possible Stacy approved knife design?

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Feb 18, 2016
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ok so I think I might have a winner here that could even possibly be Stacy approved (few and far between I know) lol but in all seriousness what do you think?
 
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Just an FYI it's Stacy.

Your first drawing looks like it has a choil in the handle material. Maybe you wanted a finger groove but at that size it looks funky, I would get rid of it. I would move your outer pins in a little bit. I would widen the ricasso on both knives. A good rule of thumb if you have trouble getting it the right size is just use the golden ratio to figure the length based on the width of the steel in that area. Getting the ricasso perfect is important and something to ingrain in yourself while you learn. Put some curve in the spine its flat like a bar of steel and you want a nice flowing curve though it doesn't need to be a dramatic one.

Most new guys want to rush. I did myself when I first started out but I can tell you that every minute you spend planning and making your drawings exact is probably five minutes you save in the production phase. Get some graph paper, a ruler and order some french curves from amazon. These will greatly assist in designing a knife.

Knifemaking is fun, but making a good knife is not easy!

Good luck and post your progress.

-Clint
 
I'll edit to fix his name.
Yeah it was supposed to be a choil. thank you for the advice. I'm definitely excited to get going and I'm watching as many videos and reading as much as I can to make sure I do it right. I'm not very good at drawing so that makes life a little difficult lol.
 
Bottom one will have a sharp edge on the front of the handle slab at the choil. Top one looks quite uncomfortable.... weird finger depression.

-Peter
 
Well, since I guess I am the resident curmudgeon, I'll offer my observations.


The first drawing is the only one I would go with. It is a pretty good starter drawing. Handle to blade ratio looks good.
The others all have issues.

There are a few small things that should be changed, as noted by Clint.
1) The Corby bolts on the ends should be moved in a little. Maybe 1/4".
2) The finger groove ( It is not really a choil) is a bit too small. Have it start where it is now, but curve back about an inch total. Don't make it much or any deeper ... just longer toward the rear. See the note below on how I shape them.
3) The choil ( this is the right word here) at the end of the sharpened edge should be bisected by the plunge. That means the plunge should end at the exact top of the semi-circular choil. You have it just behind that spot, and the edge ends in a sharp angle.
4) The ricasso is a bit small, but not overly so. I would start with it about 1/8" wider. It tends to get smaller as you file and sand.

The only other shape advice I will make is that when shaping the spine, try and make the transitions from butt to spine a smooth curve with no actual angle to it. As drawn, it has a sudden drop toward the butt. The drop toward the tip can be left as drawn, or smoothed down in a curve. This is more of a matter of personal taste. Start with the tip as drawn and see where it ends.

TIP:
When cutting out the blank and doing the profile, NEVER cut the choil or the finger groove ... or any other decorative item ... out in the profiling step. Yu just want the basic outline with no dips and features. This will allow you to adjust the flow of the knife ( how the curves work together) and once that is done, you can start the bevels. Once the bevels are done, add the finger groove. The very last thing added is the choil. The edge length and plunge line may get moved quite a bit in making the bevels. If you set the choil too soon, it almost surely won't be where you want it when you are done. I don't make it until after HT and final bevel sanding. I use a small chain saw sharpening cylinder burr in a Dremel to quickly make the little semi-circle exactly where I want it in the hard steel. Go slow so you don't burn the steel.

You listed 52100 and AEB-L as the steel choices, Both will make good knives with proper HT. I would assume you are planning on sending out the HT.

Back to the handle bottom ( belly) for a moment. I don't usually put a dedicated finger groove on a hunter style knife. This shape I like is called a palm swell, and fits most any hand perfect. A finger groove may not fit all hands the same. Also, a palm swell is far easier to get rounded into the handle sides evenly.
The way I shape them is usually as a smooth in-out curve to make a small belly. It does not need to be much, and looks and feels best when it is very slight. Start where you have the finger groove now. Curve in a little ways, and then curve out toward the middle of the belly, then back in a bit and then back out to the butt. The only change from how you have it drawn now is the front curve is longer and smoothly becomes the swell.
 
thank you stacy. I'll keep working on it until I get something that's worth putting on metal. I appreciate your input and knowledge. it's been a great help.
 
ok so I took all of your advice drew a butt load of reference lines to make sure everything lined up and this is what a came up with
 
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Looks a lot better. Go with that. The handle will probably get shaped a bit more as you sand it out.
 
awesome thanks for the help stacy. I'm about to order my handle material (mircata ) do you think 1/4 corby bolts are too big? that's the size of the head on the corby.
 
ok so I wasn't really satisfied with the last one. it seemed "just good enough" which to me is never good enough. so here is the newer drawing and probably the best one yet.
 
Overall, that shape is excellent. The only problem is the finger groove is a bit uneven toward the back of it Personally, I would carry the second half of that groove back almost to the center of the handle in a smooth transition. I would make it the way you have it drawn and adjust it as you refine the profile and handle.

The other thing that may be a problem is the grind type. That sweeping and ling plunge is going to be hard to do for an experienced maker. The earlier ones were smaller, and still would have been difficult. It is easy to do things with a pencil ... much harder with files and sandpaper. You might be better off to do a straighter plunge on your first knife.
 
Overall, that shape is excellent. The only problem is the finger groove is a bit uneven toward the back of it Personally, I would carry the second half of that groove back almost to the center of the handle in a smooth transition. I would make it the way you have it drawn and adjust it as you refine the profile and handle.

The other thing that may be a problem is the grind type. That sweeping and ling plunge is going to be hard to do for an experienced maker. The earlier ones were smaller, and still would have been difficult. It is easy to do things with a pencil ... much harder with files and sandpaper. You might be better off to do a straighter plunge on your first knife.

ok awesome I will adjust the plunge line and the handle. I appreciate your help I'm starting to get the hang of it.

natlek lol I appreciate the digital design help. the handle is approximately 4 1/4 I have small hands so 3 1/2 is about perfect for me
 
The only other shape advice I will make is that when shaping the spine, try and make the transitions from butt to spine a smooth curve with no actual angle to it. As drawn, it has a sudden drop toward the butt. The drop toward the tip can be left as drawn, or smoothed down in a curve. This is more of a matter of personal taste. Start with the tip as drawn and see where it ends.

I would suggest working on this - i'd like to see you try a large sweeping radius
even in your post #14 revised version, I'm still seeing a flat top line

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I would suggest working on this - i'd like to see you try a large sweeping radius
even in your post #14 revised version, I'm still seeing a flat top line

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I revised it more the other day with the handle. I found 2 6in pieces of 1095 so the 2nd drawing is of a 6in
 
Two Corby bolts will be more than sufficient.

You are back to drawing a mini-finger groove that won't work. Just carry it back down the handle.

Choil should be bisected by the plunge.

Quit overthinking it :)
 
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