First off, I am not by any means a "maker". I have wanted to make knives for most of my life. I had an uncle, who was a custom maker out of California, Glen Hornby. He made really beautiful clean knives (and helped teach Tom Mayo out of Hawaii how to make knives). I wanted to go learn from him, when I was done with Highschool, you know, go spend a summer or two learning. He passed away right about that time.
I made my first one last year. I finished it up in time for Christmas. I made it with hand files, a mini hack saw, and sand paper. Even my electric drill crapped out, so I drilled the handle scales with a hand crank drill.
my super high tech tools/setup. The table is a board on saw horse set up. C-clamps, mini hack saw, and hand files.
Progress shots
It was fun. It took forever. I even heat treated the blade my self in a tiny charcoal grill, quenched it in old oil, and tempered it in my oven.
Then, went out and bought a scrap piece of leather, and made a sheath late at night, the night before I flew out for Christmas.
Shaping the handles was the hardest part I thought. I made kind of a complicated handle for shaping, what with the sub hilt. I really think the next set I am going to make will be a nessmuk design, with no handle curves, or finger cut outs to worry about.
The handle was the only part I used a machine on. I got a 1x30 grinder at harbor freight, and shaped the handles with it. I need to get much higher grit belts for shaping the handle, so little mess ups don't nick and ding the steel as much. I really did a number on the profile of the sub hilt trying to shape the handles. I also dinged up the exposed end of the tang with the lanyard hole. The lines aren't as round and clean as before I started shaping the handle scales. I should have done more rough shaping before epoxying the scales on.
I really need a small vice now for some of shaping, filing chores.
top knife, with another 3 inch Busse for comparison.
I probably should have stuck with a v-grind on this, since the blade design is so angular, but I have been really on a convex edge kick lately, and I figured heck, I will use that new belt grinder to sharpen it up in a few minutes instead of hours by hand. It was my first attempt at convex edge by belt sander, so the edges lost a bit of their square profile. But both front edge and main edge will pop hair (or cut your thumb to the bone, and sever the nerve if you are stupid like me)
As soon as the thumb heals up a bit, I will be starting a set of 3, one for my self, one for my older brother, and one for my dad. I will do them for next Christmas. I will probably send them out for heat treat this time, since I want to be sure the heat treat quality is good (not my shade tree, magnet, charcoal grill/fan for air source heat treat, with mystery quench oil).
Hundreds & hundreds of dollars in steel and belts later I seem to see a small light at the end of the tunnel. Can't give up now!
