Starting my first knife

R

R.Kell628

Joined
Dec 12, 2012
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I'm waiting on my steel to get here (cpm 154) to start making my first knife. I sketched out a design and put it on a thick yard stick. The knife will be 10" overall with about a 5" cutting edge, 1.5" wide and 5/32" thick. Do you guys think this is too much for a first attempt? (If I fail half way through, I'll have enough to try something else). Here is the pattern I have so far.
DSCN3003_zps50c48327.jpg


I have the grind lines drawn and the handle scale lines. I want the front of the handle curved and the grind line (not sure what its called where the bevel ends and goes to full width) to match to scales. Would this be hard to achieve or just take extra elbow grease with a file? Here is a close up of that area:
DSCN3004_zpse0f9507e.jpg
 
The angled plunge will be harder than a simple straight plunge, but should still be ok with files as you have lots of time to correct errors. Personally i would take a bit of the swoop/hump out of the spine ahead of the scales, but that's just personal opinion. How do you plan to heat treat this knife? Its not like carbon steel and needs precise temps that are very high and controlled soak. Overall i like the design aside from the spine of the blade, but again thats just a personal thing maybe. The whole package looks very "Busse Ratmandu-ish"
 
Yeah that swoop looks like it needs swage running up to it.
I think you can probably pull it off if you don't get tired of filing first. like Grayzer said, files give a lot of time to make correction. So much time that I said screw it and ordered a belt sander half way through my first one, and that was with doing a large part of the work with an angle grinder :/
 
I agree with the spine part. I was debating whether to do this or just keep it flat and slightly angle down towards the tip (like it is now at the front). I might just end up keeping the spine flat in the center of the knife, we'll see. Ha I actually did use the ratmandu features to do this. I actually was going more for a mix between an Esee 5 and a Ratmandu but it turned out more Ratmandu-ish. Maybe with a flat spine (or flatter) I'll end up with more of the Esee/Ratmandu mix. I actually already have a belt sander that I plan on using (actually its my fathers that I'll be using. That was also his yard stick I used :D ).

Also I plan on sending this out to get it heat treated. I see the other thread on suggestions for where to get it done. I think as I get more experienced I will eventually do my own heat treating and use a simpler steel (1084 probably)
 
Aside from what was already mentioned, i would make the choil a little bigger by bringing it back a bit. Also, there seems to be a lot of wasted real estate in the front of the handle. Right now it looks like there is about an inch and a quarter between the usable handle and the edge of the blade. Some of it is not wasted I guess if you have a choil but I still would bring the front of the handle back for a little larger ricasso over the choil. Other than that it looks pretty cool. How does it feel in the hand? Since you did such a good job on the wood why not cut out some handle slabs and glue them on to give you a better idea of how it feels.
 
strider214 said:
Aside from what was already mentioned, i would make the choil a little bigger by bringing it back a bit. Also, there seems to be a lot of wasted real estate in the front of the handle. Right now it looks like there is about an inch and a quarter between the usable handle and the edge of the blade. Some of it is not wasted I guess if you have a choil but I still would bring the front of the handle back for a little larger ricasso over the choil. Other than that it looks pretty cool. How does it feel in the hand? Since you did such a good job on the wood why not cut out some handle slabs and glue them on to give you a better idea of how it feels.
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One reason I put the handle scales so far forward, is to provide more grip for my thumb when using the choil. I was planning on putting gimping on this part of the spine:
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I was planning on making handle pieces as well but it got late the other night when I did that and I called it a night. I might still do it though. It feels pretty dang good already but its still hard to tell without any handle.
 
I have no problem with the choil and ricasso size. I will say that the angled handle and plunge will be a bit more of a challenge to get right.

What I think is needed is removal of the camel hump. The spine will be far more comfortable and hand friendly if it is a smooth curve from the handle to the blade. Taking out the whole dip-hump-dip will greatly improve the looks and function.
 
I got my steel today, thanks Aldo (this was is my first purchase). I made some minor adjustments to the choil and kept the spine flat. I'll try to get some cutting done tomorrow. I think I''m also going to go with a strait plunge now that the spine is flat and shorten the scales back a little.
DSCN3010_zps4084bb55.jpg
 
Ethan_Hardy said:
Nice! Should be really sweet! What kind of handle material are you thinking about?
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Thanks. I'll probably use a canvas micarta. I'm liking the green and black canvas from USAKnifeSupply. I might also end up making my own. I made grips once for my 1911 out of canvas sheets epoxied together and they turned out really cool. I might end up giving that a shot.
 
I really like the look of your modified i.e. second version. I'd be careful of the handle length, as it looks approx. 4" and maybe not long enough to fit in your hand without it falling off. It looks like you have extra length on the blank if you did lengthen the handle. Again, just a preference.
 
So I got the knife cut out and profiled today. I still need detail work and perfecting but I'm happy with the progress today. I did add maybe about a 1/4 to 3/8 inch to the handle and it fits perfectly in my hand.

DSCN3017_zps5a078201.jpg
 
It looks good! Take your time and do it right! BTW edit your profile. You never know one of us guys with a grinder etc might live in the same town etc.
 
Any tips on what specifically to pay more attention to when taking my time and doing it right? Ha like the jimping I just tried to do. Here is my first attempt at it. Obviously its a bit crude and uneven but it gets the job done and I'm ok with it on my first knife.
DSCN3024_zpsec041278.jpg
 
You may want to take. Few passes off the top of that knife to flatten out that jimping. My concern would be how sharp it is, kinda looks like it will eat up your thumb if any pressure is applied to it. If you look at most other comfortable and functional jimping, you will notice that much of it is very flat with just enough groove to give a bit of traction without removing part of your thumb.
 
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