WIP - Starting a new batch, all D2 Updated 4/25/11 New Progress

jonnymac44

jonnymac44

Joined
Sep 27, 2007
Messages
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I haven't been posting too heavily in the shop talk forum lately, but that's because I've been grinding like a mad man the last few weeks!:D

I just recently shipped a batch of knives out to Peters. It consists primarily CPM 154 blades plus a larger not pictured model in CPM 3V for a special order.

I figured while I wait for Brad and the gang to get those blades back to me I'd get started on the next batch. This time all blades are D2. When I first got started I was so excited to use different steels that I would jump from one to another and I was all over the map. I've decided I want to work in steel specific batches to make things easier. I'm going to try to do my first comprehensive WIP with this batch as I go, maybe asking the vets for some advice along the way. I'll try to post up pics of all the steps I take in my shop and keep the progress flowing. Bear with me, I haven't done a WIP this big.

Thanks for looking all!


Just for the heck of it, here is a shot of some of the CPM 154 blades that are at Peters right now.....
DSCN3268.jpg


Now, to start off the D2 batch WIP, here are a few pics of my progress over the last few days.

Here is the batch, all profiled and some of the holes drilled. I took this pic while I was waiting for drill bits to cool off some. I'm used to making one or two blades at a time and I'm just getting used to drilling tang holes for a dozen blades at once!

Also, I did the bevels on a couple before I decided to complete each step on all knives before moving on to the next step. From here on out I'll try to complete each step on all knives before moving too far forward on any of the others.

This batch includes, from left: A Model 1 EDC special order, a paring knife I designed for the wife, two Mini Drop Points in .118" thickness, three Mini Drop Points in .176" thickness, a Mini Drop Point in .176" with a modified handle, two Mini Drop Point XL's, a Mini Wharncliffe XL, and a Two Finger Wharnie all in .176" stock. There will be another Two Finger Wharnie in the batch that didn't make the picture.
DSCN3281.jpg



Next shot, Profiles are all sanded to 220 on the small wheel attachment and knives have all been ground to remove the scale to 60 grit. I've become a huge fan of the 3M Gold Cubitron belts. I started with Blaze belts, and they are great, but I think the Cubitrons are amazing. They can remove scale much better than a 60 grit blaze and quite a bit quicker from my experience.

DSCN3284.jpg


DSCN3286.jpg


I'll be trying to make more progress on this batch this week and will be back to post up the results.

Jonny
 
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Awesome work Jonny! Looking forward to seeing them as they evolve... I prefer doing small batches as well, I just feel more productive and feel more focused on each step.
 
Well, today I finished getting all of the tang holes drilled and countersunk. Then got all blades finished to about 220 using 100x grit Norax belts. Time to start getting the bevels ground.

Here are pics from today:

Marking out where the holes are going to be
3-7-201118.jpg


Drilling the tangs
3-7-20111.jpg


3-7-20112.jpg


Nothing inspires working metal like a little METAL!!:D
3-7-201122.jpg


Countersinking tang holes
3-7-201123.jpg


Learned here on the forums that a welder's magnet comes in quite handy when grinding knives.
3-7-20115.jpg


3-7-20117.jpg


3-7-201120.jpg


Ready to start grinding bevels
3-7-201112.jpg


Grinding the bevels will take me a while, but I will post up progress as I go.
 
Nice work Jonny,

Could you please post a picture of the clamp on your drill press please mate? Looks a lot more useful than a machinist vice!

Thanks

Matt
 
mattbrook said:
Nice work Jonny,

Could you please post a picture of the clamp on your drill press please mate? Looks a lot more useful than a machinist vice!

Thanks

Matt
Click to expand...

Thanks Matt,
The clamp I use is from Kant Twist clamps. Erik, Alb1k here on the forums recommended it to me when I was having trouble getting my holes drilled straight. My clamps weren't working out and this thing made all the difference in the world. Great tool to have in the shop.

