one 1084, one unknown

Zuluninja

Zuluninja

Joined
Aug 25, 2009
Messages
2,834
Hello knuts. As a BF junkie I've gone past messing with my knives to actually attempt to create them. I'm still learning and need to keep on reading, doing and taught if I can find an available smith willing to take a student...but I digress. I want to know your opinions on these 2 knives, good or bad is always good :D

These are my 6th and 7th knife. The small one is made from Aldo's 1084, 1/8" full flat ground with scales from a guava tree and aluminum pins. I made this for a female friend so I had to add some "girly" etchings after she saw a photo and remarked it didn't look girly enough...photos are without the etchings :) (I cut 2 blanks in the same pattern and will make a non-girly one for me later :D)

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This one...only one catch, I have no clue what the steel is. I made it from a bar that a friend of mine has at his shop that I had used previously to make my 2nd knife and it has held a sharp edge fairly, so I decided to chop up the rest of the bar and make knives out of it for a couple of friends after I finished this one. On the bright side, I traced the outline on a 3/16" bar of Aldo 1084 to make a proper knife later.

I haven't measured it but it looks like 3/16" thick. Blade is 7.5" with a convex edge, overall 13". Scales are homemade mycarta from an old BDU shirt. Pins are brass rods found at an inspection area where I work sanded down to 1/4" diameter. The sheath is blue .08 kydex, rivets spaced for big tek lok but I decided to make a leather harness with belt loop for it as I don't like blades over 5 inches riding high at the hip.

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Overall, I'm very happy with it. Haven't been able to put it down since I finished it yesterday, took me like 2 weeks since I cut it. Another bonus is the cost was kept low as the blade is practically made from recycled materials. So please let me hear it. I'm in the process of expanding the garage and getting more tools to keep on making knives, so I need all the input I can get. Thanks.
 
Your handles are way too blocky. Round them some. Also, to do that to the first one, you'll have to move the pins in a bit.

How did you heat treat the unknown steel?
 
medicevans said:
Your handles are way too blocky. Round them some. Also, to do that to the first one, you'll have to move the pins in a bit.

How did you heat treat the unknown steel?
Click to expand...

+1
Blocky handle syndrome is something that almost everyone who starts out making knives suffers from. I have done it too. You have to round them out for the sake of comfort. Just start removing wood/micarta from the edges, rounding out until the handle feels good to you. Don't really worry about removing too much material. If you constantly test it, then you will stop in time.
 
medicevans said:
Your handles are way too blocky. Round them some. Also, to do that to the first one, you'll have to move the pins in a bit.

How did you heat treat the unknown steel?
Click to expand...

Maybe that's how he wanted them, so they wouldn't roll in the hand? Can't know til you hold it, like the Spyderco Chokwe. Would you say their handle is too blocky? Cause it's nearly the same and people seem to love how it feels once they hold it.
 
?huh? When I hear hoof beats I think horses not zebras. When a brand new knife maker posts pictures of blocky handles I think what I posted, not "that's how he wanted them."

Also, a single knife type does not stand against the thousands of others that are the exact opposite.

Look, the knives aren't bad. Seriously, the grinds don't look bad at all, but I stand by my statement that the handles are too blocky.
 
Good job, OP! :thumbup:

Pretty nifty to take recycled materials and turn 'em into something useful. If you enjoy what you're doing, it's a good enough reason to expand your work-space and tool selection in the garage... :cool:

Looking forward to seeing more of your work!
 
medicevans said:
?huh? When I hear hoof beats I think horses not zebras. When a brand new knife maker posts pictures of blocky handles I think what I posted, not "that's how he wanted them."

Also, a single knife type does not stand against the thousands of others that are the exact opposite.

Look, the knives aren't bad. Seriously, the grinds don't look bad at all, but I stand by my statement that the handles are too blocky.
Click to expand...
Do you make knives? I'd love to see your personally created examples of perfect handles. I think he made them how he wanted, based on his hands. Your criticism is a little too negative to be constructive. Good try though.

OP, great job. I love the first once. Nice to see someone trying something different instead of copying blade, handle, material etc. Prove me right. How does it feel in the hand?
 
wow those turned out really great!, i like how you made your own micarta, i'm about to try that myself for a knife i'm working on, i hope it turns out as well as yours has. good work!
 
thanks for the feedback guys. I left them kinda blocky for 2 different reasons. The small one I should have done only one pin at the front since that area is less than an inch wide, I forgot to post measurements but blade is 3-ish inches and an overall under 7. Didn't want to eat too much at the pins outer edge so I just beveled the scale edges and gave it a thorough sanding up to 1000 grit with wood wax.

The big one I left blocky on purpose. I hate when a big knife rolls in your hand. I cut some wood yesterday and yes, battonned and chopped with it plenty of 2-3" diameter with just 2 small rolls on edge, and the handle felt good in the hand. It doesn't show in the photo but the upper bevel was rounded and sanded till I felt it right for my hand.

