Pics of First Knife

WinDancer

WinDancer

Joined
May 15, 1999
Messages
720
Well, here is my first complete knife...

firstknife.jpg


Stainless Wharncliffe with full tang, double-bevel flat grind, brushed finish, epoxied and brass pinned stag scales.

I learned to let the epoxy cure twice as long as the label says and also not to heat up the scales after they are epoxied.

There is a spot that runs along the tang on the bottom edge of the scales where the epoxy was not completely cured that got too hot while I was shaping and cooked away from the steel.

I am still pretty pleased with the results of my first 85 hours, and the first pint of blood. Let's see.... at $3.00 an hour.....

Thanks to all the makers who are so willing to share info with us new folks. A special thanks to Alan Folts for all his patient emails.



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Proud Member
Buck Collector's Club
American Knife and Tool Institute
Oregon Knife Collectors Association
UsedKnife.Com
 
Nice work !
My first knife looked a lot worse.
Hey, since the grind is like flat and the costant thickness of the blade, did you use an HSS circular saw? I started that way too about 6 years back, now I am going to have a charcoal forge in half a month, possibly even a gas forge.
Keep up the good work!

greetz, Bart.
 
I bought the steel from a man in Olympia. Not sure what kind of stainless, but it sure takes an edge!
Dave Evans
 
Hello Windancer,

If you've handled enough stainless steels, at some point in time, by performance, you can tell which it is. If all are equally good heat-treated, that is. What do you think it is? Try pouring some lemonjuice on it. Pretty good indicator of carbon level and chrome level. And you can polish the spot right of.

But stainless is not for me. I know, back to the old stainless-carbonsteel discussion. I recently bought a spyderco native in CPM 440 V, in the hopes that steel might prove me wrong. I did not. The difference between 440 A, 440 C, ATS -55, ATS-34, and CPM 440 V are minimal. There rests still a gap between them and carbon steels. I listed them in upgoing order of edgeholding. CPM 440 V certainly is the best, but my simple Douk-Douk ( 1084 ) cuts better and rusts MUCH easier. Both were rather tough though. My favourite is 52100 the 'Ed Fowler' way.

greetz, Bart.

P.S. You can mail me at any time.
 
bart,
i may be wrong, but i've found most compainies to heat treat their knives to a low rockwell hardness like 55rc. this may be why they don't seem different. if it was at a higher rockwell hardness it would perferm better, and you would notice the difference. they keep it low so their blades aren't as likely to break.
windancer, nice knife. i wish i new about the bladeforums when i started, my first knife looks like crap. it was the coolest blade out there when i made it though, becuase i made it.

[This message has been edited by magnum .44 (edited 06-17-2000).]
 
I agree Darrel. My first drop point hunter turned into a trailing point skinner, because I butchered the blade so badly, I ended up turning that into a stick tang and grinding what had been the handle into a skinner. Geesh, was that ugly.

Nice knife WinDancer. You should be very proud of that one.

Now about those stainless comments Bart...
smile.gif




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Jerry Hossom
www.hossom.com
 
Wicked looking knife Windancer!!! I love that wharnecliff blade!!
My very first knife was an 8" long, closed, jack knife.
biggrin.gif
I used the blade off an old fritz, 1/8" aluminum liners and 1/2" aluminum bolsters. I did sport if up some with walnut handles!! It's still hanging in the pawnshop I sold it to. Floored me when the guy gave me $35 for it!

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Always think of your fellow knife makers as partners in the search for the perfect blade, not as people trying to compete with you and your work!http://www.nebsnow.com/L6steel
Buzzards gotta eat, same as worms!!!
 
Thank you all for your kind comments. I already know some of the things to do differently on my next ones, and will learn much more as I go along.

Dave Evans
 
Very nice! I really like the Wharncliffe profile on a blade! That first knife teaches you more about knife making than any other experience (at least in my experience), except maybe knife No. 2, then No. 3 and so on...but then I'm still on No. 2!-Guy Thomas

(P.S.-I thank the heavens that I had the Bladeforum and the fine helpful people we meet here who are so forthcoming with their knowledge!)
 
Dave-

Great work! Let's meet up at the show in Tacoma and work out a time for you to come down.

I look forward to meeting you!

Nick
 
Nice knife. I love Wharncliffe's.

Tacoma show?!?!? What Tacoma show?

[This message has been edited by Chuck Bybee (edited 06-19-2000).]
 
Chuck-

The Northwest Knife Collectors are putting on a show June 24-25th in the Phoenix room of Freighthouse Square right there by the Tacoma Dome.

253-927-3909 for info.

Nick
 
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