Three new knives almost finished

[Alfazulu]

Hey guys, I just got back nine knives from Peters', and finally had a day to finish some and put handles on them. These are my second, third, and fourth knives that I've made. I think they were actually the second, fourth, and ninth blades I ground, but I'm finishing them in a different order. The one with natural micarta was the second knife I ground, and I tried to get fancy on the plunge line. I messed it up. So, I'm keeping that one. The cocobolo handle one is a present, and I'm not sure what will happen with the blue/black G10 blade.

The blades on the smaller two are finished (the cocobolo blade is not totally sharp, just off the grinder). The big one needed some grind touchup work, so it's going to require some more sanding. It's only at 320grit anyway and still hasn't been cleaned since heat treat. I forgot to take solo pics of the cocobolo knife, so it's only in group shots for now. I'll take more tomorrow. I also have a modern version of a KABAR that I'm hoping to finish up tomorrow. I'll keep posting pics as I finish them. I'm hoping to have all nine done in the next two weeks, but I have to order materials for a couple. Let me know what you think.

Oh, they are all CPM 20CV heat/cryo treated to 61-62rc by Peters' Heat Treat. The smaller two have a 400grit hand satin finish. I made a kydex sheath for the micarta one, and will make the others soon. Nothing special there, just black kydex.

I am proud of this next shot. There's only one visible scratch that's not going the way it's supposed to, and I think it's actually lint. This picture angle would show errant scratches in the finish. I tried to do my homework and listen to all of you guys on hand sanding. Lots of elbow grease later, they look pretty good at 400grit.

I HATE that the top pin on the cocobolo knife is so high. I don't remember what I was thinking. I made the handles quite a while ago.

 

[Alfazulu]

Oh, and here are some pics of my DIY 2x72" grinder that I finished a couple of weeks ago. Today was the first real work out for it. Holy hell this thing is AMAZING!!! I can't wait to grind some steel with it! I did a little steel grinding, but a lot of micarta/wood/G10. It is amazing. With 2hp on tap, I could almost stand on it and it barely notices. A far cry from my old Harbor Fright 1x30" with "1/3hp". Please don't judge my welds too harshly. This was literally the first thing I've ever welded. I bought a Harbor Freight welder (pretty decent for my money), learned with a scrap piece, then went to town on the grinder.

The frame design is from DCKnives' website, but I changed some stuff like the motor mounting, the tension arm, etc. That stuff is semi-unique (probably not). After looking at the pics, I realize I forgot to go back and add a second brace to the box that the motor mount is attached to (as well as the shaft). I had a second one, but had to 45 the back corner off. I forgot to go back and add another one. Also, the metal conduit going to the motor was temporary. It has been replaced with something more suitable.

The motor is a 2hp Harbor Freight motor, running on 230V. It works great so far. The belt whizzing is by far the loudest part. The motor is actually really quiet.

And a video of the first run:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2Um_t4w8A98

 

[Goose 7279]

Wow very impressive love the blue handled one

 

[KnuckleDownKnives]

You're going to need to shroud the motor somehow. It's an open drip enclosure, and you'll want to keep metal dust from getting in it.

 

[noseoil]

Nicely done! Really like the shapes & grinds you're working on. They're all "practice" aren't they? One small suggestion about the scales, not sure about the thickness you have with your materials, but a 1/4" rounding-over bit (router bit, tungsten carbide with a bearing follower if thickness allows) will give the edges a nice shape to fit the hands. Working with the scale materials is a whole other world, compared to the steel.

Nice job on the grinder. What type of tool rest are you planning on making?

 

[Kevin McGovern]

Big plus one on the motor. Grinding knife blades creates a TON of metal dust. I get a ball of shavings about the size of a baseball per blade and that's just what makes it into my bucket. I would be especially worried about metal chips as they will short out the motor quickly. Since you haven't used that motor yet, I would return it for a refund and order a TEFC motor. you can get one from automation direct for $30 more than the one you bought.