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The heat treat, just went with "fire till red-hot, non-magnetic, quench, triple temper at 400". Seemed to work for the previous one I did with that steel. Here's the first one I did from that bar, like it so much it's doing a "rotation tour" strapped to my duty belt and will see how it does for the next month.

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yeah, kinda blocky, but doesn't feel uncomfy. First one I did with 1084 has rounded scales, but I think I'm gonna make a new set and pin/epoxy them down

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thanks guys! keep'em coming.
 
Can you post a top down shot of the black handled one? It looks like you have a bit of a palm swell. Also, the handles don't look as blocky on the middle picture of the last post.

It looks like a good chopper. I encourage you to make another one of that pattern using known steel and get that heat treat spot on. I bet it will blow this one out of the water.

Be careful only taking a piece of steel to non-magnetic. The Currie point of steel is 1414*. Generally the austenizing temp is 50-75* higher. However, by the time you get a whole blade up to nonmagnetic in a fire or forge, it will probably be higher in the thin sections. Decalesence/recalesence is a much better way to judge using a solid fuel setup.
http://blade.home.sonic.net/Info___...Heat_Treating/principle_of_heat_treating.html

And Remy, yes, I do make knives. I don't have any of my finished stuff saved on my phone, but here's what I do have.

My "Rooster" pattern. Just a EDC/camping model. I'm thinking nice brown canvas micarta on this one with three pins.
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The following two are of one I'm making for a coworker. Side view and a top down view of both sides of the scales. I wanted him to decide whether he liked the skinny version or the fat version. This is just scrap oak I had lying around held on with carpet tape. I needed to custom fit his hand, the real scales will be a beautiful piece of bookmatched oak burl with a tung oil finish. He liked the fat, but wanted just slightly less thick.
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My bush sword for the ShopTalk Summer Challenge. It needs another layer of shaped leather under the wrap, it's too slim and blocky yet. The hemp will be epoxy soaked when it feels right.

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I'm tooling up for slipjoints now. I will post them in the ShopTalk subforum for people to tear apart.

OP, I was not trying to be a butt about your handles. You're right, by putting the pins how you did you can't round the handles without ruining the pins. I was planning on doing the same thing on the Rooster, but I was advised against it, given that I wanted rounder handles.

This is what happens when you put the pins too close and round the scales. Dang. Now I have to remake them. I'm sure as heck not leaving them like that!
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That's the back spacer on my first friction folder. I really need to remake the scales. I did them on the grinder real quick, I really ought to do them by hand so they look right.
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good stuff, medicevans. I definitely am going to make the same one in 1084, I traced it already on a 3/16 bar and will probably cut it this weekend or maybe earlier. The only problem I have now is lack of a proper forge, right now I'm going with a propane torch and firebricks setup, but most probably build one in the near future - or end up sucking it and buy one. Will take a spine shot of the black handled one later, but it doesn't have a palm swell.
 
Why 3/16"? That is very thick. You could easily go down to 1/8" or 5/32" and retain most of the lateral strength and gain a lot of slicing ability. I like 5/32" stock, but 1/8" does make a killer slicer.

Edited to add: I have to put a disclaimer on the previous statement. There seem to be two camps on blade thickness. The first is thick blades over engineered and chunky not to break ever ever ever. The second is the one I subscribe to, that is to say, thin is in. I like slicing blades that cut awesome. 5/32" is pretty thick even.
 
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I might get some 5/32 stock later but right now 3/16 is what I have, besides it is a medium size chopper so I'm not too worried about slicing ability. On the other hand I had a bar of 1/8 that is gone, and the 2nd version of the first knife was ground yesterday. Only did one hole in the front and two at rear so I can round the scales :D some polishing and will heat today. I didn't understand the explanation on your link. Does it mean that I have to soak past non-magnetic? From what I've read 1084 doesn' need a soak.
 
Sorry man. This link from Kevin Cashen's site is a WHOLE lot better.

It says to take to 1500* to austenize 1084. That is 86* higher than just nonmagnetic. However, by the time the thick spine gets to nonmagnetic, I bet the edge is a higher temp, but who knows exactly how high.

http://www.cashenblades.com/steel/1084.html
 
thanks dude! I might need to hunt down a high temp thermometer over the weekend, but I'm really stoked right now. I have 2 more blanks to grind and finish before I start with the 3/16 bar. Will post soon.
 
well... got myself a pyro and having fun with it. I have plans to do a pipe forge and have the sites to order a burner, regulator and insulating goodies. In the meantime, I'm working on my first order!!! stoked? yeaaah!!!

I used a one brick forge and set the pyro to get a proper read. As soon as I hit 1500 F I quenched in canola, then moved to the oven when it got to room temp for 3 temper cycles @ 400 F. It's 1/8 1084, gonna be a hidden tang leather ring handle, working now on the guard, spacers, pommel, sheath etc. FFG with top swedge.

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