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The BladeForums.com 2024 Traditional Knife is ready to order! See this thread for details: https://www.bladeforums.com/threads/bladeforums-2024-traditional-knife.2003187/
Price is$300$250 ea (shipped within CONUS). If you live outside the US, I will contact you after your order for extra shipping charges.
Order here: https://www.bladeforums.com/help/2024-traditional/ - Order as many as you like, we have plenty.
Wheeler's Steel * Stuck in the metal with you
- Thread starter Lorien
- Start date
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- Sep 1, 2006
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- 2,036
Nick, sounds like you are the poster boy for why we lefties have shorter life expectancy!
At any rate, this is a great thread. I have learned a heck of a lot in a short span of time.
- Joined
- Aug 28, 2009
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- 7,951
I feel for you first hand on loosing the use of your left hand/arm for a bit and the troubles coming back from it, had elbow surgery in September, and on the first few knives I made coming back, my elbow locked up a couple of times, and 2 years ago I broke my left shoulder and collar bone. I have ended up lowering all my work benches so I can use more body and less arm when filing and sanding.
- Joined
- Oct 30, 2002
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- 3,974
I for one can't wait until he starts up on the handle work. I'm looking forward to picking up a few tricks! 
--nathan
--nathan
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- Nov 1, 2010
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- 893
I for one can't wait until he starts up on the handle work. I'm looking forward to picking up a few tricks!
--nathan
+1! I find myself looking for updates by Lorien and Nick on this thread at least 10 times per day.
Serious knife crack, guys! Keep it coming!
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- Jun 2, 2009
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- 1,564
Has it been 3 hours yet?:grumpy: I'm like an addict needing his fix.
- Joined
- Aug 28, 2009
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- 7,951
Has it been 3 hours yet?:grumpy: I'm like an addict needing his fix.
I agree, post pics now 2 hours is long enough to wait:grumpy:
See if you were up here in winterland the bike business would be dead slow and you would have all the time in the world to post pictures
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- Dec 5, 2005
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- 27,886
^the slow season is the only reason that I have time to provide this pleasin!
*******
Some of these are probably of very little interest to most collectors, but since there seems to be more makers looking at the thread, I figured I'd throw them in...in case they can help somebody out.
This is the new light fixture I made yesterday. The bases is rectangular tubing with the ends welded up, and filled with sand for stability. The arms adjust so I can get the light right where I need it;
This shows how you can move it to just about any position you'd need;
Here's an overall shot showing the new bench work system I came up with. I made the center part for something to do in TIG class at school. It's sort of the standard knife maker's vise, but I don't like it quite as well as what I've been using for the last 16 years, so I wasn't even going to use it. But then I realized I could mount the base, and use it to hold many different things securely to the bench;
Here's a Panavise, that I really didn't have a good way to mount to the bench, because I don't use it often enough to dedicate bench space to it. I made a stem for it that's a piece of schedule 80 pipe welded to a piece of plate. The pipe has a groove turned into it so it won't get marred up when locking it down in the base;
This shows the Panavise mounted in the base;
Here is the new blade sanding fixture I made yesterday. It's similar to the other one, but was made to utilize the universal base;
Here's the sanding fixture in place;
Sanding away on the new fixture. This is MUCH more comfortable to work on, and it is VERY VERY rigid. There is no flex in the blade or fixture at all;
The new light and the new sanding fixture both being put to good use;
This pic shows the new 800 grit scratches as they come in over top of the previous 500 grit scratches. We're not done until ALL of the angled scratches are GONE.
*******
Some of these are probably of very little interest to most collectors, but since there seems to be more makers looking at the thread, I figured I'd throw them in...in case they can help somebody out.
This is the new light fixture I made yesterday. The bases is rectangular tubing with the ends welded up, and filled with sand for stability. The arms adjust so I can get the light right where I need it;
This shows how you can move it to just about any position you'd need;
Here's an overall shot showing the new bench work system I came up with. I made the center part for something to do in TIG class at school. It's sort of the standard knife maker's vise, but I don't like it quite as well as what I've been using for the last 16 years, so I wasn't even going to use it. But then I realized I could mount the base, and use it to hold many different things securely to the bench;
Here's a Panavise, that I really didn't have a good way to mount to the bench, because I don't use it often enough to dedicate bench space to it. I made a stem for it that's a piece of schedule 80 pipe welded to a piece of plate. The pipe has a groove turned into it so it won't get marred up when locking it down in the base;
This shows the Panavise mounted in the base;
Here is the new blade sanding fixture I made yesterday. It's similar to the other one, but was made to utilize the universal base;
Here's the sanding fixture in place;
Sanding away on the new fixture. This is MUCH more comfortable to work on, and it is VERY VERY rigid. There is no flex in the blade or fixture at all;
The new light and the new sanding fixture both being put to good use
;
This pic shows the new 800 grit scratches as they come in over top of the previous 500 grit scratches. We're not done until ALL of the angled scratches are GONE.
