We Have a Winner! - Dumbest things you have done as a knife maker?

[J. Doyle]

Profiled, ground, and tried to heat treat a knife out of mild steel by accident.

 

[The_Dave]

I ended up warping a file in the quench, moved it side-to-side... That was dumb enough, but when I noticed later that it was bent about half an inch in front of the choil, I decided I'd straighten it by putting it in the spokes of my car's rim and yanking on it...

TING!

It was my first time...

 

[Burl Source]

I am getting the impression that lighting yourself on fire and stabbing yourself are just a normal part of knife making.

 

[Fletch Helical]

It was on my first knife blank I cut out on my own.... With a hacksaw. Honestly I can't remember exactly how it happened, however I remember saying to myself that this was a pretty stupid move while I was doing it. For whatever reason I was holding a piece of steel with my hand underneath the blade. I believe the main reason was it was emitting such a high pitched shriek while I was sawing it from the vibration. If I held the steel it eliminated the sound.

I figured I would get my hand out of the way before I made it through the steel. I apparently miscalculated and caught my finger on almost the whole backstroke on the hacksaw blade at my first joint. I still have no feeling in a certain point between the scar and my fingernail. But I'm still pretty new who knows what else I can come up with?

BTW I'm calling dibs on your post Mark for my sig.

 

[CUTS LIKE A KRIS]

I accepted money and actually made this as my first knife:

Other than that the basics- burning self with hot steel, slicing a thread with one swipe of a friction folder- not realizing that if I stopped the swing the blade wouldn't stop and burying into my finger and having to pry it out, catching a knife I just ground.

The best is not cleaning out my grinder (4x36") after grinding a handle, and then grinding steel. Started smelling smoke- then seeing smoke then looking for fire... realizing it was my grinder I thought it was a short so instead of grabbing the fire extinguisher I grabbed the mini vacuum. Then wondered why my vacuum was smoking as I realized I burnt out the filter in it by turning it into a mini forge. Finally dumped it in the sink turned on the water and fire extinguishered the grinder. Did I mention I work in my basement- BTW this does not get to my wife!!!

 

[Patrice Lemée]

How about trying to straiten a blade out of the forge with the palm of my hand?

 

[jdm61]

Accidentally made the "wrought iron" buttcap for a bowie knife that was going to Blade and should have been one of my showpieces out of a scrap piece of W2 that had been lying on the bench next to the wrought iron.......and used my last bit of hard solder to solder on the nut BEFORE I did a test etch.

 

[amcardon]

I don't have much experience in making knives but the dumbest thing has to be grinding while wearing my chacos... I nice piece of hot steel hit the floor and bounced up and melted my big toenail. I noticed it once it had burned through and hit the flesh... Hurt like hell for quite a while!

 

[Fellhoelter]

Started making knives....

 

[bacustomknives]

Well one of them, heheheh, dont sharpen a knife an put it in the drill press to make the holes bigger,it turned into a "hella-chopper" cost me about 9 grand and about a hand,along with 41 stitches outside and 30 inside,along with a month off from making and is still today its numb,that was 3 yrs ago !

 

[sharpeknives]

While grinding the bevels on a fighter, I was distracted and briefly turned to look for what made the noise. As I turned back I stabbed the knife into the side of a running 12" contact wheel which quickly took the knife from my hand and turned it into a 11" bullet with no known direction. It stuck in the ceiling of my shop. I being military trained ducked and covered at the first sign of "OH CRAP". It took me 20 min to find the knife. I searched the floor and the benches, never thought about the ceiling

 

[gixxer]

I was moving some of the 1.5" G11 slabs around the shop, and for some reason I could just not stack the last piece on top, had to slide it underneath When I tried to slide my fingers out of the way, I smashed a fingertip so hard the skin tore away from under my fingertip and bled all over the place for 30 minutes. I have stabbed the palm of my hand handsanding. Burns suck too.

 

[Chuck Gedraitis Knives]

I put a dill bit in the drill press, tightened it and left the chuck key in the chuck and turned it on. Lets just say it took me a while to find it after it was thrown across the room.l

 

[argel55]

I had made damascus at a friends house in the 90's. Pulled the billet out of the forge all nice and glowing with honey colored flux running just right. Laid it on the anvil and smacked it good to set the weld and super heated flux shot out - went through my jeans and splattered inside right thigh. You can't get jeans off fast.

 

[G. Shahan]

I spent four hours turning, filing, polishing, and etching a wrought iron pommel nut.
Then found out I had drilled and tapped the threads too large.:grumpy:

Greg

 

[deker]

Try to grind with work gloves... The belt grabbed the glove and jammed my finger between the platen and the work rest. Damn well ground my finger off!

Will you please show up on the next "gloves or no gloves" thread and share this one? Nobody seems to believe it can happen....

-d

 

[R.H.Clark]

I burnt a hole through the crotch of my shorts while cutting a tang shorter with a Dremel.

 

[Danbo]

After "Twirlybirding" myself over and over again, I STILL can't get myself to take the time to clamp a blade down when drilling holes.

 

[Mr. Bad Example]

Similar story--sunk sharpened tip well into index finger while hand sanding, caught blade between belt and platen, spun blade around with drill press, burned up drill bits trying to drill too fast. And that's all on the first knife--I'm sure there will be more lessons to come!

 

[Atlas Knife Company]

Not only do I hope you got a picture, but that you left it there as a reminder.

While grinding the bevels on a fighter, I was distracted and briefly turned to look for what made the noise. As I turned back I stabbed the knife into the side of a running 12" contact wheel which quickly took the knife from my hand and turned it into a 11" bullet with no known direction. It stuck in the ceiling of my shop. I being military trained ducked and covered at the first sign of "OH CRAP". It took me 20 min to find the knife. I searched the floor and the benches, never thought about the ceiling