First jumping attempt. Suggestions please.

JIMPING

So, I have a bunch of cool new scales of g10 from USA knife maker, and I know I'm going to want to show off the different layers of color when I use it. But I have yet to try my hand at any sort of knife handle embellishment. I took an older knife, after practicing a bunch ons craps, and this is what I came up with. Does anyone have any tips? Point me to a video you like? Is there a specific tool anyone uses? Any and all advice please!??

And why can't I fix misspelled words in my title???? Jimping......jimping......My phone needs to learn that word.

I use a 1 1/2 contact wheel for mine .120g first then 400g then to the buffer with white compound.I grind so it fits as fingers groves.That how I did the bottom one .

I use a 1" wheel and either start with 36 grit followed by 120 or 120 followed by 220. I don't do this kind of handle work often anymore. I found it easiest to grind at a 45 degree angle and bring the top of the grind almost to the other side of he handle. Then slide down a little and do it again. Wh eI get to the other side of the handle I just do the same thing on the areas that haven't been ground. You can knock a little of the edges off if you want when you're done if the corners of the handle are a little too sharp. This creates that basic Zig Zag pattern or a poor man's Anso pattern. You can also use a dremel with a sanding drum. There are tutorials on youtube for either method. Here are two using a dremel. Good luck.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wuiXeo2N5_8

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LVXQMHrWCHI

Gentlemen, nothing personal what so ever. Beauty is in the eye of the beholder. It is hard to argue art, but that is about the ugliest treatment I've ever seen on a knife grip in 45 years of knifemaking. That is just my humble opinion. Again, I mean no personal slur. If you actually like that, then go for it. Wow!

LRB said:

Gentlemen, nothing personal what so ever. Beauty is in the eye of the beholder. It is hard to argue art, but that is about the ugliest treatment I've ever seen on a knife grip in 45 years of knifemaking. That is just my humble opinion. Again, I mean no personal slur. If you actually like that, then go for it. Wow!

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Are you having a bad day?

That style is not for everybody, BUT, there are a lot of customers that do like that style. When doing those, symmetry is very important to me. Having a 2 color G10 also makes them pop. Keep practicing and if you like it, go for it.

LRB said:

Gentlemen, nothing personal what so ever. Beauty is in the eye of the beholder. It is hard to argue art, but that is about the ugliest treatment I've ever seen on a knife grip in 45 years of knifemaking. That is just my humble opinion. Again, I mean no personal slur. If you actually like that, then go for it. Wow!

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If you're referring to the photos of what I did, I agree, its ugly, but, as I said, its my first attempt. It was also done to a material that shouldn't be sanded in such a way.
Or did you mean the technique as a whole?
I know my @@@@ was ugly.

Ed of all trades said:

Are you having a bad day?

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J. ROSA said:

I use a 1" wheel and either start with 36 grit followed by 120 or 120 followed by 220. I don't do this kind of handle work often anymore. I found it easiest to grind at a 45 degree angle and bring the top of the grind almost to the other side of he handle. Then slide down a little and do it again. Wh eI get to the other side of the handle I just do the same thing on the areas that haven't been ground. You can knock a little of the edges off if you want when you're done if the corners of the handle are a little too sharp. This creates that basic Zig Zag pattern or a poor man's Anso pattern. You can also use a dremel with a sanding drum. There are tutorials on youtube for either method. Here are two using a dremel. Good luck.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wuiXeo2N5_8

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LVXQMHrWCHI

Click to expand...

Great videos, thanks, I had not found those in my own searches.

I personally don't care for that look on a handle, well done or not. But I'll offer another practical perspective:

Has anybody every used a knife with that type of handle treatment hard for more than a minute or two? Those type of handles have 'Blister Factory' written all over them.

They're not going to be pleasant or even practical to hang on to for any length of time.

I commend you for being willing to experiment and try things out. That's how you'll learn. Others have offered some good tips and links for making your work more uniform and better finished should you wish to continue with that type of handle.

For me being new to knife making it is a different look or style to the knife handle. I do agree the beauty is in eye of the beholder.

I "fixed" or worked on the handle more. The posted videos helped big time. Now the handle doesn't look like it had bites taken out of it.
It's beautiful outside. So photos will need to wait, I want to go chop some wood in this sunshine....

Improvement........I think I definitely made this look like less of a turd.

Definitely better! Good job!

J. ROSA said:

Definitely better! Good job!

