This just in: Longtime lurker finally makes something (photo heavy)

Parceiro

Parceiro

Joined
Jan 12, 2018
Messages
5
Hey gang,

Just wanted to share my first knife (and first smithing) project! I've been lurking these and other forums since last year trying to absorb as much knowledge as I could. Finally bought an anvil, built a forge, and made some safety upgrades to my workshop and got to work on my first blade.

I made a ton of mistakes along the way, but I'm pretty proud of how it came out.

A few things I did wrong:
  • Started with 1/8" steel. It was hard to hammer because it wants to bend easily. Also, it cools down really fast.
  • When I was trying to hammer in the bevels I made it too thin, almost to final thickness. I'll prob get some 3/16" stock next time.
  • Broke the tip on two separate occasions, so the final blade is a bit shorter and skinnier than my original design. First time, I was grinding and the tip got caught in the belt. It broke the tip off and shredded the belt. Scary. Second time, pushed the edge into the scotchbrite belt and it made me drop the blade and the tip broke again.
  • I made cool, angular bevels on the top of the scales, and then messed them up on the belt grinder while shaping the main part of the handle.
  • Grinding freehand is hard, but fun. Looking forward to practicing more!
I made a bunch of other smaller mistakes but I learned a bunch and am looking forward to getting back to it once the heat drops back below 90F in the next couple of days :)

My ultimate goal is to make kitchen cutlery. If y'all have any advice or feedback, let me hear it!

Final product first: 1/8" 1084 + ironwood + silver nickel pins
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way better than my first, nicely done
I don't think starting with 1/8" stock for that knife is wrong.
I would say stick with the 1/8" and you will figure out what you need to do in terms of hammering
 
HSC /// said:
I don't think starting with 1/8" stock for that knife is wrong.
I would say stick with the 1/8" and you will figure out what you need to do in terms of hammering
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Thanks! I guess I'll just chalk up my trouble with it to inexperience!
 
You are braver then I. I would not start with iron wood lol. Nothing wrong with starting 1/8” stock. Does not look like you really moved that much material so 1/8” was fine. Looks like your bar stock was wider then your finished knife anyway. You could have just ground it out. But it looks good. If your going to forge get ahold of some 1/4” thick stock. That way you can actualy move and stretch it out. But if your forging just becaus you want to hit somthing hot then I say have at it. but just a heads up forging does not make the knife better. If anything it increases the chances of making it worse. But very nice first
 
JTknives said:
Looks like your bar stock was wider then your finished knife anyway. You could have just ground it out.
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Yeah, I thought about that, but I spent so long building a forge that I was excited to start hitting some hot metal ;). I do have some thicker material coming in soon, so def gonna try and move more steel in the coming weeks.
 
Clamping the scales down hard when epoxying will cause all the glue to be squeezed out, creating a glue starved joint. Expect the scales to lift off the tang in the future.

Use light pressure spring clips and only the number needed to hold the scales while the resin cures - usually one or two clamps.
 
Nice job. Looks like you shaped the handle pretty nicely as well. A lot of new makers succumb to "BHS" (blocky handle syndrome) when starting out. Yours looks quite comfortable.
 
I know I am still trying to get over BHS. Great knife.

And nice tip on glueing Stacy. I just assumed it would leave gaps.
 
About gluing... after they are flat, I drill several dozen small dimples on the back side, and a number of holes through the tang always helps. Gives the epoxy a place to hang out and increases surface area.
 
TRfromMT said:
About gluing... after they are flat, I drill several dozen small dimples on the back side, and a number of holes through the tang always helps. Gives the epoxy a place to hang out and increases surface area.
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That reminds me that I also forgot to drill some holes through the tang to help reduce some weight. The handle section is pretty dang heavy.
 
I am going to provide a counterpoint to Stacy's comment about how to clamp scales. I completely agree that a glue starved assembly is an issue but, in my opinion, spring clamps will get you there a lot more often than a properly applied screw clamp (i.e. C-clamp). When you stop twisting a C-clamp, it stops applying pressure unlike a spring clamp which will continue to exert pressure forever. The key to clamping with a C-clamp is to bring everything down snug but, without smashing all the glue out of the assembly.

Bob
 
I have mentioned my epoxy method several times but here it is again. My method will probably be unpopular with a number of knife makers because it takes longer. I clean my tangs after abrading them with 100 grit by spraying them with brake cleaner. Then I put a sheet of wax paper on a marble pastry board and put only one scale on the tang with 24 hour epoxy. I get it set and put a can of anything slightly less weight than a can of soup on the tang. You have to check it after about 25 minutes or so to make sure it doesn't slide or shift away from your bolsters and then let it cure overnight. I then flip it over drill through my tang for the pins and epoxy on the second scale and let cure. Drill through the scale holes and pin with more epoxy. I only do this if i am not using Corby bolts or similar fasteners. The pins must be lightly peened until tight and the knife finished as normal. I also use a Dremel tool with a fiberglass reinforced cutting wheel to cut parallel slots on each sides on the tang before cleaning them and make a few crosshatch cuts as well so the epoxy will have maximum grip. I have never had a knife come back to me with a scale loosened or popped off. I have had two knives returned to me that were broken in half at the bolster which I suspect was caused by using the knife to pry something.
I replaced them to avoid any arguments. These are the only problems I have had in about 600 + knife sales. I do think that some of the light weight clamps I have seen mostly in stationary stores like Office Max would work nearly or/ as well as my method. Drilling a few 1/4 inch holes in the tang has got to increase the grip as well. Well, That is my opinion based on my experience but I know everyone has their own method and there are a lot of knife makers with more knowledge and experience than myself. Larry

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