Your First knife?

ryan9977

ryan9977

Joined
Feb 16, 2006
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I'm with Russ.... keep it Chris. I think you'll be glad you did. I wouldn't sell the first one that I made for 10 times what it's worth.
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-Nick-



the comment above was made by nick wheeler in another thread....he was advising that the maker keep his first folder.....a question to all you knifemakers....do you still have your first knife....do u hav a pic u can share.....do u keep it around to see how far you've come....i'd love to hear all your stories.....ryan
 
Woa that was a little trippy... I was reading that thinking, "Um... didn't I just type that???"

LMAO :)

I have my very first knife... a dagger I made at 14. And I also have my first folder, it's a lock-back I made in JP Moss's shop when I was 20. I don't have any pics, but I'll try to set-up my camera one of these days and snap some.

I wouldn't sell either one of them. Well, I probably couldn't sell the dagger, lol. People have tried to buy the folder but it ain't gonna happen :)

There are also about 10 knives around here that I won't sell simply because they don't meet my current quality standards.
 
i should have made the quote more obvious:D....i always wondered about journeyman and mastersmiths.....i mean if i ever became a master or even journeyman smith i don't know if i could sell those knives.....can u tell i'm a hoarder!.....they are such a milestone in your career as a maker....did any of you guys keep them...or one of them....ohh and i can totally understand selling them for financial reasons....i know alot of makers have no other source of income....i don't want anyone to take it the wrong way....ryan
 
Yup, still have mine. Here it is....

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This is my first knife, which I still own. (Who else would want it :rolleyes:) I made it sometime around 1990, while I was going to school at the University of CT as a Graphic Design major. The art building had a gas forge and some old anvils. The only guide I had at the time was Jim Hrisoulas' book, The Complete Bladesmith.

I bought some old hammers and tongs from a blacksmith at Sturbridge Village in MA. Then I bought a bar of steel (which I think is O1) and went to town at the school forge. The resulting curve of the 9 inch blade is typical of people who don't put a big enough reverse curve in the blade at the outset.

After forging, I tried to grind it flat on the school woodshop's 6" x 48" grinder. My 1/4" bar of steel started to get pretty thin, so I gave up trying to remove all of the marks in the blade.

I didn't get a chance to heat treat if for a few more years. I finally picked up a used coal forge and some of Brownell's Tuff-Quench oil. I successfully hardened the blade, soldered on a nickle silver guard, added a Maple handle, and sharpened it up. It looks terrible, but it is pretty sharp. (Years later I was player with my new etcher and added my maker's mark.)

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Here's my first knife:

Stock removal ATS-34, Desert Ironwood, 4-1/8" Blade

I gave it to my father as a gift.

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Mike L.
 
cool...very interesting to see everyone's first knives....each one is so unique...ryan
 
Man I'm jealous of all you guy's first knives! :D Mine is nowhere near that sweet, but here it is. Sucker got stolen almost 20 years ago, and that really bummed me out. I'm still watching for it at gun shows and flea markets and stuff, and honestly, I'd pay just about any price to get it back. Sad as it is. :D

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I always like these "first knife" threads!
 
man what kinda loser steals a knife at a show?....people r disgusting...ryan

ohh i like it dave!:thumbup:
 
My first was a chefs knife made in March 2005 from a D2 bar. this was a gift for mom and she is using it in her kitchen exclusively.
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Well, I had to fight through several boxes of shtuff, but I finally found it.
This is my first knife. It seems as that as soon as I could walk my dad went out of his way to teach me how to use all the equipment in his shop. He was a carpenter and cabinet maker.

One day, while fishing he dropped his bait knife over the side of our boat and seemed quite upset over it's loss.

So, being the great and loving kid that I was (still am!) I took it upon myself to make him a replacement from his brand new hand saw.

When I presneted the knife to him, all smiley and proud, he got a big smile on his face and then it quickly faded. He asked "where the hell did you get the steel for this?"
When I told him it was from his new hand saw I thought he was gonna kill me.

I still have the stripes on my @$$ to show for it! I was 8 years old at the time (1959).

-Mike-
 

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Okay, that's officially my favorite knife making story of all time! I'm amazed and pleased you could find it, too. Thanks for sharing! :D
 
Well... mine was easy to find (even though I just moved:eek:) because I just finished it a few months ago... Kinda ended up being a pocket hatchet, but I still like it... Stock removal from 3/16" A2 with buffalo horn scales and stainless corbys. 7 7/8” Overall and a 4” blade.

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-Mark
 
micad that is a great story. LOL I bet your dad after placing the stripes on ya showed that knife off to all of his buddies.
 
I also noticed during these threads that most new knives are for Parents and often for Dad's here is the one I did first it was for My Dad for Fathers day. It started out as a big Ball Bearing.

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