I am having trouble with the feel of a knife.

dereklee12

dereklee12

Well-Known Member
Is it just me or do finished pieces never feel truly finished? I am having an issue with letting go of my knives. I finish a knife and to me it feels to stiff or lifeless. I know its a piece of steel with a handle so it shouldn't have any life to it. But, we all know that knives have a "feel". They feel like an extension of your body. I dont know what it is. The blades I finish dont seem real to me. I cant put my finger on it but i hold a 20 dollar bowie from a sporting goods store and it feels bad in my hand. When i finish a knife it feels worse than bad. it feels fake. Sometimes I think I am to close to my work. My girl friend is a painter and she sees terrible brush strokes but i see an awesome portrait. is the same type of thing?
 
It's called confidence or experience or lack there of.
For better or worse, get your knives into the hands of your peers or potential customers and ask questions. Don't rely on family or freinds for feedback, they'll love everything you make. Join a club or do a show or two and watch the reactions, I always watch people's hands when they handle a knife. Ergonomics are very important to me and I get positive feedback but it took a while to get there. A grind here and some filing there can make a world of difference. Remember we are our own worst critics, I still question sending out a knife sometimes but remember that none has ever come back...so far. Don't collect your own knives.

Good luck,
Rudy
 
I think I understand what you are saying. I look at a knife I have made, and think "thats not too bad." Then I look at the bowie contest knives and realize I'm still turning out junk by comparison. I recently made a knife that wound up with, what to me was a glaring mistake. 4 different people handled the knife in the days after I finished it, they OOO'd and AAAAh'd and I said to each of them, ya it would have been a nice one except for the mistake. I watched each one turn it over in their hands twisting it this way and that, and finally look up and say "what Mistake?" LOL We are our own worst critics, but I think sometimes that is good. It drives us to be better. For me right now I am trying to improve the flow and feel of my knives. It's nearly impossible to describe what that even means, but you know it when it's right and you know it when its wrong.
 
I too felt like that when I was startling to make knives. I still today sometimes feel the same . Im always beating myself up on my knives because I know if I have done this or that to it, It would have been better. I'm still finding mistakes or something i should have done to make them better. It is so true what Rudy said about just a little grinding or filing can make the difference. I can tell you about what I did to get rid of the lifeless feelings in my knives. Again this is what I did for my own head. I started to round off my edges a lot more then before and contour the front finger curve. Id look at the knife after sanding bolsters and scales from side profile and it would look good but feel too blocky, an all I did was start rounding edges and really rounding them more than expected. I'd sometimes risk a knife and would accept it for trash just to prove a point to myself. And to me it made ll the difference. My two sence..
 
So true Mike.
After all these years, now I ask myself if the handle's TOO thin instead of too thick. What sort of helped me besides other maker's work was my daughter's Playdough and Silly Putty. Working it in your hand gives you the subtle contours of your grip. I used that to form a general outline of my tangs, without all the bumps of course. Your milage may vary.

Rudy
 
hi dereklee,
i am a newer kid also. i am working on different shaped blades, so i make a blade the shape i want or have seen, get it as scratch free as possible and as sharp as possible then attach a handle. i think most of the feel comes from handle/blade feel. I have started making the handles a little thicker than i want so i can remove a little here or there until the "feel" is good. I also get my wife's opinion because her hands are 2/3's the size of mine. what is a little thin for me may be just right for her. i also get to a point and say enough, apply finish and be done. then try to make the next on better. I have stopped pointing out "mistakes" to anyone holding my knives. hope this helps
scott
 
Derek
Its good that you see "room for improvement" so to speak.

If you are 100% satisfied with your knives now, I don't think you will improve. I've been making knives since 1996 and made and sold about 3500-4000 of them appox.. I still see the little things that look glaring to me!

There comes a time on each knife I make that I say that's the best I can do on that one and I will make a better one next time.

Don't be so hard on yourself and as has been said, Ask others what they think of your knives fit & finish, Not your family or a girl friend to get started.

I do ask my wife some questions pertaining to color of handle & liners etc to get a woman's prospective and also how comfortable the knife is to use on a board since woman's size, proportion and anatomy are different than ours.

There is always room for improvement! Strive for perfection with each knife and get a little closer each time. That's what I strive for with each knife.

Laurence

www.rhinoknives.com
 
Backtines made a great comment about grinding out the square edges. I had this problem at one time also. I see new people making otherwise good looking knives except that they're blocky. Heck, I see a lot of experienced makers making knives with handles that are too big imho. I've got a knife from a maker I really respect and who is wildly popular for his handle material and the handles on this knife just fill my hands. Too bulky and no contouring. It feels like I'm holding a hunk of steel with wooden brick!

I'd advise you to buy other makers knives that you like. Don't just look at pictures of them. Consider it an investment in your own knife making. This is what finally got me to stop worrying about whether or not I was going to "grind too much off" and start worrying if I've ground enough off!
 
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