Next project... a normal knife...

tryppyr

tryppyr

Joined
Feb 5, 2010
Messages
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So I'm sitting at home with four days between business trips and I decided I needed to start another project. The forged blade is still out for HT, so I went looking in my supply drawer and found two small pieces of damascus. What to do... what to do? I quite like the shape of the forged blade, so I decided to make a smaller version with the intent that this one will have a normal handle made of some highly figured stabilized burl.

The OAL of the piece as you see it is 7 inches and the width is 1 inch, thickness 1/8th. The blade length will be just under 5 inches, and of course it will be hidden tang.

Let's see if I can actually complete a normal knife without getting crazy in some design element... that's the real challenge for me.

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I will Keep my eye on this one, I agree with Mark... Normal-ish
 
You're probably right. I'll try to control myself.

I've given it distal taper and have started grinding. This piece of metal is pretty soft... it has a tendency to bend as I file it. So far I'm following the same grind pattern I used on the forged blade.

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We should all try to work outside the box from time to time, and in your case I guess that means coloring inside the lines for a change. I think it will be good for you :)
 
I'm starting to see a fish pulling a fishing line. Or, is that a shooting star? No, it's a mako shark! A normal knife? Nawww, no way.

Daved
 
I like you 17% less than just before you decided to make a normal knife.


Rick
 
Rick Marchand said:
I like you 17% less than just before you decided to make a normal knife.


Rick
Click to expand...

My sister used to have a saying that seems appropriate here... "I feel certain you'll find some way to get over that."

As you can tell, my sister was as much a smartass as I am. :)
 
Today I used a triangular needle file to clean up and sharpen the plunge lines. Then I did some work on the bevels to help flatten them out some and even the edge line. Next I did some draw filing on the top of the blade to create a sharper, flatter, and more even line of demarcation between the bevel and the flat. Finally I sanded down the remaining etch pattern that was visible in the ricasso (and the grind lines that were visible there).

The result isn't dramatically different from yesterday's images, but I certainly think it's looking better.

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Since coming back from my latest business trip I've put in a few hours of sanding to try and get this blade ready to send out for HT before my next series of trips. I figure if I can't be here to work on the knife it might as well be out for HT. So I have sanded it up to 400 grit, and will spend what little time I can over the next few days starting to think about the handle treatment, so I can decide whether or not to drill a pin hole in the tang.

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Really neat seeing it all come together, thanks for sharing, looking great on this end. Good luck.
 
Now the plunge angle makes sense to me. Nice design element. Jess
 
No matter how hard you try, it won't be normal,... but that's O.K. :)

I don't think anyone really needs to try and be abnormal.

You either are or you aren't.

Great concept! :)
 
Because of the KITH, I set this project aside. Before setting it aside I encountered a problem... the slot in the handle is very narrow... too narrow for broaching. I started using needle files to shape the slot and broke off two or three tips inside. Now I'm rethinking the situation, and trying to devise a means of moving this closer to the finish line.
 
One thing about the holidays... I have a lot of free time on my hands. This project has been staring at me accusingly for the last few months, taunting me... telling me I was inferior and unable to complete it. For a while I ignored the taunts, but today I decided to take on the challenge.

I spent some of the quiet time this morning in the garage continuing the process or drilling out the channel for the tang. After a couple of hours of careful work I finally succeeded. Next step is the coarse shaping of the handle, then I'll finish the blade (which has, if you recall, already been heat treated), then epoxy it into place and do the final shaping of the handle in my new knife vise (thanks again, Sam!)

It's entirely possible this project could be completed before January 1. No really!!!

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