What is the recommended best stock width to start with?

shamu

shamu

Joined
Jan 18, 2010
Messages
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I burned through a bunch of 1095 (1.5" width), and have learned a helluva lot...but don't have a product i want to advance to HT, handle, fit/finish. I plan on getting some 1084 in the hopes I can actually get a knife worthy of HT.

Is there a difference in learning to work with steel based on width? I primarily have difficulty w/bevels (duh), and wonder if using 1" steel would be easier, harder or no difference?

Also, if anyone has any interest in fielding some questions in PM/googlehangouts/carrier pigeon i would greatly appreciate it. YouTube videos and these forums have been absolutely amazing, but often times i'd like to bounce thoughts/questions off a consistent sounding board in order to develop my personal process.

thanks again BF
 
No difference in the width for learning, The bevels where it be flat, Convex, Scandi, hollow etc. You have to get experience grinding blades and that is something that makers get a hold of at different stages, I hollow grind the majority of my blades and I can tell you that experience is the factor here. If you are grinding and messing up a lot of steel then you need to get some mild steel and practice grinding instead of blade material that is more expensive. There are makers who use jigs to grind their blades and maybe they can steer you in the right direction there. Keep grinding and you will see improvement.:thumbup:
 
I recommend you make a Gough jig and start by hand filing your bevels. It doesn't take too long and you get a really clean knife in the end. I made my first few knives on a HF 1x30 bur was never happy with my bevels and plunge lines because it just runs squirrley. I'm sure my inexperience had something to do with it too. I built a jig and will continue to use it until I can move up to a proper grinder.
 
In the beginning it is harder to make a good bevel on wider stock. I usually suggest 1/8" thick by 1.25" wide stock to learn on. If using wider stock to get the desired curves and drop of the handle, that is OK, but try and stay with 1" to 1.25" wide blades in the first ones. 1/8" thick is more than thick enough for most all knives.
 
I started with 2" as it looked like the most economical. But i think starting out i wasted more time cutting out blanks than i would have had i just started with smaller stock. Also unless you have a band saw - or you are a wizard with a cut off grinder/hacksaw - you will waste a lot of material.
 
+1 on the Gough jig. I'm just starting out and I also have the HF 1x30 - I think it's great for refining the profile on my blanks, and maybe doing some initial cutting in. But for the bevels, hand filing with the jig was best for me. Yeah, it's slow, but it also made me take my time and understand how the steel works and things like laying out plunge lines, etc.

My other suggestion is not to wait until you have a perfect knife to "promote" to heat treat. HT is as important (if not more so) than the knife shape. And much like your initial experience in grinding, you will most likely mess up your first heat treat. And possibly your second... But on the bright side, it sounds like you have a lot of old 1095 pieces you can practice on. :-)

The advice I've always heard is that for your first knife, focus on taking one piece of steel through the full process - grinding, heat treat, finishing. Accept the fact that it will be an ugly knife. But learn from the process and your second one will be better...

Good luck,

-bill
 
thanks rybobales and wrankin. fortunately i have a new kmg 2x72 to play with. i did use the gough jig for a bit, but probably didn't construct it properly...it was not fun. w/re: to HT, i don't have a forge, and didn't want to pay for HT on a crappy blade. I have some 1.25" width 1084 enroute, and will likely take your advice despite what the end result looks like.
 
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