I have actually been toying with the idea of going with a VFD for my grinder and I have a 1.5 HP TEFC with low hours (12 tops) i may be willing to part with. By the way, I really like your grinder, especially with the motor in the back like that. nice and neat.

 

[Alfazulu]

You're going to need to shroud the motor somehow. It's an open drip enclosure, and you'll want to keep metal dust from getting in it.

Big plus one on the motor. Grinding knife blades creates a TON of metal dust. I get a ball of shavings about the size of a baseball per blade and that's just what makes it into my bucket. I would be especially worried about metal chips as they will short out the motor quickly. Since you haven't used that motor yet, I would return it for a refund and order a TEFC motor. you can get one from automation direct for $30 more than the one you bought.

I'm glad you guys reminded me of that. I remember reading that and thinking about it during the build process, but then forgot. Luckily, very little metal dust has had a chance to get in there. I will build an enclosure for it. If it dies, I'll get the motor from Automation Direct. Between shrouding it and blowing it out after every grinding session, it should last a little while. I had some return credit at HF, which is why I went with that motor.

Nicely done! Really like the shapes & grinds you're working on. They're all "practice" aren't they? One small suggestion about the scales, not sure about the thickness you have with your materials, but a 1/4" rounding-over bit (router bit, tungsten carbide with a bearing follower if thickness allows) will give the edges a nice shape to fit the hands. Working with the scale materials is a whole other world, compared to the steel.

Nice job on the grinder. What type of tool rest are you planning on making?

I'm so glad you reminded me of this. I knew that, too, but forgot that trick. Making knife scales with a router is actually how I got into knife making. I used to make scales with a straight cut flush trim bit, then roundover bit. I imagine that would also bring out more of the layered look in the micarta/G10. I may go back and hit those two with the router.

For a tool rest, I'm just going to weld a piece of plate to an arm that slides in the lower tube on the frame. It's in the works. Later I'll do a contact wheel and some small wheels. Maybe small wheels first, actually.

 

[Kevin McGovern]

I not sure, but I would think that since the motor contains magnets and it's sucking air in to cool itself, it is going to suck the metal dust in there like a bandit. Unless you can't return the motor, or you don't have somewhere else you can use it, I would replace it now. just my $.02

 

[Alfazulu]

Yeah, I hear you. You're definitely right. Metallic shavings in a motor is no bueno. I'm going to make some sort of filter apparatus to filter the intake/exhaust ports. We will see how that goes. I can't return it. I trashed the box, and it's already been too long, I think. When it dies, I'll upgrade it with a VFD and TEFC motor. Like I said, I was returning something to Harbor Fright, and just swapped it for this motor. It at least doesn't FEEL like a waste of money even if it dies tomorrow.

 

[Willie71]

Coming along nicely. Fit and finish isn't perfect, but none of my knives for the first year or more were any better. :thumbup:

Looking from the but, an egg shake for the handle fits the hand best in my experience.

How do they feel in hand?

 

[Alfazulu]

Coming along nicely. Fit and finish isn't perfect, but none of my knives for the first year or more were any better. :thumbup:

Looking from the but, an egg shake for the handle fits the hand best in my experience.

How do they feel in hand?

They feel great to me, but I have really large hands. I actually like thicker scales and more squared profiles than most. What else do you notice on the fit and finish that I can improve? Don't hold back. I have to learn somehow. The blue one is far from finished, but the other two are close. I know I drilled the pin holes too large in the micarta one, and the top pin location on the Cocobolo blade sucks. I'm going to sand the Cocobolo a bit more and buff it. The blue one still needs blade finishing, some more handle finishing, etc. I don't like how the screws are recessed into the handle. What else looks bad?

 

[JG Custom Metal Works]

Everything looksvery good for just beginning. A lot better than I was doing at that time. The only thing, other than the motor not being "totally enclosed," is the rod that holds the motor base plate to the grinder frame. It looks a little too thin in diameter. It just looks like it's almost bent. I would beef it up to a 3/4" diameter rod or even a 1" diameter rod. It's better to go overboard with things like that on machines like this.

