A big thanks to the knife community and my first five knives.

Justice4all

Justice4all

Member
Hello, after decades of working for others I am fortunate enough to be able to try my hand at actually crafting something useful and hopefully making some money off of this endeavor. I've spent years studying others work via the web, books and videos. And while I could say I'm self taught, a lot of credit goes to all of you that have posted information so freely on how to make knives. You all are a big part of what has made this possible.

Tracy's videos in particular made all the difference in the world in taking this knowledge from the ethereal to possibility . Watching the video's he's produced is like being in the classroom for the courses you actually wanted to take in school. Once again, all those that have posted vids or paragraphs on everything from belt selection to how-to's are people that I owe a debt of gratitude to. So, sincerely, THANK YOU!



Currently I am working on stock removal knives, but have just purchased a new Kanka anvil and a really nice forge to start my home Damascus tutorial. To this end, I'm also going to purchase a hydraulic press as I have the bug to get deep into the realm of forged metals.


So, I literally had finally gathered/built all the stuff to start making knives a few months ago. I like controlling all the facets of my creations so to this end I purchased (from Tracy) an EH 22.5 oven as I like the idea of baking my own. I also purchased a Grizzly hardness tester, an Esteem grinder (I'm building my next grinder) and a load of belts. I ended up trading a custom rifle I built for a new metal band saw which was worth it 100%. I only wish I had gotten a larger unit as this one can get bogged down even in the annealed steel I'm cutting. A no weld grinder and a larger band saw would've been a better use of my funds.

I know some would suggest a HC steel to start with for ease and cost savings but I'm getting older and time is of the essence. After literally years of studying the different steels, I've decided to focus on the CPM family. And I'm glad I did. CPM 154 in particular. While it's pretty hard, even in the annealed state, it's actually not that hard to deal with and it makes, with correct HT, quench and cryo a really great blade material. IMO. Plus, the baking process is really easy vs. some of the other steels which, as a brand new maker, makes it appealing.

While I appreciate a good art knife, I really tend towards knives that will be carried and used everyday. My goal is to make a fixed blade that falls into this category but not everyone wants that.

So without further ado, here are my first completed knives. I've only ground a total of 15 knives or so, but I've learned quick. Which is good as CPM 154 isn't cheap.


This was my first completed knife and second fully ground knife. Everything from HT to mounting the scales to the pins was brand new to me. This is the knife that also taught me how tough a truly heat treated blade could be. I ended doing the initial edge with my large DMT diamond stones. This little blade took me 5 hours of hand stoning to get to a decent edge.... I did this as I had never used a belt to freehand sharpen a blade before. Obviously this wouldn't cut it in a production environment.

Approx 5.5 inches long, 3/16 CPM 154. HT'd to 63 RC after plate quenching and before tempering down to 60-61 RC. I have also run all the knives through a cryo quench in dry ice and isopropyl alcohol. The alcohol gets down to -105 and I let them sit overnight in the cooler. Using a small cooler inside a larger unit allows 20 pounds of dry ice to last over two days. I just bought a 10L dewar for LN quenching. The handle is linen micarta which I've never played with before and of course, a nice looking 3/16 mosaic pin. I really have a thing for mosaic pins...
The makers mark is Triskelion. Representing the three sips that Odin took from the mead horn of wisdom. My wife actually used her vinyl printer to make the marks. The nice thing about this vs. the etched film is that, because the vinyl has a sticky back, it seals to the blade and keeps the etch from ghosting due to migrating solution. The downside is that this is as small as they can get as the machine just can't cut vinyl as small or as clear as the film.

This was also one of the two first knives I've ever heat treated. Seeing the inside of the oven and the knives glow is something else. Really brings it home. Here it is after plate quench and before cryo. The patina was also something I didn't expect. I foil wrap my knives and expected them to either have a bit of carbon or a bit of darkening to them. The multi hued coloring was just awesome to see. If I could get this all the way through the making process I'd do it. I'm not that good yet though.




Here's just after the mark was etched. Never had done this before either so I was stoked with the results. I was really nervous at this point because I really didn't want it to ghost on me. Marks that aren't clear won't cut it for me.



If you click on the photos, the rest of my albums are viewable as well.


So there it is, my first completed knife. Turned out way better than I ever though it could. Next up, my evolution and education over the next month or so.



Once again, copious thanks and gratitude to those that have been so free with your knowledge.

Justin
BlackRavenArms
 
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My second completed knife...

This is the second fully completed knife I've done. A few things are starting to become clear, especially all that has been written about belts. Ahh belts, the most enigmatic portion of knife making, at least to me. It was Ed Caffrey's suggestions that I used to base my initial purchases on. So thank you Ed, you helped a ton.

