01 Knife and sheath

Been trying to get critiques and critisms on this one in other places with no luck, so I thought I'd bring it here. I'm trying to improve, so I'm looking for honest criticisms on what I need to work on. 01 blade, nearly 9" OAL, mahagony scales.

Overall, I would say that the knife looks pretty good. Dimensions of the knife would help. Also, what steel and heat treatment did you use. Visually, the handle looks a little long in relationship to the blade but it's more important how it fits the hand. Some things you are going to have to determine for yourself, like how well and how long it cuts.

The sheath looks real nice. The heavier lace works well with the snake skin. We would need to see an edge on picture of the sheath to check the pattern of the lace. Single loop? It would also allow us to check how you formed the belt loop on it. As it's presented it looks like a well made two piece pouch sheath. One question, you did put a welt in between the two layers, right?

Doug

It's 01 tool steel, normalized 3 times (maybe 4, I can't remember) and quenched in warm oil. I did 2 temper cycles in the oven at 390. The lacing is a double loop of latigo. Yep, there's a welt in there. I appreciate it, Doug.

You came to the right place

Requesting a critique like you did is the correct thing to do so keep that up !

1st. Let's see some more pics.

-Other side of the blade
-spine view
-edge view
-Basically pics from all sides and varying angles will help ALOT Sheath too.
-Close-up's of anything you think may possibly be an issue or have questions about.

Sometimes I may take 20 or 30 pics to get 5 or 6 worth posting. Nature of the beast for us non-professional photographers

It's very difficult to get a good read on the blade due to glare. Looks like a convexed edge ? Maybe a clip ?

A little about knife design in general-

1. There are no RULES
2. There's ALOT of genaralities that make-up a good design that's functional AND pleasing to the eye.

It's rare for a handle design to work well if it gets thinner as it goes towards towards the butt end. Can it be done ? yes. Just rare for it to look pleasing.

With a few exceptions a knife will nearly always benefit from a little drop in the handle from the center to the butt end. Daggers and dedicated fighters would be common exceptions.

I'll guestimate that your handle feels great in the hand and is functional but with some tweaking it could be those and more attractive too. Thickening up the back section between the center pin and butt so it's slightly taller than the front section and adding a touch of drop to the rear would be a great improvement IMHO

Could just be the pic but the forementioned things make it very tough to get really nice pin placement with good flow

Pretty much any knife with plunge lines needs a bit of ricasso (area between the plunge and scales) Roughly guessing I'd go with something like 1/4" to 3/8" between the plunge and scales on knife that size.

Looks like you got a touch of a dark halo on the back pin. This is caused by too much heat on the pin while shaping the handle and it actually scortches the wood around the pin. The solution to this is to go slow and use a sharp belt. Grind a pass and check the pin for heat. grind and check grind and check. When it's warm to the touch stop and let it cool down. Another thing that can be helpful is to file it close to shape with a rough file so it only take a lick or two with the grinder to clean it up.

In knifemaking ALL things are subjective so others may have a totally different opinion than me on any of these points so take what you like and discard the rest

Here's some reference on design for you to peruse-

http://www.americanbladesmith.com/u... Class/Fisk-Knife Construction and Design.pdf

http://www.americanbladesmith.com/u...ster Class/Petersen-Knife Design Concepts.pdf


I gotta run right now but get some more pics so we can talk about it some more.

Take care - Josh

The knife has a nice overall shape. As Ed stated a little more of a ricasso will make the knife more distinctive. The comments about the shape of the handle are also right on.

Tempering at 390 is a little low for 01, 425 is more realistic. 01 is a steel that takes time at temperature for all its components to go into solution. Ten or twelve minutes above critical works for blade thickness pieces.

Lets see another one, Fred

where did you get the snake skin?

I considered the ricasso, or lack thereof. It looks more like the handle material didn't go all the way to the plunge line more than a skinny ricasso. Personally, I think that it looks fine the way it is, but that's just a matter of taste. Most of my knives usually end up without a ricasso, though I have made some with one.