In regards to the knives, the handles look two thick and squared off. If that's how you like them, and you're only making them for yourself, then no biggie. If you're making them to sell then you might want to adjust them a bit. Especially up front on the handle, they just look too thick to me. Aesthetically speaking, you don't want the transition point from the handle to the blade, to be so abrupt. This is no rule in design theory or anything, just my opinion. When I say "transition point," I mean looking at the knife while it's laying flat(on a table) on it's spine and you're looking down on it from above. When the scales are at full thickness and just square off before the blade starts, it just doesn't flow AT ALL. Now if it's part of the design or has a purpose, sure. Otherwise, I'd try and slim that line and have a smoother transition. I did the same thing on some of my earlier knives.

Other than that I think they're looking good. I like your handle profiles. You could possible try and make the transitions between the flats and bevels a bit(something I still fight with). Maybe make your plunges a little cleaner/sharper, unless you're trying to make it fade into the bevel on purpose. The brown micarta one in particular.

Again, very good work though!

 

[Alfazulu]

Everything looksvery good for just beginning. A lot better than I was doing at that time. The only thing, other than the motor not being "totally enclosed," is the rod that holds the motor base plate to the grinder frame. It looks a little too thin in diameter. It just looks like it's almost bent. I would beef it up to a 3/4" diameter rod or even a 1" diameter rod. It's better to go overboard with things like that on machines like this.

In regards to the knives, the handles look two thick and squared off. If that's how you like them, and you're only making them for yourself, then no biggie. If you're making them to sell then you might want to adjust them a bit. Especially up front on the handle, they just look too thick to me. Aesthetically speaking, you don't want the transition point from the handle to the blade, to be so abrupt. This is no rule in design theory or anything, just my opinion. When I say "transition point," I mean looking at the knife while it's laying flat(on a table) on it's spine and you're looking down on it from above. When the scales are at full thickness and just square off before the blade starts, it just doesn't flow AT ALL. Now if it's part of the design or has a purpose, sure. Otherwise, I'd try and slim that line and have a smoother transition. I did the same thing on some of my earlier knives.

Other than that I think they're looking good. I like your handle profiles. You could possible try and make the transitions between the flats and bevels a bit(something I still fight with). Maybe make your plunges a little cleaner/sharper, unless you're trying to make it fade into the bevel on purpose. The brown micarta one in particular.

Again, very good work though!

Thanks for the advice! Those are exactly the kind of tips I need. You're dead on on the motor mount rod. It is already bent. I had that stuff in the shop so I went with it, but I will be upgrading it very soon. It won't last much longer. I agree that the handles are too squared off. I guess my big hands make me like that, but if I want to sell some in the future, I need to know what other people like. The micarta one was a butcher job on the plunge line. I was trying to do a slanted plunge line, then forgot and went square. Instead of scrapping it, I just rolled with it and tried to blend it to look somewhat decent. I have since gotten much better. I'm going to do some more shaping on the cocobolo piece, but the others are going to stay mostly as is, since they're for me. I still have to finish the blade on the blue one, but other than that, it probably won't change much. The next few should be nicer. We will see. I'll keep posting them.

 

[Willie71]

They feel great to me, but I have really large hands. I actually like thicker scales and more squared profiles than most. What else do you notice on the fit and finish that I can improve? Don't hold back. I have to learn somehow. The blue one is far from finished, but the other two are close. I know I drilled the pin holes too large in the micarta one, and the top pin location on the Cocobolo blade sucks. I'm going to sand the Cocobolo a bit more and buff it. The blue one still needs blade finishing, some more handle finishing, etc. I don't like how the screws are recessed into the handle. What else looks bad?

Nothing looks bad. The crispness of the plunges and the evenness of the sanding is what I'm referring to. One other area to look at is the scale material at the front. The thin area at the front can chip off.

