Sold my first knife today, but thats not even what the thread is about.

G

Gendry

Joined
Jul 19, 2014
Messages
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This was the first time somebody had said, 'hey "Gendry", I like your knives. Can you make me one, just like this? I'll pay."

So rather then pumping the knife out in 2 days like I usually do I took my time along every step, tedious amounts of effort. I went a long ways to try some new things and I even practiced a couple of those before I really went through with it. (Hamon line, "Double wood scales" where the front half was light maple, with a section of dark mahogany in the middle, and the maple again in front.)

I mean, I put my soul into this knife lol. Now I don't have any pictures, but rest assured that I am an amateur, and still don't even feel comfortable posting in the "whats going on in your shop thread", so the blade would be nothing special to any of you guys anyways.

However, to me, with the experience I have... Holding that knife was 10X more satisfying then receiving the payment.

This thread is kind of pointless, but if I wanted a moral for the story, I suppose it would be...
"Beginners especially should take every bit of extra time to dial in every perfect detail."

Make sure of your heat treat at all costs. When you think you have it nailed, put a thin edge on it and give it some abuse to see how it holds up. Don't be afraid to ruin all the work you've done so far, it can be reground and re tempered, it's only another couple days.

Spend that 2 hours with a sheet of sand paper and round the corners absolutely perfectly, even if that 2 hours only gets you 10% further to being finished.
Ect, ect ect.

Holding a functional blade which you are truly proud of and have worked your ass off on is a great feeling man. I'm not going to be half assing anything anymore.
 
There was a thread or two not long ago that touched on this kind of thing. You sir have just taken a big step up to another level. The pride you feel now will be compounded at each new level you attain. As you grow in experience, pride will be joined by a friend called confidence. You have found out why people say "if something is worth doing, it's worth doing right". Well done.
 
It's nice to see you taking your time and making it right. Speed will come but it's all about the finished product. I say post some pics. My first one sucked but I posted pics anyway. People critiqued it and I used that to make the next even better. Keep it up and the progress is fast.
 
Maelstrom78 said:
Pic.......ppiiiccc.....PIIICCKK!!!!

:)
Click to expand...

Sorry, I actually don't have pictures of this one.
I wasn't just saying that to get you to ask for pics or anything lol. It was really like a, "Look at my 5th knife!" thread quality blade, around these forums IMO, nothing special.
I still feel good about it though.

I haven't had a cellphone for long, I don't like them, and avoid them for uh, reasons... So I didn't think to use the thing as a camera after I had finished it up at 10:00PM, it was handed off immediately the next day.

The knife isn't the point of the thread anyways really. '

Cheers.
 
Making a good knife is about time and persistence, making it faster and more efficiently is about practice. A lot of beginners turn out lousy results and say "I need more practice/tools/skill", but there's no reason a beginner can't make an excellent knife, it's just going to take a lot of time in research and perseverance.
 
Good post. I just made my first knife and felt the same way. I wanted to do my best in each step of the process before moving on to the next one. My knife had a few mistakes, but I told myself to do your best in the next step. When it's finished, evaluate the knife and do better next time.
 
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