WIP First Knives

TLR

TLR

Gold Member
Joined
Oct 5, 1998
Messages
1,574
Okay I'm going to jump into the fray of first time knife makers. I've been reading, lurking and thinking about this for literally years and have finally decided to make the jump in.

Here are some scans of my first two roughed out blades. I scanned them thinking that if I like the design later I can simply print them as a template.

Both of these are made out of .188 O1 and covered in layout fluid currently.

The first will be a medium sized camp knife. I have a similar knife with this same basic handle shape and I like it for light chopping. I've realized that with the somewhat limited tooling that I have that little fingerguard was more than I had expected. I'm having a hard time getting it shaped smoothly. Any suggestions are more than appreciated.

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The second is from what was left of the bar from the camp knife. It's about the same size as an Izula2.

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Any thoughts or suggestions are welcome and appreciated. I'll try to keep this updated as I go.
 
Looking pretty good so far, My suggestion is concerning the second profile. Maybe deepen the fore finger area into the handle a touch so you lessen the risk of running your finger into a sharpened area. Other than than, grind away and have fun :)
 
whew buddy i really like that camp knife and i would agree with Mike Davis and that little guy will be perfect

what are you using for the scales??

keep it up i like your style

ooo
 
A very nice pair of designs. Looking forward to seeing them take shape. I'd agree you need to deepen the forefinger area a bit on the smaller knife but overall I really like what you've got so far.
 
Nice designs. The necker is a great shape, but I have to agree that the finger choil needs to be deepened. I had the same issue with my current batch, and grinding a bit more of a relief cut really make the knife more comfortable and much safer in my hand.

As for getting the finger area smoother on your first profile... I assume by limited tooling you mean files? Probably the best way to shape it smoothly is to rough it with a round file, and then take some coarse sandpaper wrapped around a dowel (or anything with a similar shape to the wanted arc) and use that to smooth it out.
 
Thanks for the thoughts and encouragement. The forefinger area is one of my problems on both knives.

I bought a 2x42 craftsman but I'm having a hard time getting into the curved corner areas. I used the bandsaw to get the big one deep but it's pretty messy right there. I'm having a hard time keeping the radius smooth and at 90 degrees. The current cut on that area of the smaller knife is the curve of the lower drive wheel on the sander.

I sold some stuff and bought a cheaper oscillating sander that I hope will help me get into that area on both knives and deepen them while keeping them smooth and at 90 degrees.

Any tips are appreciated or other ideas are appreciated.
 
wolffbite said:
Nice designs. The necker is a great shape, but I have to agree that the finger choil needs to be deepened. I had the same issue with my current batch, and grinding a bit more of a relief cut really make the knife more comfortable and much safer in my hand.

As for getting the finger area smoother on your first profile... I assume by limited tooling you mean files? Probably the best way to shape it smoothly is to rough it with a round file, and then take some coarse sandpaper wrapped around a dowel (or anything with a similar shape to the wanted arc) and use that to smooth it out.
Click to expand...

No I have more than files but may be relying on the power tools more than perhaps I should :o I appreciate the reminder.

We'll see how this oscillating sander works and then I'll go from there. Thanks!
 
ouporblowup said:
whew buddy i really like that camp knife and i would agree with Mike Davis and that little guy will be perfect

what are you using for the scales??

keep it up i like your style

ooo
Click to expand...

Thanks. Going to be using some g10 with handle slabs that can be removed.

I see that you're in the quad cities. I used to live in Davenport and now I'm just north of you up in Dubuque.
 
A half round file can also get you into that inside curve. That's what I used before I got a small wheel setup on my KMG.

--nathan
 
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