Uh, oh! Not a knife, yet.

[richard j]

lorien, i made 1 knife using the draw file method which made me decide then that i never wanted to make another that way. it didnt take me long to make up that block of wood either when i started to get an edge. luckily i seen an accident waiting to happen before it did. let me know when you are ready to put an edge on it, i'll help you out with that part

 

[Lorien]

Guys, your generosity is greatly encouraging! Thank you all for your offers to help:thumbup:

Wolfgang- I sent you a pm. I look forward to soaking in some of your wisdom.

 

[ddd]

Hello Lorien,

I see that you are really going for it with with wonderful to watch
pure excitement.

Here is one of nearly 100 WIP sections from my third book on
modern custom knives. I think you are ready to really enjoy this
book, and probably learn from it more that one trick of the trade.

The section shown here is Avi Korati (from Tel Aviv) using only files,
sandpapers and of course a simple electric hand drill, to really enjoy
hand-making a knife...


All the best,
David Darom (ddd)

From my book: "The Art of Modern Custom Knifemaking" (2006)

 

[Lorien]

Cool David! Some of my favorite knives are made by guys who avoid using power tools. Some amazing work coming out of Israel, too!

I have a downhill race on sunday, first of the season, and following Nick Wheeler's workout regimen is really gonna help me out:thumbup:
If only I can recover in time!

 

[Will Leavitt]

You're lucky Nick sent you steel instead of me I'd have sent you some hardened 1095 and let you try filing that for a bit

I've always let customers come over to try their hand at making a knife. Usually they dent my "other" anvil ( only smiths get to use the Sea Robin,) I spend a day with them because I feel they gain an appreciation for the work it takes to take steel and wood and create their knife.

It's funny, the more you progress skill wise it seems the more you regress tool wise.

 

[trestle]

Looks great, Lorien, can't wait to see the rest of the pics as you build your "baby."

 

[Raymond Richard]

Lorien, Where you going to put the wheels? Looks like your really coming along with it. Work must be real slow..........

 

[Lorien]

Lorien, Where you going to put the wheels? Looks like your really coming along with it. Work must be real slow..........

I'm usually antsy when it's slow in the shop, but I kept myself busy today!

 

[Lorien]

I'm torched! That's burly work, my abs are hard as rock at the moment, so to soften them up, I will drink a beer

 

[Bigfattyt]

Lorien, here's a free tip for you. You'll go through fewer hacksaw blades and files if you remove that gray stuff on the outside of the bar first. If you have an angle grinder, that works great, or you can soak it in acid overnight.

On the other hand, if you want to enjoy learning all the fine points yourself, forget I said anything.

I'm looking forward to seeing the finished product.

that tip would have saved me some time when I made my first and only knife by hand with files, and a mini hack saw. I did not have a vice. Only some c-clamps and a board for a table. With 1/4 5160. It took a while.

I actually used an old hand crank drill to drill the handle holes. My second hand drill crapped out.

I definitely would not want to do a big chopper by hand. I just got 1x30 belt sander disk combo for sharpening and handle shaping. I just bought a vice, that should help.

 

[Will Leavitt]

No wonder your shoulders hurt! That freaking vise is pretty high. My vise is a little over waist high. If I want to raise it I actually have 2 barstools of different heights that I sit in depending on how I want the vise positioned.

I've got some 2000x paper for the final finish if you want me to send you some.

 

[wolfeknives]

A couple of filing tips:
Your grind line should follow the cutting edge. That way you maintain the same bevel/angle all the way from the ricasso to the tip. A change of angle becomes very visible when the blade is polished. I scribe this line into the steel with a scriber. Take care not to go over this line, it is difficult and time consuming to correct.

I use a chainsaw file for setting the end of the grind at the ricasso. Unlike the rattail files, it is straight and gives you an even radius. This generally looks better, and will make for easy sanding. I file this groove to about 90% depth while the blade is still flat. This gives you a defined starting point for the grind line. I blend in the remaining 10 % while filing the flats. This will prevent the little dip that that can result when cleaning up this area.

When filing the actual "grind" file the entire blade length in one direction. Place a light perpendicular to the file marks, this will make the file marks show up white. To ensure your file work is flat, file the entire blade in the opposite direction, your file marks now show up dark. This will show you any areas that may need correcting.

Until you are experienced enough to “feel” what your file is doing, lay the file down on the area you are filing and make sure it is laying flat. This will help to maintain the correct angle. This is a little difficult to describe, hope it makes sense.

Filing from left to right will remove material faster, but results in coarse file marks. Always finish filing from right to left. Make sure that all the final file marks run in the same direction, meaning that all previous file marks have been removed. It is a good idea to do this for all the work, since random file marks make it difficult to determine what you are actually removing. It will also make the initial sanding much easier, since you will only have to sand in one direction to ensure all file marks have been removed.
Wolfgang

 

[Will Leavitt]

When I used to file knives I used a compass set to the desired grind height to mark the grind line following the edge.

 

[Lorien]

Wolfgang- thank you for those tips! Just the kind of advice I was going to call and ask you for. Thanks for saving me the long distance phone call. Truth is, I don't know enough yet to even know what questions to ask. Anyway, I'm going to reread your post several times and try to make it stick!:thumbup:

Will, I'm not sure whether it's that the vise is too high, or if I'm too short.

I can tell you all one thing, making a knife is the single best way to learn how to make one:thumbup:

This is really fun, and quite exciting!

 

[wolfeknives]

Lorien, as per our conversation, here are some pic's of the home made scribing gage.The body is 3/8" thick and measures about 3/4" X2". I simply drilled and tapped for set screws for adjusting and tightning the bar and scribing pin. The scribe is an old sharpened dental burr, but a sharpened drill bit will work. The round body piece is drilled for the adjusting bar, I simply switch the bar and screws to this one for scribing in tight curves, which can not be followed with the rectangular body. Steel will work best, but brass would do as well, would just not wear as well.
Wolfgang

 

[atakach]

man this is some really valuable info were learning here, i have made an almost identical scribe, but used carbide for the point, but i never even thought to make that round one for other applications.

good stuff!!!

 

[Lorien]

A hearty thanks, Wolfgang, for your time! I learned a lot this morning, and your encouraging words were, well really encouraging.

Will, as you can see, I also took your suggestion to heart

Things are starting to look a little better. Still on the files, but I'll be ready for sandpaper soon(ish).

 

[Raymond Richard]

Your doing good, son.................

 

[Will Leavitt]

Well if the phone book doesn't work I've got a wooden step I made for when my kids were potty training and couldn't quite get on the pot without an assist. Is it helping?

 

[ddd]

I go out for a few hours, Lorien, come back 7 hours later and
find that have you have created something that looks like an
amazing knife in advanced progress!

What is going on here?!

Is it transported inspiration from your fellow countryman
that is flowing through your fingers?

All the best,
David Darom (ddd)