rips the bit up.

 

[deker]

I am working on my first knife, and have a few questions. I am almost done sanding my bevels. At what point in the knife making process do you put the edge on the knife? I am following this guide: http://discussions.texasbowhunter.com/forums/showthread.php?t=38358

but cant find for the life of me where he talks about putting the actual edge on the knife

At the VERY END...as in, after all sanding, buffing, polishing, sheathmaking, etc is done. The LAST thing you want is to be working on a knife and lay yourself wide open...If I have to go back and touch something up after I'm done, I will knock the edge off on the grinder, do the work I have to do, and re-sharpen.

Also what do you use to to bevel the the edges of thong tubing? I have a cone shaped cutting bit for my dremel that works great on the brass tubing, but the steel tubing just rips the bit up.

A steel countersink bit. You can get them at your local Fastenal. Run them SLOW in a drill press and don't skimp on the cutting lube.

-d

 

[Ryan Minchew]

Deker is right I should have put that in the tutorial the edge is the last thing I put on the knife after the sheath is made and right before it gets sent to the customer.

 

[guitardemon]

Awesome thanks for the quick responses! One more question, How do you put a satin finish on a blade? I tried searching but couldn't find anything on it, so if this has already been brought up before, don't hesitate to direct me to an old topic

Ryan, Thank you for making such a great guide. It is extremely helpful, and so much better than all the other ones I've seen online so far. Keep up the good work

 

[Ryan Minchew]

To put my satin finish on I just use smooth even strokes with 400 grit. I start underneath where the bolsters will be and pull in one stroke the 400 grit all the way to the tip. I use a piece of wood with leather as padding to "soften" the lines.

A new way I'm going to try is starting at the plunge cut and going all the way to the tip. Some makers say they get more even results by finishing the blade flats then starting at the plung cut to work their way towards the tip. I did a couple pictures in the tutorial let me know if it doesn't make sense, cause I've been known to confuse myself.

 

[Barkes Knife Shop]

At the end of the job. When you think its all finished and ready for sale. But would suggest looking it over real carful just before. Some times one can overlook a mistake and that would be the time to correct it. :thumbup: