WIP Survival Knife for My Son-In-Law

CDHumiston said:
The little orange girl got swooped up by a hawk today. We are going to have to keep them penned up until they are full grown...
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When I had chickens the hawks and owls would take a few every year. Once they get wise to them, they did a pretty good job of hiding when one would fly over. It was funny to watch because they would often see one before I did. When the chickens would randomly scatter and hide, you always knew a bird of prey was somewhere near.
 
CDHumiston said:
The little orange girl got swooped up by a hawk today. We are going to have to keep them penned up until they are full grown...
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Bummer - that's why we got rid of our hens. Even once they made it to full grown too many got caught by hawks and other things that love to eat hens. Even had a red fox chase the hens right up to the house once trying to get a hen. The fox actually caught a hen, but she got away and had a bald spot on her back where the feathers were gone.
 
Hey I'm new here but this thread caught my eye. Looks really cool like a tanto variation of Tom Browns tracker knife by TOPS.

Excited to see how this turns out! Looks very technical to my rookie knowledge haha. So far looks like you're making some great work of it.

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Maverick24 said:
Hey I'm new here but this thread caught my eye. Looks really cool like a tanto variation of Tom Browns tracker knife by TOPS.

Excited to see how this turns out! Looks very technical to my rookie knowledge haha. So far looks like you're making some great work of it.

Subscribed!

Sent from my SM-G965U1 using Tapatalk
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Thanks! So many new things for me on this one. I'm always up for a challenge...
 
Well...the two things I've never done have kicked my butt! The fuller is not terrible but needs some more work. The saw teeth on the other hand are a horrible mess. I started out on my bandsaw and there was too much blade play. Then I went to an angle grinder. Looks like crap! Oh well, I'll press on and see what I can do with a file to clean it up...

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Sean Jones said:
It's getting there. What process did you end up using for the fuller?
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Well, I started off with a mill bit in my drill press which was not working at all. Then I did some work with a diamond bit in my Foredom flex shaft. It's just an expensive Dremel. It still wasn't doing what I wanted. I ended up taking a piece of hardened steel and using it for a guide. I clamped it down in my vise and used my angle grinder with a wide edged disc. Turning the blade over and attacking from both sides gave me what you see in the pictures.

There is still a low spot on the handle end where the mill bit cut deeper than I ground with the angle grinder. I think I can get that out with the Foredom.
 
CDHumiston said:
Well, I started off with a mill bit in my drill press which was not working at all. Then I did some work with a diamond bit in my Foredom flex shaft. It's just an expensive Dremel. It still wasn't doing what I wanted. I ended up taking a piece of hardened steel and using it for a guide. I clamped it down in my vise and used my angle grinder with a wide edged disc. Turning the blade over and attacking from both sides gave me what you see in the pictures.

There is still a low spot on the handle end where the mill bit cut deeper than I ground with the angle grinder. I think I can get that out with the Foredom.
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Thanks for the info. Using an angle grinder like that is an interested method. I'll have to give it a try
 
I don't think the saw teeth look all that bad, just a bit more cleanup. To me they look really aggressive and wicked - isn't that what a knife like that is designed to do - "looks" and not so much "functional"? {grinning}
 
The only other way I could think to do the saw teeth would be to drill a small hole where you wanted each one to stop, then use a saw or angle grinder to cut to the hole then flat needle files for clean up. I do not think it would have been easier/better than what you did.
 
I did the heat treat last night. I got a respectable 61.1 HRC after tempering. I still have a lot of work to do to get this cleaned up. I think I'm going to try a Black Oxide coating on it. I have to see what the SIL says...

As for those saw teeth...I wish I would have rigged up some sort of guide/jig to keep them more even and consistent. I should have gone straight to the angle grinder and skipped the bandsaw!

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CDHumiston said:
I did the heat treat last night. I got a respectable 61.1 HRC after tempering. I still have a lot of work to do to get this cleaned up. I think I'm going to try a Black Oxide coating on it. I have to see what the SIL says...

As for those saw teeth...I wish I would have rigged up some sort of guide/jig to keep them more even and consistent. I should have gone straight to the angle grinder and skipped the bandsaw!

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Without a mill I'd say you've done well on those saw teeth. Though I do think Chris Railey was headed in the right direction with his comment.
 
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