Here is a link to one on Amazon:

http://www.amazon.com/Kant-Twist-42..._6?s=industrial&ie=UTF8&qid=1299550848&sr=1-6
 
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Breakin' the law Breakin' the law :cool:

(background music)


I'm liking this batch a lot, thanks for taking the time to post them. Nice drill press setup you have going on there too.
 
Daniel Fairly Knives said:
Breakin' the law Breakin' the law :cool:

(background music)


I'm liking this batch a lot, thanks for taking the time to post them. Nice drill press setup you have going on there too.
Click to expand...

Thanks Dan! Like I said, Erik made a great recommendation. That clamp is priceless to me. It's made huge improvements to my work and the headaches I used to associate with pinning up handle slabs are a thing of the past:thumbup:
 
Jon,

You are a force to be reckoned with. It's a beautiful sight to see those blades lined up the way they are, the 154's in your hand and the D2's on the table.

I bet you could take orders on all of those now. Keep it up.

E
 
I might have to try get a hold of one of those clamps too. The welding magnet is a good idea too. I wonder if anyone would notice if the one at work went missing...

Just a question. Why do you leave the extra steel on the tip? Are you prone to dropping them or something?
 
No Tim, That's actually another tip (no pun intended) that I learned here on the forum. The natural tendency for most people when grinding a bevel is to pull away with the hand that is holding the handle end of the blade. This results in slightly more pressure being applied to the tip end of the knife. As the bevel grind progresses, more and more is ground away from the tip, leaving the edge much thinner there than the rest of the blade. Leaving that bump at the end saves your edge at the tip. The extra meat gets thinned out instead of where the tip is really going to end up. When you are done grinding you just grind away whats left of the hump and blend it in. Edge thickness is all uniform. Works like a charm! At this point, I've practiced enough that I don't really need it, but I like the idea of having there just in case.

Tiiiiiiiim said:
I might have to try get a hold of one of those clamps too. The welding magnet is a good idea too. I wonder if anyone would notice if the one at work went missing...

Just a question. Why do you leave the extra steel on the tip? Are you prone to dropping them or something?
Click to expand...
 
jonnymac44 said:
Thanks Matt,
The clamp I use is from Kant Twist clamps. Erik, Alb1k here on the forums recommended it to me when I was having trouble getting my holes drilled straight. My clamps weren't working out and this thing made all the difference in the world. Great tool to have in the shop.

Here is a link to one on Amazon:

http://www.amazon.com/Kant-Twist-42..._6?s=industrial&ie=UTF8&qid=1299550848&sr=1-6
Click to expand...

Thanks Jonny,

I think I have found something similar here in OZ. The Dawn / De-Sta-Co Hold Down Action

About half way down the page and the tool shop over the road from work can get them in. Sweet.

http://www.dawntools.com.au/products1.php?cat_id=17#p61

Matt
 
you can find those clamps on ebay tim and matt.
personally, i use a vice with step jaws and drill and de-burr all my holes while the knife is still in bar form.

I though that extra bit was for a gut hook Jonny! haha
 
Nice Johnny. I was going to ask about the clamp as well, looks like the ticket!
 
Johnny I love the "tip" tip. I forgot that one on my last batch, and paid a small price. Great clamp as well. I'll be ordering a few of those for my production Machine shop. We have the loose clamp style already and use them all the time.

I'm going to have to swing by and pick up one of your knives.

And Tim I think one of those will be intermittently missing from my welding shop as well. ;)
 
mattbrook said:
Thanks Jonny,

I think I have found something similar here in OZ. The Dawn / De-Sta-Co Hold Down Action

About half way down the page and the tool shop over the road from work can get them in. Sweet.

http://www.dawntools.com.au/products1.php?cat_id=17#p61

Matt
Click to expand...

The only problem I see with those are they seem to work our a cam not a screw like jonny's. I think the screw would be more reliable and useful.
 
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