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- Dec 5, 2005
- Messages
- 27,886
I didn't really need to, but I took it to a clean 800 grit;
Here's an overall shot of it at 800X;
I like to mark exactly where the clip/false edge is going to be. I can eye-ball it, but I use a reference line whenever I can because it makes things easier for me. I don't know anyone else who scribes their clip in, so I have no idea if or how anybody else does this.
It may look complicated or like overkill... but it only takes about 5 minutes to do. The blade has been sprayed with Dykem again. Since my ricasso is FLAT and parallel, I can clamp it to a 1-2-3 block on top of my granite surface plate. I take a piece of wood that's flat and square on one edge, and put it up against the blade, then trace the blade profile onto it;
Then I mark where I want the clip, and grind down to that line with the tool rest squared up to the belt grinder;
Go back to the granite plate, put an angle block up to the blade point, and then put my piece of wood back in place. Now I can scribe my clip profile on both sides and the line will be EXACTLY the same on both sides;
Close up of the scribed line;
Don't want to mess up the blade finis, so a strip of paper tape will completely protect it while finishing out the false edge;
This is the set-up I made for grinding clips. The original idea for grinding them like this came to me from Mike Vagnino. This is the current adaptation I've developed after learning the idea from Mike about 10 years ago;
Grinding the clip/false edge in. This is certainly not fool proof... you can mess a blade up real quick. But it works very well once you get some practice in. I didn't have to take much off since the clip had already been roughed in;
Here it's almost down to the scribe line;
Here's an overall shot of it at 800X;
I like to mark exactly where the clip/false edge is going to be. I can eye-ball it, but I use a reference line whenever I can because it makes things easier for me. I don't know anyone else who scribes their clip in, so I have no idea if or how anybody else does this.
It may look complicated or like overkill... but it only takes about 5 minutes to do. The blade has been sprayed with Dykem again. Since my ricasso is FLAT and parallel, I can clamp it to a 1-2-3 block on top of my granite surface plate. I take a piece of wood that's flat and square on one edge, and put it up against the blade, then trace the blade profile onto it;
Then I mark where I want the clip, and grind down to that line with the tool rest squared up to the belt grinder;
Go back to the granite plate, put an angle block up to the blade point, and then put my piece of wood back in place. Now I can scribe my clip profile on both sides and the line will be EXACTLY the same on both sides;
Close up of the scribed line;
Don't want to mess up the blade finis, so a strip of paper tape will completely protect it while finishing out the false edge;
This is the set-up I made for grinding clips. The original idea for grinding them like this came to me from Mike Vagnino. This is the current adaptation I've developed after learning the idea from Mike about 10 years ago;
Grinding the clip/false edge in. This is certainly not fool proof... you can mess a blade up real quick. But it works very well once you get some practice in. I didn't have to take much off since the clip had already been roughed in;
Here it's almost down to the scribe line;
Last edited:
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- Dec 5, 2005
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- 27,886
These two pics show a "high tech" method for checking for symmetry in the clip that a fantastic maker named Roger Dole showed me about 13 years ago. You put the point against a callous, and then flip the knife side to side quickly. If it's off, it's easy to see doing this. It was getting pretty darn close at this point;
The sides are definitely not the only concern though!!! The false edge needs to be centered with the thickness of the blade, just like the cutting edge is. It was getting real close when I took this shot;
Done grinding the false edge. It's been ground with a 120 grit belt, then a Norax belt and now it's centered, symmetrical, and ready for hand finishing. I leave the tape on to protect the rest of the blade;
The sides are definitely not the only concern though!!! The false edge needs to be centered with the thickness of the blade, just like the cutting edge is. It was getting real close when I took this shot;
Done grinding the false edge. It's been ground with a 120 grit belt, then a Norax belt and now it's centered, symmetrical, and ready for hand finishing. I leave the tape on to protect the rest of the blade;
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- Jun 2, 2009
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- 1,564
Love the wood block idea for an even clip on both sides.:thumbup::thumbup:
- Joined
- Dec 20, 2009
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- 4,421
Thank you very much, both of you. I am enjoying it and learning a whole lot. If it was made into a book, put me down for one. Again, really thanks. Now I gotta get some wrk done, I'll be back.
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- Dec 10, 1998
- Messages
- 4,860
Why not just use a Vernier height gauge to set where you want the clip?
- Joined
- Dec 3, 1999
- Messages
- 9,437
Chuck- You can definitely do that if the clip grind is going to be straight. The false-edge/clip on this blade is a long, slight arch from the tip to where it ends, and you just can't scribe that in with a height gauge (at least not as far as I know).
I realize it probably looks straight in the photos. It's an odd thing... how you can blow up a picture to where the blade looks like it's an inch thick and little tiny flaws look HUGE... but something that's as immediately noticed in hand (like the curved clip grind) don't seem to show up well.
One things for sure, there's definitely NOTHING to hide when the pics are this close up and displayed this large. On my 19" monitor the knife looks ginormous! LOL
I've got more pictures... it's just a balancing act on dealing with them and actually trying to make the knife!!!
