Please rate my knife

I am not a knife maker, but I think your knife is great.

The handle wood looks good, well oriented, and the only thing I would do is grind off the finger choil and it will be nearly an ideal everyday user knife shape and size.

Now, make a sheath!
 
Make a non-mar scraper for that excess adhesive: take a brass rod and lightly hammer a chisel tip on it. This will work harden the brass a bit. Then create a chisel sharpening on a bench stone. It will remove dry epoxy but won't mar the steel.

Good first try. Imperfect, of course, but a knife that'll cut stuff. A success. Hope you're over this one and on to number 2 at this point!
 
Make a non-mar scraper for that excess adhesive: take a brass rod and lightly hammer a chisel tip on it. This will work harden the brass a bit. Then create a chisel sharpening on a bench stone. It will remove dry epoxy but won't mar the steel.

Good first try. Imperfect, of course, but a knife that'll cut stuff. A success. Hope you're over this one and on to number 2 at this point!
Thank you. Yes number 2 is already drawn and i used a free cad program this time and did not draw by hand.
 
Post your drawing here for the fellows to look over. They may see something that you don't.
 
Lots of good observations and advice here. Most of the major points have been covered. We only have one view of the knife from which to comment. I'll mention a couple of details then hit some broader points.

I think the shape of the blade is fine. It's not your typical drop point hunter but it doesn't need to be. It might just be a glint of light at the tip of the blade but it doesn't look like the tip comes to a sharp point. I like a sharp point unless there is a reason why it shouldn't come to a point. The handle looks to be as fat as it is wide. This can be a problem as it can allow the knife to twist in your hand in use. I don't think twisting will be an issue with that big subhilt. But if that wasn't there, it would be. Aside from that, absent additional photos, there isn't much to complain about for a first knife. Lots to be proud of there.

The broader points: Making knives is a rewarding hobby/craft/business. It can be enjoyed and performed at many levels. You are not required to make knives as good as or better than anyone else. You decide what kind of knives you want to make and where you want to take it. If all you want to do is make very basic knives for yourself, coworkers, family and friends in your spare time and don't want to be judged too harshly that's cool. If you want to make well designed field grade knives to sell and get a little cash coming in, good for you. If you want to make presentation grade knives that mostly find their way into collections, yeah baby. Go for it!. If you want to make jaw-dropping art knives lusted after by the most well-heeled connoisseurs, I wish you luck. The higher you want to take it, the more specific the critiques and the advice will get.

Whether you are making knives just for fun, trying to sell a bunch of working knives to make a little income or crafting stunning works of art; every level comes with certain expectations about quality and workmanship and technical expertise. I am not making any assumptions about your intent and this is no criticism of your work. Like I said, I think your knife is very good. What I am getting at is that it is never too early to think about how serious you want to be about making knives and where you might want to take this journey. If your plan is to make well designed, well built, well finished knives then it helps to adopt a mindset sooner rather than later that you won't cut any corners at any point. Making knives is fun but it is a heck of a lot of work. It can be extremely frustrating and you will want to overlook some things. But the higher the level at which you want to make knives, the fewer things you can make excuses for. There is no rush and everybody learns at a different pace. But you don't have to make piles of knives to learn a lot. If you pay attention to what you are doing and perform the various tasks with purpose you will improve very quickly. Once you figure out the basic techniques and order of operations it will start making a lot more sense. I hope you take this as I mean it, as encouragement.

Welcome to the community and enjoy the journey.
 
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i4Marc, that's a very well thought out comment. I find it important to remember that "good enough" is almost never good enough.
 
Not much to add to what's already been said, other than congrats on your first. You'll love it today, and hate it 5 years from now. :D

Fill out your profile. Depending on where you live, there may be some makers nearby who are willing to give it some critique in person, or even show you a few pointers for the next one.
 
Don' spend huge amounts of time on a knife that will only end up being OK. I've heard it called,"beating a dead horse."
Move on to the next one and see how much better you do on that knife.
Knife making is a learn as you go craft, so learn and go, don't get hung up on the small stuff, in the end you will get where you're going.
 
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