WIP First knife

A

Andy Johnston

Joined
Feb 10, 2014
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Hey guys I am going to be starting my first knife today, hopefully. The work space my friend and I have is in his basement and it really depends on if his wife wants all of his attention today or not :grumpy: . SO if lucks on my side I will be cutting out my knife and hopefully starting to file the bevels today. I have been told by a few people that I need to file down to the thickness of a dime on the cutting edge. My question for now is how can I mark the cutting edge so I know where to stop. I do not have a micrometer and I am not entirely sure how to measure it out. Any help would be great! The pictures are just of the steel (1095 1/8th inch thick x 1 x 18), a filing set I just got for 25 bucks,the filing jig I built, and a chunk of what my dad said is cherry that was sitting in a closet for years back home. Thanks again guys.

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I use a cheap set of calipers from harbor freight. Measure width, halve it and then scribe with caliper clamp tip. IIRC they were $10 from HR. Some guys say use a drill bit the same width as your stock but that didn't work for me.
 
I have read some people will buy a drill bit of equal size as your knife stock (if you're using 3/16s stock, get a 3/16s drill bit) and the radius of the bit will perfectly center a scratch mark on the side of the stock.

ETA- Since you're using 1/8" stock, get a 1/8" drill bit and you can score the edge by rolling it around your stock and holding both the bit and stock against a flat surface
 
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I was under the impression that I should leave a little room on either side of the very center of the cutting edge. I have heard of the drill bit trick I was just unsure of if I wanted to mark directly center or if I wanted the dimes width left in the center.
 
Andy Johnston said:
I was under the impression that I should leave a little room on either side of the very center of the cutting edge. I have heard of the drill bit trick I was just unsure of if I wanted to mark directly center or if I wanted the dimes width left in the center.
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Well, keep in mind that you actually want half a dime left (and right of center if you want the final edge to be the width of a dime - but there is a simple way to do this: instead of having your stock flat, raise it from the surface of the table by shimming it with something that is half the width of a dime. Be sure to keep it level, so you will need more than one shim to the stock is elevated evenly. Once you scribe one line, flip it over on the shims and do the other. I don't know what material you would use to get 1/2 a dime's width, but I'm sure you can find something.
 
after a little bit of googling I found that the thickness of a dime is .045 inches. Half of that is .0225 inches. The thickness of printer paper is .003 inches. So if I stack 7-8 pieces of paper under one side I should be pretty close...I think...
 
Well looks like starting is getting pushed back again :grumpy:...Tis life. Gives me some more time to nail down a design I guess.
 
Well we should be on for starting again tomorrow, as long as nobody backs out again that is. I spent the last few hours coming up with a couple designs that I might want to use for my first knife. I have settled on one of these two drawn one right before the other. Cant decide which one to go with though :p

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I like the top design better. The bottom design has an edge profile that reminds me of a Sodbuster (and I love that profile), but the more gently curved belly one the top drawing looks more useful to me. Plus I like pointy slicy knives. :D

Edit- I also like the handle shape on the top blade better. The only thing I'd change, and this is just preference, is to keep the ricasso clean like the bottom knife, meaning, no choil.
 
Strigamort said:
The only thing I'd change, and this is just preference, is to keep the ricasso clean like the bottom knife, meaning, no choil.
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I agree, I'd make the ricasso on #1 look like #2 and make that. (Move the scales a little closer to the plunge and ditch the notch)
 
Andy Johnston said:
after a little bit of googling I found that the thickness of a dime is .045 inches. Half of that is .0225 inches. The thickness of printer paper is .003 inches. So if I stack 7-8 pieces of paper under one side I should be pretty close...I think...
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Great ingenuity here. You identified the problem and engineered a solution.
 
You can get a set of calipers for about $10.00. A spark plug gap tester is even cheaper. Great workaround with the paper though!!!
 
Get a fixed handle for each file you'll use. That set looks nice but if the handle is interchangable you'll curse it.
It looks like you have a small round file there. After marking the edge use that to file in the ricassoline, but do not go as high as you want the line to go, app 2/3.
Now put away your filing jig. Put it in the fireplace, light it and have a nice warm workplace. Now take your widest file and measure it's with. Take a small sqare or triangular file and file to the scribbled edgeline every with of the large file. Go from the ricasso to the point.
Now take that large bad boy and file away all the steel between the insitions you just filed before.
Then take that nice and smooth triangular file you have and flatten your finely filed bevel by drawfiling.
Now have a beer, come back the next day and do the orher side.
 
Andy Johnston said:
Serious question as I ammmmm a newb. Why not use the filing jig?
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I understand what Hengelo_77 is saying, and it would work as well. But, if you're more comfortable using the jig, use it. I've gotten excellent results on the filing jig. The work goes much faster with the jig too.
 
Ok. I think I will still make the notches down to the scribe line each width of the file. I feel like it will help me keep track of my work and keep it even.
 
IMHO it will just be in your way and limit you.
Working free hand gives you a steady hand. Don't be afraight of it.
You'll finish your filing with drawfiling. You'll do it with a small file so it isn't to hard to control.
Colour your blade with a magic marker and you'll see where the file is removing steel.
You're new at this, give it a shot like this.
If it doesn't work for you, you can always set up a jig, but I realy think there is no need for it
 
I think for me its more of a perfectionist thing than being worried about doing it free hand. I just feel like I would get a much more even angle with the jig than if I did it free hand. It is kind of like sharpening a knife. I've sharpened a knife freehand on a stone before, but I could never get the hand of keeping the angle the same. I bought a sharpening system similar to the lansky system with a vice that has rod guides for the stones and I have never been able to get a knife sharper. I just feel like that same concept will convert to filing too.
 
The problem with the jig as I see it is when you get to the opposite side. Especially when doing a full flat grind, the blade is no longer sturdy and flat on the jig. The little bit of give that it has (from the removed material) will alter the angle slightly. This was my problem with my first knife. I'm still hand sanding and haven't sent it to heat treat yet(read: haven't touched it in a couple weeks). This little bit of give changed the angle enough that I chased the belly of the blade more than a quarter inch toward the spine. Ultimately changing the appearance, and not for the better (in my eyes). IMO, the tip needs to be supported with a jig, and that support needs to be adjustable. I made my jig from steel, and will alter it in the future. In only took me 45 minutes to an hour to rough out each side with files.
 
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