The Devil is in the Details

Two other things that have really had a huge effect on my final fit and finish are grit progression and sanding technique. Getting a perfect blend between handle and guard can be quite difficult. You need to not only have the right grits, but the right strip widths if you are hand strip sanding to blend inside curves. You need to know when to use a heavy backed, and when to use flex backed. Also, the right entry and exit angle on the strip, and sometimes have to move the strip to-and-fro during sanding a single area. Getting materials of different density to finish out together as a whole is an art on the level of a master chef plating an entire meal right at the perfect time for each dish.

I find the more discipline I use in my grit progression, the less work overall needs to occur before I get a reasonable quality finish.
 
Heres an overlooked detail that applies to stamping.After stamping a makers mark or something into the metal , its good to use your sanding block to plane off the "proud "displaced metal surrounding the stamping .It gives a cleaner look in my opinion.
 
This is a minor thing, but a bit of a pet peeve of mine.

If somebody is going to pay several hundred dollars for a knife, it ought to be sharp. It should at least shave hair and be sharp from the tip all the way to the plunge or choil. It annoys me to see dull knives on tables, or for the blade to be sharp on the end but unsharpened for 1/2 an inch after the plunge.

It's just a detail, but to me it's worth paying attention to.
 
Jason Fry said:
This is a minor thing, but a bit of a pet peeve of mine.

If somebody is going to pay several hundred dollars for a knife, it ought to be sharp. It should at least shave hair and be sharp from the tip all the way to the plunge or choil. It annoys me to see dull knives on tables, or for the blade to be sharp on the end but unsharpened for 1/2 an inch after the plunge.

It's just a detail, but to me it's worth paying attention to.
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That bugs me too.

I make working knives (so far), so I don't go to the crazy extremes that some go to with the edge. That said, if a knife doesn't shave hair from base to tip, it doesn't leave my shop, and I don't consider it a finished knife.
 
Patrice Lemée;12771455 said:
Always strive to do your best in both the design and fit and finish department. That being said, if your output is low, realize that perfection is a long way off and don't let it discourage you. My fit and finish is nowhere near what I would like it to be but it is getting slowly better with each knife I make and shop time under my belt. Design on the other hand you can practice anywhere even simply in your head while doing other things. And contrary to popular belief, it has to be practice or cultivated as much as the actual building part if you want both aspects to keep up with each other.

Back to the original topic, my advice about details would be to spend as much time on the last 10% of the knife (the details part) as you spent on the other 90% of the built. I use to be so eager to actually finish a knife that I would rush the end part and was usually disappointed by the end result. It is hard at first but after you've done a few knives like this and see the better end result, it will become second nature and you will not even think twice about that spending that 4-5 hours making 3 different pommel nut to get it just right. ;) Of course I realize that this may not apply to every situation when for example, you are actually earning a living doing this. But I say try and do it as much as you practically can.
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This describes me to a "T". I don't have much time to put to making knives, so it's been really hard to "see the light". My first knife, I was so happy that I got it looking like a knife, that I affixed my scales and started doing finish work to it before I realized I hadn't sent to heat treating... my second and third cracked during HT... again my fault the guy who did it wasn't any good at it, admitted it to me and I still went to him anyways...

Threads like this give me a wee bit of hope once again!
 
Had some fun details moment today :( Had a tomahawk 95% complete and then decided to make a small modification to the handle. In the process I hit the blade with a file and left a scratch that took 30 minutes to sand out.

Then once I was already frustrated I went to drill out the glue in the tang hole and used a bit that was too small. Ended up leaving a small indentation on the inside of the tube. Tried drilling it out more and my drill bit broke off inside the tube :mad: I ended up spending 3 hours and 6 different countersinks, step drills, and various bits to try to fix my mistake. Still looks awful. Ill probably have to sell the it as a factory second now. Either way there's nothing worse than spending half your day fixing a problem that you shouldn't have had in the first place if you had just paid attention to the details.

The devil really hates details.
 
Ok, here's a simple one. When stamping a serial number onto a blade, make sure the numerals are oriented correctly. Don't ask me how I know.:mad:
 
I agree, When doing Bolters I like to pin them together first and then do the shaping, And when they are secured to the handle they should line up perfectly every time..
Great idea for thread..
 
I ran into this situation today. After receiving my etching stencils from Ernie this week, I went to etch my mark on a knife I am making for a friend. In a rush to see it work I didn't pay attention that I had the stencil backwards. In my defense, the design is a horse head made from my initials so even being backwards it just looked like a horse facing the other way. Took me an hour sanding to remove the mark so I could redo it. After doing the etch again, properly this time, in proper light you can still see a small "wave" in the blade where to other mark was. It just makes me want to cry even knowing my friend will likely never notice it, or even care if he does.
Here is a photo of some other knives just to give an idea of what the mark looks like on the sheath. My initials are CAJ if anyone is struggling to figure that out.
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I would wager I never do this mistake again.... least not admit to it anyhow! LOL
Chris
 
Salolan said:
I ran into this situation today. After receiving my etching stencils from Ernie this week, I went to etch my mark on a knife I am making for a friend. In a rush to see it work I didn't pay attention that I had the stencil backwards. In my defense, the design is a horse head made from my initials so even being backwards it just looked like a horse facing the other way. Took me an hour sanding to remove the mark so I could redo it. After doing the etch again, properly this time, in proper light you can still see a small "wave" in the blade where to other mark was. It just makes me want to cry even knowing my friend will likely never notice it, or even care if he does.
Here is a photo of some other knives just to give an idea of what the mark looks like on the sheath. My initials are CAJ if anyone is struggling to figure that out.
0cf9n1w.jpg
[/URL][/IMG]

I would wager I never do this mistake again.... least not admit to it anyhow! LOL
Chris
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What is that material between the brass guard and the brass spacer on the knife on the right?
 
It is Corion brand counter top and the color is Bedford Marble. The knife on the left is the same material in a different color, Dorado I believe.

Chris
 
Salolan said:
It is Corion brand counter top and the color is Bedford Marble. The knife on the left is the same material in a different color, Dorado I believe.

Chris
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Interesting; it looks like it buffs up pretty well.

Thanks for the reply.
 
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