Opinions on my 1st knife

S

seionage

Joined
Oct 3, 2010
Messages
398
I posted this in customs, but then I realized, there are more makers here. Looking for feedback on my 1st knife I made with a grinder.

So, what would you call this knife?
bird and Trout?
It started out as a hunter, but I kept making mistakes on it. I think it lost 3/4" or better on the blade width, and at least 1/4" or better on the handle. I'm probably going to just use it as a deboning knife in the kitchen.

I used a 10" wheel for the hollow grind. It is shaving sharp.

Here are the dimensions

1/8" O1
4 7/8" from tip to ricasso
8 1/4" overall
58-59 RC Hardness
Heat Treat by Ken Coats
Balance is 1/16" in front of the domed pin.

knife6.jpg



This is my 1st knife on a grinder. My previous one was done by hand with files. There are a number of 1sts here for me, including:

a)Well, I got to use a grinder.
b)Hollow Grind
c)Micarta
d)Domed Pins

I cannot believe the number of flaws I have in the knife. It makes me respect those guys even more, that get that extra clean fit and finish.

Some of the things I've learned.

a)Never do "just 1 more pass" on the grinder
b)I can't believe how fast O1 can rust between dunking and bringing it to the grinder
c)Grinding allows you to make mistakes really fast, and take a long time to get them worked out.
d)Never bring the knife to the house, and set it next to the plant where the wife waters (she overfilled the pot, and unbeknowenst to me) the knife sat in a puddle of water over night.


So, what would you do different on this knife? On a scale of 1-10, how would you rate it. Looking for any feedback (good and bad) to make my next knife better. Makers: what would you change? recommend?


knife1.jpg


knife2o.jpg


knife3j.jpg


knife4.jpg


knife5.jpg




thanks a bunch!
 
I love the looks of that blade!!! ( you should have said it was supposed to be how it turned out) I bet it would be a great little use knife. You will get better with every knife you make.... or don't make all the way. Keep it up

Jack
 
I'm not sure what it is, other than awesome!

If you're gonna use it as a boning knife, then that's what it is.
A fancy-pants boning knife.
 
seionage said:
I cannot believe the number of flaws I have in the knife. It makes me respect those guys even more, that get that extra clean fit and finish.
Click to expand...

It looks great.

I know what you mean by respecting the knifemakers here on this forum even more after attempting to make a couple knives. Just looking at yours makes me want to go back into the garage and start grinding again to attempt to end up with something nearly as nice. Good job.


Oh...and the "just one more pass" when the knife is looking good got me a couple times earlier today.
 
Nice knife. I have a fondness for long and lean shapes. Make it your personal steak knife if you like, clean a trout or a pheasant, or deboning in the kitchen, just use the hell out of it! I say you did a pretty darn good job on it. Nothing i can really pick out from the photos to critique. Great job on the handle shaping too!


-Xander
 
Very nice. I would call it a Bird and Trout knife.

My only suggestion would be to not make such a large and deep choil at the ricasso. This is a potential weak spot. If the blade is used for light duty tasks, as a bird and trout would be, there should be no issues....but a bit more metal there would be wise on the next one.
 
Thanks for the kind words everyone.


Stacy:I wish I could say I planned that deep of a choil. ;-)

I'll keep that in mind for the next one.
 
Well done. Like the lines of this knife.

Just had a Point beer last week and my folks live in Wausau. Wishin' I could come up for some bowhunting.
 
I'd say bird & trout or possibly what we in the UK would call a "Rabbiter". The deep choil in that size would be useful for starting the belly slit with your forefinger just behind the point of the knife (to prevent over-penetration)
 
Looking forward to bowhunting and small game this year. Just waiting for the leaves to start dropping. Bow season opens in 2 weeks, but its still too warm for my taste, to be hunting.
 
I like that knife, a whole lot.

My opinion, from an aesthetic point of view, is the distal portion of the choil is a bit sharp. Maybe it's actually the micarta. It provides a 'stop' for your eye.

That's coming from a guy who has yet to finish his first blade...
 
A really attractive first effort.
Bird and Trout, Rabbiter, Boning knife, perhaps a squirrel un-zipper - it should be a very useful slicer.

Someone already pointed it out, but it looks a little thin (weak) above the choil. I'd be afraid of bending it there.
Otherwise, I'll be very happy if my first comes out nearly so nice.
 
Thanks for the kind words. I actually left it a little dull ( a couple of thousandth's thick -- for about 1/8"), right in front of the chiol, just in case your (my) finger slips.
 
Nice work! It may have been the culmination of a bunch of errors,but the
result is really cool. It's a nice knife. I wish my "failures" turned out that well.

Bill
 
Good job, nice lines.
Try using D-2 on your next Knife I find it easy to grind and it will survive a couple or three days in the rainy fall bush with very little rust if any.
Keep up the good work.
 
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