Sheepdog80
Member
Hi all just made my first blade today and would like some input on what y'all think about it and what I could do to improve my quality for the next knife I work on,and I got thick skin so please be honest.
First blade.
- Thread starter Sheepdog80
- Start date
John Wilson
Well-Known Member
Congratulations on your first blade!
As Kev said, if you haven't hardened it yet, pin holes are in order. But you asked for feedback and here goes:
The good:
Excellent proportions. That is a really nice design. It looks a wee bit tall in the handle, but since I can't really gauge the size from the pics it may be just fine. Putting a handle on a tang totally changes the feel. If the tang feels "just right" before scales you can guarantee it will be too big after you put scales on it. However, it's a matter of personal preference and I'm just going by a picture.
Your bevels look pretty dang flat. That's no small feat on a first knife.
Your centerlines look good. Great attention to detail.
The areas to improve:
Your plunge lines. Again, it's a first knife and having less than perfect plunge lines is to be expected. In the beginning it's best to finish your plunge lines by hand rather than try to chase your lines back and forth on each side trying to get them to match. You did get them to be pretty even at the edge, which is great. Now practice on getting them straight. A file guide can work wonders here. Also, the grinder is merciless on plunge lines. You may discover that a file is your best friend on your first ten knives.
Your plunge lines also break through the top at the spine. This is generally a no-no. It's an aesthetic thing and the knife is none the worse for wear if your plunge lines touch the spine. On future knives, though, stop shy of the spine. This can be fixed after the fact. Lay the knife on the flat platen and grind lengthwise. This will thin your knife a tiny bit, but it will also restore some flat at the spine. Just be careful because it will also make your plunge lines a little wonky if you aren't careful.
Overall: a very nice effort on your first knife!
As Kev said, if you haven't hardened it yet, pin holes are in order. But you asked for feedback and here goes:
The good:
Excellent proportions. That is a really nice design. It looks a wee bit tall in the handle, but since I can't really gauge the size from the pics it may be just fine. Putting a handle on a tang totally changes the feel. If the tang feels "just right" before scales you can guarantee it will be too big after you put scales on it. However, it's a matter of personal preference and I'm just going by a picture.
Your bevels look pretty dang flat. That's no small feat on a first knife.
Your centerlines look good. Great attention to detail.
The areas to improve:
Your plunge lines. Again, it's a first knife and having less than perfect plunge lines is to be expected. In the beginning it's best to finish your plunge lines by hand rather than try to chase your lines back and forth on each side trying to get them to match. You did get them to be pretty even at the edge, which is great. Now practice on getting them straight. A file guide can work wonders here. Also, the grinder is merciless on plunge lines. You may discover that a file is your best friend on your first ten knives.
Your plunge lines also break through the top at the spine. This is generally a no-no. It's an aesthetic thing and the knife is none the worse for wear if your plunge lines touch the spine. On future knives, though, stop shy of the spine. This can be fixed after the fact. Lay the knife on the flat platen and grind lengthwise. This will thin your knife a tiny bit, but it will also restore some flat at the spine. Just be careful because it will also make your plunge lines a little wonky if you aren't careful.
Overall: a very nice effort on your first knife!
Sheepdog80
Member
Kev no I haven't heat treated it yet this was a piece of mild steel to practice on I have ordered me some 1095 and when it comes in I will definitely drill holes before heat treatment thank you for the advice.
John you gave me a lot to digest thank you,I was using a block of wood cut on a 5 degree angle for my bevel do I need to need to make the angle more like 10 degrees to keep of the spine or is it just a time on task thing?
John you gave me a lot to digest thank you,I was using a block of wood cut on a 5 degree angle for my bevel do I need to need to make the angle more like 10 degrees to keep of the spine or is it just a time on task thing?
John Wilson
Well-Known Member
it's just practice.
Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
C Craft
Well-Known Member
John, gave a lot of good advice.
Handle design was mentioned, and along those lines. A boxy handle is often uncomfortable. That doesn't mean the what you have their will not turn out to be a uncomfortable handle, it is more about the outer lines of the handle. I usually shoot for no less than 4.5" and some like to go to 5.5". I personally usually stop around 5".
One thing I can share with you whether you are using bolsters on a knife or letting the handle run all the way to ricasso. All shaping and most if not all finish work in that area needs to be done before the handle is attached.
As it is almost impossible to work the area without doing something to screw up the blade while trying to shape or grind the handle!!
One thing I think I am seeing the edge is ground too thin for a post-HT on the knife. You should shoot for a minimum thickness at blades edge less than the thickness of a dime. Sometimes it is better to leave slightly more. That often depends on the type and design of blade! Some will not even grind a bevel at all till after HT.
All and all it looks as if you are headed in a good direction!! It looks better than most 1st blades!!
Here is a link for a man that knows on handling 1095 steel!
http://www.cashenblades.com/steel/1095.html
Handle design was mentioned, and along those lines. A boxy handle is often uncomfortable. That doesn't mean the what you have their will not turn out to be a uncomfortable handle, it is more about the outer lines of the handle. I usually shoot for no less than 4.5" and some like to go to 5.5". I personally usually stop around 5".
One thing I can share with you whether you are using bolsters on a knife or letting the handle run all the way to ricasso. All shaping and most if not all finish work in that area needs to be done before the handle is attached.
As it is almost impossible to work the area without doing something to screw up the blade while trying to shape or grind the handle!!
One thing I think I am seeing the edge is ground too thin for a post-HT on the knife. You should shoot for a minimum thickness at blades edge less than the thickness of a dime. Sometimes it is better to leave slightly more. That often depends on the type and design of blade! Some will not even grind a bevel at all till after HT.
All and all it looks as if you are headed in a good direction!! It looks better than most 1st blades!!
Here is a link for a man that knows on handling 1095 steel!
http://www.cashenblades.com/steel/1095.html
Sheepdog80
Member
Thank you C Craft you all have been giving great advice,this was a practice run on mild steel never had the intent to ht this one I didn't want to ruin a good piece of knife steel my first time out,but I should have my blade steel here next week so we will see how it turns out on round two.
Entropy762
Well-Known Member
That looks really good. Way better than my first.
Jake
Jake
I am pretty new to this myself, but from what I see you are off to a good start...echoing what John Wilson mentioned, I would seriously consider making or purchasing a file guide to clean up your plunge lines. The advice I would humbly offer: Take your time and think about your next move when grinding bevels...if you try to hog off too much too fast you will ultimately end up chasing your bevel line all the way to the spine. If I may also add....the best piece of advice I have ever gotten (from this forum) was basically "If you make a mistake don't get pissed off and throw it away....figure out What you did wrong and FIX it, then use what you learned on the next blade, and the next, etc."