WIP First knife

For me filing was just removing steel. Drawfiling was how I got to the final shape before hand sanding.
It is likely that the bevel will be a bit convex. Drawfiling flattens it because the file is flat. I like an app. 4"(cutting face) single cut triangular file for that.
When you pull the file towards you have the handle on the left hand side.
If you colour the bevel before you'll see steel disappear in the middle and then more and more towards the edge and bevelline. When you get there it is time for sandpaper.
Don't forget to brush the file after so many strokes. Bits of steel between the teeth can leave very deep and stubborn scratches. Bits of brass/CU/etc can be handy for picking them away
 
Well I still didn't get started today :mad:. If I get ditched again tomorrow I'm just gonna steal the work bench and lay out a tarp in my apartments living room at least to get the dang thing started. Once the profiles cut out and refined I'll have to heat treat it at his place as he has a basement with a cement floor and a door to open for some fresh air. I'm normally a pretty patient guy but I'm just ready to get started. I'll be patient after I've started and I need to take my time, but jeez. I took peoples advice and refined the top drawing that I had done last night and took out the choil. I like the look of it a lot more than I did when I had initially drawn it. Amazing what moving a couple lines can do. Thanks again for everyone's help. Hopefully I will be posting pictures tomorrow with some steel in it.

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Well I finally got to start today. I got it cut out and started working on filing down the profile. Didn't get it completely filed down but I had limited time. I put in a couple hours of working on it. Maybe 3 but somewhere closer to 2-2.5 hours. I learned quickly that the angle grinder is fast for cutting stuff, but is not the greatest tool for the job. What do other people use for cutting out blanks more precisely? I know hack saws but I don't have the right blade for mine yet.

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Well it looks like I will be at a stand still for a while. Went to the doc today and found out I have 3 kidney stones. Something about codine and sharp objects he said didn't mix well. Hopefully I will be back at it soon.
 
Back to scribing the center line, use a 1/16 bit flip over and scribe again, that will give you your outer edges. A 1/8 will give your center line and you can judge whether or not you will need to take any more off once you get there.
 
Well I finally got to work on the knife again. I got the profile done. It didn't turn out as close to the template as I would like it, but it is only my first knife and I have more steel so I can try again later. The paper trick did not work for scribbling my dimes thickness on the cutting edge and I did not have enough time to try the 1/16'th bit trick. I hopefully will be able to figure that out this weekend and get the bevels filed. Then I hope to try and get another knife done as I am heading home for spring break and will hopefully be going to Delbert Ealy's shop to have him show me some stuff and heat treat some blades for me. Here is the blade as it is right now. I wish it looked more like my drawing, but like I said its my first knife and I'm proud of what I got.

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Kidney stones! Jeez, and I was bitching about having to quench my blade more than once! Way to hang in there.
You're going to dig going to Mr. Ealy's shop. He makes great damascus and kitchen knives.
 
I use a stereoscopic measuring device that can detect differences as small as .001" to do my bevels. It is constantly re-calibrating itself as I use it.
It is attached to one of the most versatile holders imaginable. The holder can do 3D rotation to any desired angle. Set up time is zero, and it works on any size and shape of blade.
The software is extremely complex, but will interface with almost anyone's operating system, and it doesn't take long to get good at using it.



It is my eye and hand, run by my brain. Works every time!
 
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Looks like you have a belt and disc grinder combo. I'm sorry, but I'd ditch the files and use those tools for my profiling. With the disc and your squared tool table, the profile you really wanted of that knife could have been ground perfectly square and clean in about 2 minutes.
 
We tried using the belt sander but its super weak and barely made a dent in the knife. One of the regulars in the bladeforums chat offered to give me his old 2x42 for a knife that I would make with it. Im excited to get that and as soon as I get the money for it I am going to buy the harbor freight portaband that everybody seems to use. Hopefully I can get a lot closer to my designs that way, but Im new at this so I know it will be no where near perfect.
 
I finally got the tools over to my place so I can work when I want, except for when the fiancee's trying to sleep :p. After my friend finally got here, late of course, I got a little bit of work done before I had to stop. I will get more done tomorrow and post more pictures with it. Here is what I did get done so far.

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Got the bevels done to the point of needing to hand sanding. Got the pin holes drilled. Tomorrow I hope to cut out a couple blanks and then worry about the hand sanding. Hopefully I can have at least one "knife" and 2 blanks that I can bring with me when I visit del's shop.

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Well I just got back to school from spring break. Friday I got to spend the day with Delbert Ealy who showed me a lot of things and talked to me a lot about the trade. I had 3 knife blanks that I brought with me, and left with 2 heat treated. Two of them I was not worried about messing up so he let me try to put the bevels on one of them...well I practically destroyed the knife. He was able to salvage it and I need to clean it up a bit with some files, but it made it very clear that I will need to practice grinding bevels. He gave me some scraps of stainless steel to practice with when I get a grinder. As for these two knives Del put the bevels on for me so that I would at least have two knives to practice finishing with. He also gave me a couple of small blocks of stabilized wood, except for those that don't need to be stabilized obviously. My grandpa also gave me some wood for handle materials, some of which are kind of plain but are still free wood. I will have to send some of those pieces in for stabilizing. I do have a question about one of the blocks of stabilized wood. The cherry burl scales that I am going to use have a crack in it that has a little bit of wiggle to it. I have seen some people use super glue on small worm holes to fill them, would this work on a crack too? I need to order some epoxy and pin material and I will be on my way to finishing these knives. In the meantime I will start hand sanding the scale off of the knives. Thanks again for all the help guys.

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This is the crack I was talking about
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Andy Johnston said:
I finally got the tools over to my place so I can work when I want, except for when the fiancee's trying to sleep :p. After my friend finally got here, late of course, I got a little bit of work done before I had to stop. I will get more done tomorrow and post more pictures with it. Here is what I did get done so far.

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How is that jig made I would be interested in making one
 
Aaron Gough did a video on how to make one and I followed the directions in the video. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r9iNDRwwBQQ . I highly suggest watching his videos if you are are new to knife making like I am. The channel that really got me into knife making though was Trollsky custom knives. http://www.youtube.com/user/Trollskyy . He has great tutorials and makes ridiculously beautiful knives. I will say that the jig is nice and all, but after hand filing my first knife and working on it for hours just to not get a nice flat grind and needing to have it cleaned up by someone else that I would save the money you would spend on making a jig and save towards a grinder. That is if you are serious about making knives. If you are not sure and you just want to test the waters get a couple files and make a jig and test it out. If you end up not liking it files are always good tools to have around. I would also try to find out if there are any makers near you. I cant tell you how valuable the time I spent with Delbert was and it completely changed a lot of the plans I had for buying equipment and getting started on making my own shop. Hope this helps and that you can get started. Most of all have fun with it. It is a very rewarding thing to see something you've made come from just a hunk of steel.
 
trollskyy is the exact reason i am starting knife making too, thanks for the advice. Im gonna make one of those jigs
 
knifeguy You should also fill out all your information on your profile. There could be makers where you live or not far from you that would be more than willing to share their knowledge with you. They will never be able to offer that opportunity to you if they don't know a little bit about who you are and where you live. I'm sure that the count mentioned that in his standard post too.
 
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