Knives 2 and 3, be brutally honest

Joetrain

Joetrain

Active Member
The last knife I posted generated alot of awesome tips, many of which I applied to these two knives. As a result they are much better. The mini chopper is going to be a father's day gift for my dad, and the little bowie I am giving to my nephew for his birthday. I still have a little sanding to do on the little one, and I still need to put some kind of finish on them both.

This one I called the Camp Kitchen Chopper, it is 1084 steel with brass pins and an old bamboo cutting board I found at the thrift store for a dollar for a handle. It is meant to be used so i didn't want too much of a polish on the blade, still I think I might hit the curve with a little more sandpaper.
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This one is for my nephew, who happens to be Henry Jr, so I am calling it the Jr bowie. It started out as a chopper like the first, but I accidently dropped it in the grinder and cut a nasty gouge in it. After that I had to cut it down so much to get the gouge out I wound up with a shape that is kinda unique, I really like it though. I put a little finer polish on the blade, although it is far from perfect, and i still need to sand the handle and put some kind of finish on it too. You can still see where the imperfection is if you look closely, but he's only 9 so I doubt he'll care.
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Coincidently, does anyone know where I can get some 4x36 belts with a finer grit? The only thing I can find at the hardware stores in 80 and 120.
Thanks dogs
 
Well I like the last one with the leather handle best. It's never necessary to have the blade polished, however a good hand done finish does help the knife to look better. The one thing I can't tell is do you have bevels on these knives? It seems thif there are they only go say !/2" inch or so from the bottom. On the other hand you didn't say how thick was the steel you started with. Shallow bevels mean lots of trouble sharpening soon in the life of the knife. The handles look quite reasonable. Frank
 
The one thing that will make your knives better is practice and experience. Unfortunately both of those take time and effort. There are many makers who have been at this a long time who still think they have a ways to go in perfecting the craft. The thing I do the most is compare what I have done with knives others have made. My flaws and inadequacies are apparent to me when I do this, and then I strive to correct from there.
You are on the right track...keep it up!
 
Curves are sexy add some curves to the whole shape. They look like Olive Oyl when they should look like Sophia Vergara. The top one needs more of a tip, you can either drop the spine (drop point) -perfered- or remove some curve from the belly.

The second one is a little better but I can see the spine above the guard, never let the guard go below the spine it interupts the flow. Also the bottom of the guard needs a little shaping. if you want to use an oval guard all the same thickness use thinner stock and add a spacer between it and the handle. Again the theme is flowing with graceful curves.

On both handles spend a little more time sanding them smooth, they look a bit rough but not too bad for number 2 and 3!

Sorry if I offended you but you asked for brutal honesty.
 
I can see the improvement from the first.
BarryC and Frank are right, you could use some definition on each of the components. That will come in time, you'll notice yourself getting a little more adventurous. Think about the intended use for the knife. The leather handle looks 100% better than the first. Don't rush and finish each step before moving on.

The 4x36 belts are tough, I can't remember seeing anything over 220 grit for those.

Rudy
 
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Thanks, great advice as usual. There are bevels on these, just bad pictures and not easily seen. The biggest problem I had with the shaping of the blade was adding bevels. On the top one especially they are uneven. Is there some trick to getting nice even bevels or is it just a matter of practice? The ones I see on your knives are so even and perfect but it seems like I struggle just to get them there in the first place.
 
On the 1st, I'd drop the point as BarryC suggested, and I'd set the plunge a little more distinctly with a file, when you then convex the edge. I think I'd take the finger curves a touch more aggressively, not too much, just enough to make it clear she has a figure. I'm wondering what linseed would do to the bamboo, to highlight the grain ... or you could ebonize it a little, which might be fun, with tea or coffee.

On the second, you have sort of a whanny tip, which looks cool or you could sweep back just a little. I'd definitely reduce the handle behind the guard at the spine a little, in a very small curve leaving the full thickness in the middle then tapering to the butt.

Truth be told, I'm just a beggar telling another beggar where to find bread, and I've been blessed by the advice of the folks here myself. To set the plunge, you may consider rigging a file guide of some sort, and there's lots of good ideas out there on how to do it. That way when you get to filing you don't drift.
 
BarryC said:
Curves are sexy add some curves to the whole shape. They look like Olive Oyl when they should look like Sophia Vergara. The top one needs more of a tip, you can either drop the spine (drop point) -perfered- or remove some curve from the belly.

The second one is a little better but I can see the spine above the guard, never let the guard go below the spine it interupts the flow. Also the bottom of the guard needs a little shaping. if you want to use an oval guard all the same thickness use thinner stock and add a spacer between it and the handle. Again the theme is flowing with graceful curves.

On both handles spend a little more time sanding them smooth, they look a bit rough but not too bad for number 2 and 3!

Sorry if I offended you but you asked for brutal honesty.
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Joe,
on knife one I suggest that you make your bevels deeper with a more pronounced plunge line. I am not sure what happen to the handle profile but I say you are still doing well here and already know what you need to do on your next chopper.

your knife number two is whats call a reverse Tanto tip which I came up with on my own about 13 years ago only to see the same reverse Tanto tip on a Osborne Benchmade knife about two months later. I do think that collective conscious does apply to knife makers too.

Barry,
never say never! Our new friend Joe here may be the next big innovator in knife making with his guard lower than the spine.

keep at it joe, I have worked with only having a 4x36" before and you are doing great!

I want to see no#s 4,5,6 and more! For ceramic belts for your grinder and more A/O ones in finer grits call the folks at wwwtrugrit.com Ontario ca,

Laurence

Www.rhinoknives.com
 
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Ok, I love everybody's advice here, and I am definately feeling lucky to have it. One thing I really don't want to do is to make stuff that other people have already made. I never use patterns for any of my leatherwork so I really don't want to conform too much with this new hobby either. I appreciate everyone's thought about dropping the tip on the first one and making more of a drop point, and while I do see where ya'll are coming from I had to say no. I was actually going for that over-sized kitchen knife look, and I think I nailed it. In fact I think that is the knife's best feature. The other problems, like the bevels and the handle will work out it in time, but the design was exactly what I wanted. Thanks for the input though, it helps me tremendously. :biggrin:
 
That's the spirit Joe!

Fine your own path. That's what I did and am doing! If a few people aren't scratching their heads when the see a few of your knives, You are not innovating.

I had the lucky chance to learn from the late Bob Loveless.
I made exactly one 4" Drop point hunter from his pattern and it sold fast, then decided if I was going to get any self satisfaction from my knives. I was going to have to find my own way.

Laurence

www.rhinoknives.com
 
rhinoknives said:
That's the spirit Joe!

Fine your own path. That's what I did and am doing! If a few people aren't scratching their heads when the see a few of your knives, You are not innovating.

I had the lucky chance to learn from the late Bob Loveless.
I made exactly one 4" Drop point hunter from his pattern and it sold fast, then decided if I was going to get any self satisfaction from my knives. I was going to have to find my own way.

Laurence

www.rhinoknives.com
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Woah!!! You learned from Bob Loveless!!??? Wow, that is really amazing. What I'd give to be able to say that.

@ Joe, love your blades. They both seem very practical and useful designs. I bet your young nephew is going to love his new knife!
 
Joe,
Mr Loveless would open the door to his shop some Saturdays and let all that wanted to learn come in. I showed up to learn on a few saturdays and spoke with him at a few shows.

He was truly the most cantankerous individual I ever met, and at the same time was willing to share any of his knife knowledge with all that would ask.

Laurence

www.rhinoknives.com
 
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