Well, I finally heat treated one of my own blades and have a completed knife of my own work from start to finish, at least starting with a piece flat stock.
Nothing fancy, but I'm pretty proud of it as a first complete piece. I've ground some other stuff that's sitting around waiting to go out in a batch to someone else to HT, but this was mine start to finish. I sure wouldn't have gotten here without a LOT of help from you folks. I was going to thank people by name but when I started tracking down the various posts I realized it was just way too many people to be practical, and then there are all the posts and stickies that I read and learned from.
Forge, still not finalized but it works. Once I settle on an exact setup I'll build it on a plate and use the cement to secure it all together. The burner is actually a propane weed burner torch. OVERKILL, but works and is handy. The shroud doesn't quite touch the side block but the burner itself is actually toward the back of that shroud.
Some shots of the "first" knife, along with the purchased blade that I put g10 on and made my first sheath for today. Major design flaws on the sheath but by the time that registered I was too far along to really salvage the material so I finished it and adapted it to make it work. There's a 1" wide loop for a 1.5" belt on the back with a single attachment point. I need to pick up some brass black soon, but I'll probably make a few more sheaths before I get around to that.
The sheep's foot is 1/8" thick 1075/1080 from Admiral, flat ground with a distal taper just by the nature of the design. The point is rounded all the way down and around, with the edge starting about 1/16" back from the nominal point of the knife due to the arc. I already have at least one order for one, a friend wants my next one to give as a gift to a paramedic friend.
I should really tear the cord off and refinish the steel, it got all scuffed and scratched during testing before I put the cord on, and I only kind of cleaned it up afterward. It's just for my shop or maybe emergency bag though, so I'm not sure I want to spend the time on that rather than starting something new. There are more little goofs on it than just the abused finish and I know I can do a lot better on the next one.
I would probably still be farting around with just putting handles on factory blades, and not doing even that as well, without all the help I've gotten here. The amount of time, mistakes and money saved through the advice and answers you guys have given is immense. THANK YOU
Nothing fancy, but I'm pretty proud of it as a first complete piece. I've ground some other stuff that's sitting around waiting to go out in a batch to someone else to HT, but this was mine start to finish. I sure wouldn't have gotten here without a LOT of help from you folks. I was going to thank people by name but when I started tracking down the various posts I realized it was just way too many people to be practical, and then there are all the posts and stickies that I read and learned from.
Forge, still not finalized but it works. Once I settle on an exact setup I'll build it on a plate and use the cement to secure it all together. The burner is actually a propane weed burner torch. OVERKILL, but works and is handy. The shroud doesn't quite touch the side block but the burner itself is actually toward the back of that shroud.
Some shots of the "first" knife, along with the purchased blade that I put g10 on and made my first sheath for today. Major design flaws on the sheath but by the time that registered I was too far along to really salvage the material so I finished it and adapted it to make it work. There's a 1" wide loop for a 1.5" belt on the back with a single attachment point. I need to pick up some brass black soon, but I'll probably make a few more sheaths before I get around to that.
The sheep's foot is 1/8" thick 1075/1080 from Admiral, flat ground with a distal taper just by the nature of the design. The point is rounded all the way down and around, with the edge starting about 1/16" back from the nominal point of the knife due to the arc. I already have at least one order for one, a friend wants my next one to give as a gift to a paramedic friend.
I should really tear the cord off and refinish the steel, it got all scuffed and scratched during testing before I put the cord on, and I only kind of cleaned it up afterward. It's just for my shop or maybe emergency bag though, so I'm not sure I want to spend the time on that rather than starting something new. There are more little goofs on it than just the abused finish and I know I can do a lot better on the next one.
I would probably still be farting around with just putting handles on factory blades, and not doing even that as well, without all the help I've gotten here. The amount of time, mistakes and money saved through the advice and answers you guys have given is immense. THANK YOU
