Wasted Blades & Wasted Nites

kc custom

kc custom

Joined
Apr 20, 2005
Messages
2,351
Awhile back Ken Erickson and I were talking about our junk jars and how
many slippies don't turn out so tonite I dumped some of mine in the litebox.
Sometimes I still want to walk over to the river a block away and throw one
as far as I can. Ken.
100_0606_edited-1.jpg
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ouch. Looking at that hurts. :D.
 
So if your gonna just be tossing those, can I just have them??? That would be super cool :)
 
crbauhs said:
So if your gonna just be tossing those, can I just have them??? That would be super cool :)
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Corey...any such requests should be handled privately via email or PM...and...secondly, most makers don't want their "rejects" getting into the hands of the public lest someone seeing the work think that it is representative of the quality of the work that is released for purchase and sale.

(It is a lot of extra work for makers to permanently mark blades and parts as "rejects" and most don't want to chance having their names and reps sullied by some innocent mistake in judgment on the part of someone who might not know better.)
 
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Cool pic Ken... If I was making them, the pile would be much bigger than that :D
 
Just out of curiosity, why are most of those considered rejects? Bad heat treat, or messed up grinds, etc?
 
Blues said:
Corey...any such requests should be handled privately via email or PM...and...secondly, most makers don't want their "rejects" getting into the hands of the public lest someone seeing the work think that it is representative of the quality of the work that is released for purchase and sale.

(It is a lot of extra work for makers to permanently mark blades and parts as "rejects" and most don't want to chance having their names and reps sullied by some innocent mistake in judgment on the part of someone who might not know better.)
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Oh hey Elliot, I knew that, was just joshing around, guessed I used the wrong siley. But I completely understand what your saying, sorry about that.
 
crbauhs said:
Oh hey Elliot, I knew that, was just joshing around, guessed I used the wrong smiley. But I completely understand what your saying, sorry about that.
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No problem, C. :cool:
 
Actually Blues is right on if they don't pass my eye no one gets them. The other
thing is I make a fair amount of small tools out of them, and do many experiments
on both the blades and the springs.
Ken.
 
....and there's proof, if it was easy....uhhhhh....knowmsayin :D
 
Heat treat is always on before I start a knife, usually its some bit of bad design
or a tweak here or there that was wrong. Seems I screw up way to many blades
just grinding the swedge---at that point 90% of the knife WAS finished.
Ken.
 
kidwholaughs said:
Ken,

For makers starting out, How many tries doe it take to get a knife "right"? Just curious.

God Bless
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A LOT, Being I learn something from every knife and they continually improve a solid number wouldn't apply.
Ken.
 
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Thanks Ken... That song has been stuck in my head from the minute I saw the title to this thread last night :D
 
Ken - that pic is a great statement on the level of quality you put into your work. Even for a pile of rejects, it still qualifies as art, in my humble opinion.

* * *

I read a while back where a maker - I think it was Ed Fowler or Wayne Goddard - let someone (a friend or a relative) have one of their knives that was not made properly, as a 'souvenir'. Years later, that knife came back to haunt the maker, as it ended up on the market and was being sold as their regular work.

thx - cpr

ps - :thumbup: for reworking some of those bits into little tools.
 
Ken, that does look familiar...

When I get a good enough pile of scrap like that, it all goes into a can and is transformed into a new bar of damascus :D
 
Well when I see a large "no go" pile from a custom smith like that, it reflects that particular makers standards. When the parts in the pile look darn good to an end user, well then that smith is someone you would want to entrust your Grail/Dream knife commision to. Just the way my .02 rolls:D
 
kc custom said:
Heat treat is always on before I start a knife, usually its some bit of bad design
or a tweak here or there that was wrong. Seems I screw up way to many blades
just grinding the swedge---at that point 90% of the knife WAS finished.
Ken.
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Hi,

I've never made a folder knife, but as a machinist I've had a few projects over the years that were at that 90%+ completed point and 40+ hours of work into. Only to have something go wrong and turn it into the world's most accurate paper weight. Just because I missed a dimension by .0005" of an inch.:mad:

So I know your pain and frustration. But only people who don't try never make mistakes.

dalee
 
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