Smallshop
KNIFE MAKER
I have been sketching knives since I was a young teenager. I would "doodle" knives on anything when bored. The last couple years I would take sketches and import them to CAD so I could tweak the curves here and there.
I started my new young apprentices on some knives using 1/16 O-1. Easy to saw ...not a lot of stock removal, etc. A couple years ago Scott Livesey was encouraging me to keep things simple on starter knives. O-1 steel...great material cheap to buy. Thinner stock to start...not wasting expensive steel to learn grinding. His advise was good and is what I am doing with these young guys. (thanks again Scott...)
Meanwhile, I thought I would bang out a knife. Since I wanted the young guys to draw their knives freehand I would also. Here's the epiphany part. drawing freehand on the blade material was somehow easier than on paper. Dunno why? I decided to just use a sharpy marker to get the lines. It felt just right sketching with a marker. Over the years I have gotten to where most of my work is computer then CNC....this small handwork project is very fun and freeing.
I did one knife (a skinner from an 3" x 8" rem) liked the shape of the blade...had two smaller blanks and did two more. That was yesterday...should be heat treating and some grinding today.
Here are the pics of the knives. The skinner is very much not my usual style...but I like it. I roughed in some stabilized oak for the handle. The top knife is a camp knife...The thin steel with the kirinite scales make it very light. also the thin steel makes it very easy to get the balance point. Yes...there are a couple over cuts to fix still....lol. But this was just plain fun and I kept my machine running the day job while playing on these. So in a sense I was being paid also...Lol.
I sure wish I had bout more of the Sheffield O-1 that was old new stock.....
below is the wip....
For any newbies like me I'll reiterate...keep it simple...
I started my new young apprentices on some knives using 1/16 O-1. Easy to saw ...not a lot of stock removal, etc. A couple years ago Scott Livesey was encouraging me to keep things simple on starter knives. O-1 steel...great material cheap to buy. Thinner stock to start...not wasting expensive steel to learn grinding. His advise was good and is what I am doing with these young guys. (thanks again Scott...)
Meanwhile, I thought I would bang out a knife. Since I wanted the young guys to draw their knives freehand I would also. Here's the epiphany part. drawing freehand on the blade material was somehow easier than on paper. Dunno why? I decided to just use a sharpy marker to get the lines. It felt just right sketching with a marker. Over the years I have gotten to where most of my work is computer then CNC....this small handwork project is very fun and freeing.
I did one knife (a skinner from an 3" x 8" rem) liked the shape of the blade...had two smaller blanks and did two more. That was yesterday...should be heat treating and some grinding today.
Here are the pics of the knives. The skinner is very much not my usual style...but I like it. I roughed in some stabilized oak for the handle. The top knife is a camp knife...The thin steel with the kirinite scales make it very light. also the thin steel makes it very easy to get the balance point. Yes...there are a couple over cuts to fix still....lol. But this was just plain fun and I kept my machine running the day job while playing on these. So in a sense I was being paid also...Lol.
I sure wish I had bout more of the Sheffield O-1 that was old new stock.....
below is the wip....
For any newbies like me I'll reiterate...keep it simple...