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Ha, thanks. Even my wife yesterday was like "huh.....yeah, that's cool....."
Tonight she was much more quick to compliment the work. It's practice. Learn as I go. Thanks man!

It is a unique handle but as many others stated not my preference. Is up to you as the maker to decide how you want to put your name and work out for others to see. Just be careful with making a "fad" styled knife because the fad will pass. Other than that there is a vast improvement from the first attempt to this last one.
My .02 try the handle in tour own hand and if it doesnt get comfortable to use in under a min then it probably will fall under the "COOL" knife catagory, it looks cool but is a pia to use due to the discomfort. Keep trying till your happy with what you do then, ask for feedback like you have been. Have a good weekend man.

I think it looks great. I think I liked it more without the secondary added color, but it looks good regardless.

Jimping isn't for everyone, that's for sure, but when using gloves especially, I find a jimped handle is significantly easier to hold onto. It's all in what you prefer I suppose. I find that on my large choppers especially, that it helps me get a firm grip. Think of it like a dirt bike handle grip. They are textured to give better grip when holding on white knuckled. You can buy any style under the sun, but all of them have some sort of texture to them, and some even have a similar style jimping.

I've only jimped one knife myself, 3 very deep and aggressive cuts on each side to prevent sliding. It's an 8" tanto chopper made from a machete blade. it works.

It looks rough but it isn't. Both knives aren't something I would sell. One is mine, the most recent is a gift. The photo of the knife I just posted I actually sanded down after the jimping. So it is actually very comfortable. This one will be a gift for a kayak fishing buddy of mine. He will appreciate the grip factor since he will be using it in a boat most likely with a wet hand.

I'd only do this to something for sale if someone asked. So far, everything I'm making is selling, so I guess I'm not too concerned about that.
I will say this about the jimping. Saves a ton of time to finish a handle. It only took me about 45 minutes, start to finishing on the buffer. That's the biggest advantage I see so far. I do prefer hand sanding and polishing though, you get to see some more color out of the material.
Just got my KMG yesterday. Small wheel attachments as well. So as soon as that is up and running, that's what will be shaping my handles. Unless of course, someone wants the jimping.

I know how you feel about finishing. I'm working on one right now and have spent more time on the handle than the actual knife. High gloss CA/super glue finish on burned tung oil stained Osage Orange partially mortised tang. It looks marvelous. It'll be done probably Monday (I only do this for a hobby). Probably some of the best woodwork I've done.

It does have a VERY slight jimp in it too... Go figure. Two jimps or 'waves' in the handle, in between the top and bottom pin.

How do you price your stuff? I've only made 4 knives, but people seem to want to buy mine. I don't know what a fair asking price is.

malignity said:

I know how you feel about finishing. I'm working on one right now and have spent more time on the handle than the actual knife. High gloss CA/super glue finish on burned tung oil stained Osage Orange partially mortised tang. It looks marvelous. It'll be done probably Monday (I only do this for a hobby). Probably some of the best woodwork I've done.

It does have a VERY slight jimp in it too... Go figure. Two jimps or 'waves' in the handle, in between the top and bottom pin.

How do you price your stuff? I've only made 4 knives, but people seem to want to buy mine. I don't know what a fair asking price is.

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I make sure I tell buyers that I've only been doing this for a year. And that while I'm doing good work, I don't feel its fair to charge what a 3 , 5 or 10 year knife maker would charge. So I charge for materials plus like 20 bucks or so, and shipping if applicable. I just want to keep being able to buy materials and to work on my skills. I've been able to decrease production time per knife, the more knives I make, so no way I can charge for my time. I'm still new and the time is well spent learning, and learning from mistakes. Since I'm hardest on myself over anyone else, once I really like my work, I'll start charging more.
That's just how I personally feel on charging for my work.
I own a gym, and I've been a trainer for almost 20 years. A novice trainer in my place just doesn't have the knowledge and experience to charge the same rates per hour that I charge. And no one is going to pay that much for a trainer that is just out of college. Learn, pay your dues, gain valuable experience, then you are worth more to people.

I know too many people just starting into their careers that @@@@@ and moan and expect to make the same salary as someone with twice,three times their experience. It just doesn't work that way. So I apply that to my knife making, and to what I charge. I don't care if a knife takes me three months to finish. That's three months of learning I've gained. I feel like being able to sell those finished knives is in actuality people paying me to continue to learn and get better at knife making.

Too long!???