WIP - 1st knife looking for feedback

I didn't like the balance point of the knife. It was actually behind the bolster area. So I decided to drill more holes. I hope I didn't weaken the handle too much.

I also decided to take your advice, and countersink the holes.

image095x.jpg


image096b.jpg


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This moved the balance point to just in front of the bolster, but still behind the plunge line.

What do you think?
 
well, almost ready for HT.

I need to clean up the tang filework some more.

Anything else I need to do?

Thanks!
 
Coming along very well. I made a lot of paperweights before I got one looking that good.
 
yaaaa! I got the knife heat treated. Today was a special treat for me. I was invited over by Ken Coats place.

He invited me over to do the heat treating.

Let me say, this was a great vist. I was humbled by Ken's work, craftsmanship, and a friendly personality.
He opened up his shop to me, to let me look around, and he took the time to explain things to me.
I just can't say enough about how nice he was and the vist.

You can tell he really knows his stuff. I've always had an unwritten rule, that you call tell a craftsman,
by the number of jigs he has around his place. Let me tell you, this guy has it all. He as put his time in.

I'm not big on folders, but just holding his knifes makes me rethink that mentality. wow.

So, while Ken was graciously talking to me, he fired up his evenheat oven to 1450.
He let the knife soak for 10min (or was it 15?), and then quenched in oil.

I still need to temper the blade.

After the knife had cool down, he just touched it with a belt, so that
I would have a shiny surface to watch for straw color while I'm tempering.

The knife after heat treat
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Handle area
image099jn.jpg


A closeup of the bolster area.
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Once again, let me say "Thanks" to Ken for helping me out. What a pleasure to meet him today.
 
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some more closeup shots of the post-heat treat kso.

for those that may have never seen something like this (I hadn't till today).

tang
image101nq.jpg


by the filework
image102w.jpg


An edge shot to show that the knife is still straight.
image103s.jpg
 
I do have one question for you pros out there. If you look real close at the knife, some areas have an orange-peel type surface.

What is that? Here is a pic of what I'm talking about.

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Thanks!
 
so, I tempered the knife in a toaster oven. 2x 2hr@375. Let it air cool to room temp between each draw.

Here is what the knife looks like

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I'm kinda concerned. I would have expected this to be a little more "straw" or golden in color.

It looks more blue than I expected.

Should I be concerned? Was the temp in my toaster oven off?

Thoughts? Comments? Thanks!

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image106i.jpg



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Thanks! I wish i would have taken my time, and did a better job. It's the first filework i've ever done. I learned a lot, and am looking forward to learning a lot more.
 
well, holidays are over with, and I got to play with my knife again.

I decided to clean up the knife a bit. I wanted to remove some of the scale and whatnot from the knife after HT.

I swiped the knife down with 220.

tang shot
image110.jpg


Other side
image109h.jpg
 
btw, how do I clean up the holes in the tang. Do I have to worry about that? Should I soak the blade in anything?
 
Ken touched the blade on his KMG for me, so that I had a clear spot to watch the color during tempering.

this left a little low spot. I had to take it down a bit with the 220.

blade with the low spot
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15min later with some 220 and elbow greese.
image112s.jpg
 
I'm using 3/16" barstock for my bolsters? Why? I don't know. I thought it sounded good at the time.
My blade is 3/16 thick, so I figured thats what the bolsters should be.

I'm using a 5/32 for pins.

I decided to cut the pins to be 3/4 of an inch.
I figured that would give me enough length, for when I pein them down.
image113jm.jpg


The pins were a bit large. I don't know how much, as I don't have a micrometer.
So, I put them them in the drill and sanded them down,
until there was a smooth, but snug fit it the knife.
image114b.jpg
 
so, I dropped a pin in the 1st drilled hole, to keep the hole lined up.

and started drilling the 2nd hole.
image118.jpg


done.
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