 

[Alfazulu]

Here's another one that's almost done. The only things I may change are the little part of the ricasso behind the sharpening notch. I am not sure I like the profile of it. Also, I need to finish the tang a bit more. I was just anxious to see the handle finished. It's also not sharpened yet. This one is some "surinam ironwood" that I bought from Woodcraft a while back. It sure doesn't look nearly as nice as ironwood available online. It's decent, though, and I had it sitting around. The pins are carbon fiber tube. Again, I bought it a while back, and thought it might look cool. I'm pleased with it.

 

[noseoil]

Like this one a lot! Looks like it's a more pleasant shape in the hand & the blade finish looks very good. Amazing how something as small & "simple" as a knife can take so much time & thinking to get right, isn't it? I agree about the "ironwood" look, the desert ironwood has nicer figure & grain, but this one looks durable enough to last & is well finished & shaped. Just keep plugging along.....

 

[Alfazulu]

Like this one a lot! Looks like it's a more pleasant shape in the hand & the blade finish looks very good. Amazing how something as small & "simple" as a knife can take so much time & thinking to get right, isn't it? I agree about the "ironwood" look, the desert ironwood has nicer figure & grain, but this one looks durable enough to last & is well finished & shaped. Just keep plugging along.....

Yeah, this one has a much more ergonomic handle shape. I actually went back and reshaped the cocobolo and micarta handled knives above. But I think this handle shape came out the best both in looks and feel. Thanks to all that encouraged me to go thinner, sculpt the front of the handle, taper the front, etc. I tried to incorporate all of those suggestions into this handle, and feel like it turned out the best. Yeah, this ironwood doesn't look as good, but it's hard as hell. Sanding the end grain was a nightmare. I was also doing it on my 1x30" since I was out of belts for my 2x72". It should be very durable.

 

[Willie71]

Here's another one that's almost done. The only things I may change are the little part of the ricasso behind the sharpening notch. I am not sure I like the profile of it. Also, I need to finish the tang a bit more. I was just anxious to see the handle finished. It's also not sharpened yet. This one is some "surinam ironwood" that I bought from Woodcraft a while back. It sure doesn't look nearly as nice as ironwood available online. It's decent, though, and I had it sitting around. The pins are carbon fiber tube. Again, I bought it a while back, and thought it might look cool. I'm pleased with it.

That's a big jump from the earlier pics. :thumbup: Well done. You know where you can improve this design, at the heel and the tang finishing. Handle shape is much improved. Looks quite comfy. The spine looks better when it flows evenly, although some sheepsfoot designs don't. Plunges are much better, but not crisp. Perfectly acceptable at this point in your journey. :thumbup: Focus on ergonomics and geometry as much as finishing at this point. I don't think I properly finished a knife in the first year and a half of making, while I sorted out the design and heat treat.

 

[Alfazulu]

Here's another one. I need to refinish the blade a little. It got some scratches from making a sheath and sandblasting the handle. I made this for my cousin. He's a Marine and really likes the KA-BAR USMC knife. He asked me to make a "modern interpretation of the KA-BAR". This is what I came up with. It's similar, but with more modern materials (in my opinion). It is 0.188" thick CPM 20CV, hardened by PHT to 61-62, with black canvas micarta scales. I'm sure someone has done it, but I'd never seen guards integrated into a handle with micarta on a full tang blade before, so I feel it's a little unique. I wish he would have chosen linen micarta or G10, but he wanted the canvas. That's the only aspect I'm not happy with. The canvas just didn't turn out great in my opinion. You can't really see the layers in it like you would if it were linen or G10. I had originally sanded it to 1200-grit and buffed it, but it was REALLY hard to get into the nooks by the integrated guards. Plus, I thought it felt too slippery for such a knife. So, I decided to sandblast the micarta, and I think it looks much better. I blasted it with 3M Starblast 80-grit. I also blasted the tang and spine. I'm happy with the results.

Again, I still need to go over the blade again with some 400-grit paper to get the scratches out, but it's 90% done. I'm also going to etch his name and a marine logo into it once I get the stencils. The blade is also covered in WD-40, so that's what the smudges are.

 

[Rick1-2]

those are beautiful, i'm starting out too and i'll be happy if my knives looked half as good as yours

awesome job