So, once again, 3/16 CPM 154 HT'd to 60-61 final RC. All these blades are cold plate quenched with compressed air blown into the openings and cryo'd overnight. They have all been 62-63 RC after HT and initial quench. So thanks Crucible and Evenheat for the baking recipe! It works perfectly. Also, the blades are being run through a rotary tumbler with triangle ceramic media for the finish.

Handle is green and black canvas micarta and this time I thought I'd try a couple different things. First was the lanyard hole. Second was the false edge. This was the second false edge I'd ever ground but it was the first successful. Nothing like making things hard for me. Four plunges and four bevels. And they all have to line up. Which they don't on this blade... but no one else has noticed. You guys would of course.








Well, that's number two. Getting a bit smoother. This was also the second knife I've ever sharpened on a belt grinder. The first is in the bin-o-failures. Man, that first knife I tried doing that on was just a disaster. This time things went better, especially using an X16 Trizact to grind the initial edge and an X5 to get the bur going.
 
Looks like you've been bitten by the bug too, my new friend! Welcome to the forum from a fellow Utahan. I see that you're from Logan. I spent several years there attending USU. I'm now down at the south end of the state, but I do miss Logan from time to time. It's nice to have you with us.
 
Second knife

Second knife is also 3/16 CPM154 heat treated to a final RC of 60-61. Tried some two tone canvas micarta this time as well as a lanyard hole and a false edge. Getting the four plunges and bevels to line up is not easy. This was also my first successful hollow grind. The first one I tried had to go into the waste metal bucket... The contact wheel is so different from the platen. I also can see getting a larger wheel later on to supplement my 8". Canvas micarta is tough stuff to be sure. I like the larger threads as it is grippier, but it's also harder to polish smooth. The finish is from a ceramic media tumbler but the spine and belly are somewhat polished for the contrast. This was the second knife I've ever sharpened on the belt grinder. It helped that I went from using AO belts to an x16 Norton Norax belt. Made all the difference in the world trying to control the cut for the initial edge formation and final sharpening. These belts are nice as they don't cut until you apply pressure. allows me to ride the belt a bit to get lined up and insure my angle is correct. It was a breakthrough moment for sure.

Here it is next to my first knife.



Artsy photo.



Here is the sheath I designed for it. This was the third sheath I've ever done and it's starting to gel a bit. A stiffer foam than what I used for my first sheaths worked much better.



Carries very well this way.

 
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Third Knife

Ok, this was definitely a test knife. First, I wanted to see how a section of colored material would look and how hard it would be to grind alongside the steel and the micarta. It does increase the difficulty, but not much. It just cuts differently than the other two materials. I also wanted to see how thin I could get an edge on 1/8 CPM154 and still hold an edge in day to day use. It is a skinner profile and I tried a near mirror finish to see how it would look. I left some serious scratches in it from the initial plunge cut and 80 grit belt, but I wasn't too worried as it is after all a test knife.





Different style of sheath to make it easier to remove or put on.

 
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Here is the fourth knife and things are starting to get better. This was also a hollow grind and jump in size. 3/16 CPM 154 again. 60-61 final RC. This one took at least five hours to smooth out the initial bevel cuts with the wheel. I do feel I have a hang of the contact wheel now, especially with the higher grit engineered belts. They are much more forgiving than the AO's I'm using. I also wanted to introduce a thumb rest to give a bit better grip on the knife.







This is the third knife I've sharpened on the belts and it's starting to get serious now. Note to self... The blade gets sharpened after buffing/polishing. Got in a hurry.


This is now my edc knife. It carries great and is easy to access.
 
Fourth knife

Fourth blade, second hollow grind. 3/16 CPM154. Added a thumb rest to give a better grip on the blade.







Yep, it's sharp.



Now my EDC. Carries very well, hardly noticeable.

 
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Latest knife

Ok, this one turned out nice, but was more difficult because of the size jump. This one is 9" vs around 5-6" on my previous knives. Had to try the false edge again as well as different sized mosaics for looks. Ceramic media tumbled with a light polish from a scotch bright belt. Because of the size, the sheath had to be something different as well. It took some thought, but it carries great for a knife this size. Easily concealable this way.







Carries well.



The sheath is two tone black and OD green.




This knife really turned out sharp, literally a figuratively. It goes through cardboard like paper. My sharpening regimen seems to be fairly set now. Gotta make a bunch more and then try my hand at forging.
 
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Nice collection. I don’t know much about knives but one of my friends gifted me a Fallkniven NL2 ; Leather Handle, Plain, Leather Sheath. So I researched more on knives and I think this is a good place to start collecting good information about knives.
 
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