Doug

Thank you, gentlemen. I see what you all are saying about the handle, it was one of those "oh crap" moments when you realize you can't put steel back. The only grinder I have is a Craftsman, and I can get way too aggressive with it if I'm not careful. I typically hand file most stuff, but that takes forever (not that it's necessarilly a bad thing).

rmbonham said:

where did you get the snake skin?

Click to expand...

I got a few skins in a trade with a friend. He uses them on bows he builds.

A few things I wanted to add to my previous post (kids were dragging me out of the house while I was typing yesterday)

I'm not a huge fan of the scales comming down to a point on the front/bottom. Purely subjective but for me this creates an unwanted "focal point" that breaks the flow of the knife by attracting the eye to that point.

As a general rule for a pouch style sheath shoot for 2 to 3 fingers worth of handle left sticking out of the sheath. This is just a general guideline for average size blades. Again ALL things are subjective and your sheath looks great and for the depth of the sheath I think a lanyard tube at the end of the handle would be a good addition.


All those things said, For someone New to Knifemaking with a craftsman grinder your on VERY SOUND FOOTING !!!

You've created a great package with an appealing design and used warm materials that all work well together. Overall a fantastic job and beautiful and functional field knife !

One thing about that grinder... I decided when I was a newbie I was going to learn to use my grinder without fear of messing up. I made(make) MANY mistakes at the grinder and try my very best to fix those mistakes at the grinder. I've added a bunch of blades to the drawer of shame in the learning process but feel I'm far ahead of where I'd be if I fixed things with files and hand work.

I guess what I'm getting at is the Oh crap I went a little further than I wanted is a problem that we all have. Don't sweat it and tredge on with another one buddy !

Nice work, -Josh

As Josh said, you are not the first person to learn that you can grind steel off but you can't grind it back on. You are also right in your attitude about mess up. You're going to, more experience knife makers than you still do it, don't let it bother you but learn something from all you mistakes. A mistake that you don't learn something from is a mistake wasted.

Again I'm going to give a second opinion design. This time it is one the sheath. Josh is right, a knife that sets that deeply in the sheath is more difficult to draw. The opposite side to that coin is that it is less likely to accidentally come out of the sheath. I too have made some sheaths that the knife sets deep in, one that only allows the knife to be drawn with thumb and forefinger. These sheaths can be held upside down and shaken hard and the knife stays put. Over kill, maybe, but these sheaths do not have retainer straps to reinforce the hold on the knife. It's not a matter of being right or wrong; it's taste and judgement.

Doug

Thanks again, guys. This is all going to help a ton moving forward. I'd really like to be able to see a little more of the knive handle in the sheath just for visual appeal, but I do like them a tad deeper than most for the reason you mentioned, Doug. I don't ever want to worry about it falling out. Luckily this one is just mahagony, I'd feel bad about covering up some crazy burl wood.

The best thing about making knives and sheaths is there's room for us all and all our opinions. Like most I'm very opinionated about how I like things to be but I reserve the right to change my opinion anytime Anyone who remains a student will naturally over the course of time "evolve"

Take the sheath for example- While I'd be unlikely to make a really deep sheath I can see the benefit and respect others descision to do so. I could perhaps see one that blows my mind with it's perfect style and be convinced to make one myself.

As far as covering up some nice burl wood. On one hand it would be a shame to cover up a great piece of wood while on the other hand what a great suprize it'll be when you take it out of the sheath. Completely opposite ideas but both work IMHO.

Just a couple general points to keep in mind as a newer maker-

We can offer guidence and certainly shorten your learning curve but the school of hard knocks will ALWAYS be the best teacher. There's no substitue for personal experience.

I like to keep my mistakes hanging around the shop to remind me not to make them again.

Everyone starts somewhere and it's never at the top of the respective heap- Check out this thread if you haven't already-
http://knifedogs.com/showthread.php?21543-My-very-first-knife

The most important thing .... HAVE FUN !!!! :taz:

Can't wait to see your next one ! -Josh