Recommendations for first knife project

quint

quint

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Nov 29, 2011
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Still working on a couple of blades I got from Gene but I also just received a 2x48" (5/16"thick) bar of L6 from the steel baron. Not setup to do any HT so will send it off for that part of it. My question is are there certain knife styles that you all recommend to start off trying to make? Anything lend itself to being easier to make then other designs per say.

I figured I would post up my rough outline before I start cutting and grinding but kind of want a starting point to work with.
Thanks all for your input.
 
I would recommend

Start small say a 3 or 4 inch blade on 1/8" stock.
pick a design with no guard or bolsters to solder or pin on.
skip gut hooks and saw-backs

pick something you really like so it's fun


I re read your post 5/16"

That is REALLY thick


Precision ground is really nice to work with - less trouble getting scales to fit flat.
 
I would have ordered something thinner but at the time I wanted to try L6 and that was the only thickness he has. Plus I didnt measure the thickness out so didnt realize how thick it was going to be. Opened the package and was like oh well gonna be doing some extra grinding.

Thanks for the tips.
 
With 2 inch wide an 5/16 make a large chopper. Just make a nice simple design and make sure you like what you make other wise it wont be as fun
 
I hear ya guys on making it fun. Ive been doing leather work for the last 4 years or so and have had to do projects that I really didnt like. Once is ok but when you get more request for the same thing it gets really tedious to say the least. I dont mind doing projects I atleast half way enjoy multiple times.

I would like to do a bigger (forget what its called) kind of like the one from the zombie thread, kind of a big tanto/machete style creature but think that will have to wait till I get a better belt sander. Just have a 1x30 to work with now.
 
Just remember, working on large format knife means removing a LOT more material and keeping it even over a LOT longer blade. Are you SURE you want to make your first project a really difficult one? Doing that on a 1x30 is going to be a bigger challenge than you think.

Since you don't have a grinder you're going to wear yourself out trying to remove enough metal to pull a blade out of stock that big. If, like me, you use files to do much of that that removal, you might as well not go to the gym for a while because working on that blade is all the workout you'll need.

Good luck.

My advice would be start smaller... but if you're like me you'll ignore advice and follow your muse.
 
Advice headed, I was just saying I would like to make a big ol boy but I have no illiusions of what that would intale with my current tools. That will have to wait till another day.

I have another question though if anyone runs across this. Is there a formula or standard for thickness of blade as associated with length and height of blade.
 
There is no standard, but the general rule is that smaller knives slice and bigger knives chop. the smaller the knife, the thinner the stock.
 
5/16 will require some work but you will get nice bevels, I personally would do one of my drop points, you can make it bigger or smaller but a 3.5" blade and a 4..5" handle give you a nice working knife. If you want to do less filing you can do a bushcraft, they dont do the full flat grind but go to a very fine edge.

What I like about the drop point is its is easy to expand to a bigger size or you can add a guard and nice handles to make a nicer knife using the experience you gain on a siimple knife
 

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Personally I'd order some 3/16 or 5/32 stock of another metal for your first few. With the narrow and low power grinder you're gonna be driving yourself nuts with that much metal to remove and it makes life tough to keep it even.

Regardless of what choice you make for the steel and style, make sure you have plenty of fresh belts and the right kinds of belts. Zirconia, ceramic... not aluminum oxide. Don't try to work with dull belts, replace them as needed and you'll be a lot happier.
 
I echo 12345678910's suggestions. Unless the Zombies are pounding on your door, leave the hacker/slasher until you have a little more experience under your belt. A small EDC knife will find a thousand uses while waiting for the Zombies to show up.

Not that there's ANYTHING wrong with being a Zombie. Some of my best friends are Zombies.

- Paul Meske
 
Nice knives Patrick. Cant wait to get started. Thanks for the advice Remy and Lone.

I do have a regular grinder as well. Just that thing will probably scare me trying not to remove the wrong metal lol. I was looking at the 2x42 or whatever it is from sears and checked out the mods you can do to it via utube. Looks like something I may be able to spring for. Ive got an extra 1hp motor that was suppose to be for burnishing leather but I built it and never really used it. So I will need a couple of pulleys and some mild steel stock. Still not sure if I need the other speeds right now but it may be worth setting that up. We will see.

Appreciate all the advice everyone. This site is immensely helpful.
 
Was looking at Bob Engnath list of knives and decided that I would try the feather kind of. I changed it just a tad in overall style but still pretty much the same thing. Very simple design, made a mockup of kind of how I would like it too look (flat version). Thinking of adding a bolster to the design then a couple of layers then the handle material, maybe just bolster and handle not sure yet.


knife format.jpg
 
You can find templates out there for a Woodlore style knife. That's what I'm working on for my first knife and it isn't too difficult. It seems like a simple, elegant, and useful design.
 
OK so first thing I learned is save the rest of this steel for another bigger project and order some thinner stuff more suited for smaller projects :D

Thanks for all the suggestions and help. The first one is kind of well on its way. Really need to get some good belts though otherwise this is gonna take a while. I have some finishing on the overall shape but that will wait till I thin it out a bit and get closer to the thickness the final knife will be.

feather knife 1.jpg
 
Be careful not to get TOO close to the final thickness of the knife before heat treatment. Remember, you're going to have to remove some decarb post-HT in order to get to the hardened metal underneath. The usual advice to beginners is not to make the edge any thinner than a dime... which, by the way, may be taken to mean a well worn dime.
 
Might I suggest a large sheepsfoot profiled chopper for that large piece of L6. They are a little easier to grind in that you don't have to cut bevels around a curve at the belly, since sheepsfoot blades have no belly. Many of the competition chopping knives are similar to this shape.
 
Well finally got my first knife project underway. Its taken a while working on it 20 or 30 minutes at a time spent primarily sanding down the thickness. For sure am going to get some thinner steel for my next project and save this thick stuff for a big chopper of sorts.

The other two blades are the ones I got from Gene Martin. Very nice blades and I learned alot finishing them up. The smaller one is a D2 with olive handle and the other is 8670 with ziricote handle along with some pins Gene sent me. They are no way near perfect do to several errors I made like learning how to hand sand a blade the proper way after finishing the smaller one, slipping a couple of times on the belt, dropped a couple of times, oh and forgetting to protect the finished blade while doing the handles. Did I leave anything out lol.

Anyways thanks a bunch to all the helpful people here, learning a ton as I progress thru these projects. Just wish I had more time.


knife 2.jpgknife 1.jpg
 
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