First attempts WIP

Insight

Insight

Well-Known Member
So I have been screwing around with the idea of making knives for a while, and I've built a little shop to work in- I wasn't going to post anything until I got better, but you guys are nothing but encouraging and supportive. These are super rough still, and they are some of my first attempts. One of the issues that I'm having is that when grinding the blade bevel, I get a bunch of different marks from inconsistent angles.It's hard for me to know how high my grind is going until I grind some and look at it. Then I grind another pass, and it's not in the same spot. I might be running too fast, and removing too much on each pass or maybe I should be using the flat platen instead of the 8" wheel... I'm still figuring things out!

I started doing these tonight. I have been doing a lot of drawing, and a little prototype work. These are hopefully going to be making it all the way to the finish line. My plan is to be okay with them even if they don't end up looking the way I want them to, and just finish them. and my next ones will be better, and so on- If I ruin enough stuff, eventually I'll learn how not to!

These are S35VN, and I'll be putting them into the HT oven in the next couple of days, whenever I can get some dry ice to cryo treat them with.

Wish me luck!
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Cris
 
Patience grasshopper...

You should see my first attempt at the grinder or let alone my latest work :3:

One thing I have been learning that has helped is to relax and take your time. Take a deep breath right before you touch the knife to the grinder to relax your muscles. I caught myself being very tense while trying to grind and it caused me to change angle constantly and never get consistent. I am still trying to figure the grinder out but I have received some great information from some really nice guys on here.

Don L answered a lot of my questions with a very nice post in my 2013 knife making progress thread. On the third page toward the bottom. Between him, Ricky and a few other guys, I feel a lot more comfortable at the grinder and my results are showing that.

Good luck and I'm sure some experienced guys will chime in.
 
Your designs are good. You are trying to hollow grind and that is fine, but a flat grind is a simpler place to start. You have good design instincts you will just have to develop the skills to bring them off. Keep it up, walk before you run. (Or in other words, learn to Flat grind first...)

If you havn't yet, read Steven Longs Thread about his 2013 knife making progress. He was, where you are now not too long ago and reading his thread might save you some grief. He is turning out some nice knives already.
 
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each grind will get easier, wait till you get to #500 :biggrin:

I don't see any holes for scale pins. better get them drilled befor heat treating or you'll hate yourself.

Erik
 
Thanks a ton, guys- Great advice on learning to flat grind first, and I just realized that I should drill my handle out before HT... I'll definitely read Stevens WIP thread- I just got done reading Josh Dabney's awesome kit knife tutorial- I wish I'd done so before hitting the shop tonight! I learned that I'm trying to shape the blade WAAAAY too fast- and I should be using my hands and hand tools a lot more and slow it down if I want it to look good. (This is tough- I'm super impatient!)I'm learning a lot here, and having a great time!
 
Good for you, keep us posted with some pics of your progress. I know how hard it is to slow down.

Reminds me, I posted a pic of a knife I made that i thought was pretty good on a NON-knifemaking website. A custom knife maker sent me a personal message that said simply, "Looks like you need to slow down a little" lol he was right of course.
 
Practice with 1095 and other Carbon steels, Much cheaper and makes a great knife. Easier to HT also
 
You stated that you are super impatient,you have to overcome that. That was one of my biggest problems in learning knife making,Patience,patience,patience.
You might want to take up turkey hunting, it helps you become more patient.:9:
 
You're right on the 1095, Stabber- I got a couple of lengths of .125" 1095 that I was planning on using first. I have some designs that will work with that, and I should go with that plan.

And then I'll see about turkey hunting, Calvin!
 
There is an excel spreadsheet that calculates how high you can hollow grind a blade. I think you may be trying to grind "higher" than an 8" wheel will permit, if you want the grind to be the same radius as the wheel. For example using a 10" wheel on 1/4" stock the grind would be about an inch. Also, I think starting with 1/8" stock on a hunter is pretty difficult. I started with 1/4" A2, pretty reasonable costwise and the extra width provides a bit more learning curve.

Anyway, here's the link to the widget.

knifedogs.com/showthread.php?16235-blade-grind-calculator&highlight=grind+height

Jay
 
So much for the link. Someday, I'll learn how to use a computer. Try the search function for "blade grind calculator".
 
So I took some advice and I put the S35vn ones on the shelf and got some 3/16 1095. I re-did the designs that I had, and took a bit more time on them.
IMAG0452.jpg I drilled the handles out before I heat treated them, and one warped like crazy, and one turned out fine. I don't know how to test hardness- I've heard the phrase "skate a file" and I'm embarrassed to admit that I really don't know the specifics of what that means. Is it done on the flat side or on a corner of a file? is any pressure applied while doing it? I did it on the flat of the file, and the flat of the handle with little pressure. no marks, and I decided it was good enough to move on. So I tempered and cleaned them up a bit. I cut out the handle scales and epoxied them on; and then remembered about patience...I should of hand sanded BEFORE doing that. I'm learning this process the hard way, with lots of educational mistakes. Anyway, Here's how it looks now. There's definitely a few details that I could have spent more time on- (and will on the next ones) but I don't think it looks too shabby for my first finished piece.
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I'm having a great time, and I really think that as I get more patient, and process oriented- I'll be able to make some nice stuff. I thank everyone for all their posts in people's WIP threads and the entire "New to knifemaking" forum. I learn so much from them!
 
Insight said:
I'm having a great time, and I really think that as I get more patient, and process oriented- I'll be able to make some nice stuff.
Click to expand...

Congrats on finishing your first! With the above attitude I think you're right about making some nice stuff. You have a good eye for design.
 
You are doing fine!
They don't look any rougher than my first few knives!:biggrin: Hollow grinding is actually easier than flat grinding. That's why more knives are hollow ground.
One isn't necessarily better than the other, depends on what kind of knife you are making? Hunters, fighters and Zombie blades, Hollow. Culinary Flat.

Have fun and do your best to make each new one better that the last.

Laurence

www.rhinoknives.com
 
I think you are doing just fine. Practice and patience are your friends. Ever notice it seems to take forever to drive somewhere when your in a hurry, but the return trip home takes half the time?
 
Thanks so much, guys- You're all awesome.

And I'm finding out that it's true (at least for me so far) that you're right Laurence- Flat grinding is harder- and the larger the blade, the more so.

Can anyone help me with the hardness testing stuff? how *exactly* should I be trying to "skate a file"?

Also; I snapped the blade that warped during heat treatment, to see how it looked- (but I'm not sure how it's supposed to look) I was thinking about posting a photo for feedback. anyone interested?

More stuff to come, I've already revised the design of the blade above- and will soon do another run at it. I'm also trying to buy enough steel to do a batch of a few, as you guys have said that the repetition is very good for learning. I've found this to be absolutely true.
 
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