Starting Out

[T. Erdelyi]

Alright, this is what I have access to, or own, a 42"X2" belt grinder, an 8" Sears bench mount drill press,(new), an old machinist lathe, a horizontal band saw, oxyacetlene torches, arc and tig welder.
My question is, given this available equipment I have ground, but not finished two pieces, a 4 1/2" sheepsfoot fixed blade with a 1 5/8" blade, made out of some super hard alloy,(given to me by a metalurgist at a foundry I once worked at) that never got hot, or threw sparks, but ground very thin.( The main problem I had was maintaining even grind lines)

My 2nd piece was a letter opener ground out of mild steel, basically in the shape of a dagger, this one I mananged to keep semi-symetrical grind lines on both sides,(I know practice may not make it perfect, but it's gotta make it better), but I couldn't harden it, using a torch, though it was hard enough to open letters.

Everything has been done freehand, and they are kinda a crude, but for my first 2 attempts I think I learned from them already.

Now to my question, having a little insight into what I have available, and knowing a little about my background, I've been an Industrial mechanic/pipefitter/machinist/millwright for 24 years, what kind of knife would you suggest,(blade shape, type of steel, ect) that would give me the highest chance for success?

 

[RHINOKNIVES]

well your best chance of completion will be on the kind of blade that you want to make. of course i would refrain from recurve double grind type patterns. but a nice 4" blade full vee grind worker knife or a small paring knife for the kitchen? my first ones were made with hand files and paper. you have more than enought tools to make pretty much what ever you desire. let us know how it goes.

 

[LaMess]

I salivated over a lot of knife pictures in publications like Knives 2002 and I often found myself staring at the adds in the various knife periodicals until my wife worried about obsession. By doing that and thinking about what I cut I developed a fondnesss for small drop point and sheep(s)foot blades.

I don't think you can go wrong doing that to find what kind of knives you'd like to start with. Find one that calls to you.

The other advice I'd echo is to use a known steel that you like. That way you can experiment, solicit advice and eventually be more certain of the outcome.

I've been using O1 because I read here that it is forgiving (obviously not enough - I showed my mother who was up for a visit my first filework and she said I should try picking a shape and sticking with it).

Good Luck

Lynn