I WILL completely finish this one!

it gets easier with each knife. the first 10 are like paddling a canoe uphill on asphalt. the good news is that these skills you are learning the hard way apply to every knife you'll ever make. you will get better very quickly because you have a great attitude.

one of the most important lessons you can learn also happens to be counterintuitive: Make everything flat flat flat. The end result is all about sexy curves and round edges, but the shortest route to get there is to always shoot for flatness at every stage. Flat blank. Flat scales. Flat bevels. Flat surfaces.

Round it off later.

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Kwzito said:
Thanks for the kind words ... but ... your knife is way better.
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I did not post my knife no. 1 picture to make it a contest. It was more of a challenge. For the record, my knife no. 1 looks like a prison shiv. It is ugly, poorly planned, and even more poorly executed. It is a turd!!

But, I am sort of proud of it. I'm not embarrassed to say it has a tootsie roll colored turd handle. At the time, it was the best knife that I could make. I have gotten better with each knife that I completed. So will you.

Bruce Bump posted a picture of one of his early knives some time ago. It was not all that different than yours and mine. He now makes some of the nicest knives on the planet. So, I still have grand dreams of where my knife building can blossom.

I wanted to show you that every knife maker was in your exact same position. You have to finish knife no. 1 in order to move on and make knife no. 2. So on and so on. Your skills will evolve.

John Wilson said it straight. You have a great attitude. I will add that you have a thirst for knife knowledge. Build on those characteristics and it will take you far in the knife building world.

BTW: When you finish knife no. 1. Keep it. Forever. Just saying. You will want to look back every once in a while and knife no. 1 is a great place to start.

DeMo
 
Y'all are the nicest and most supportive folks on the planet! There is no way I could be doing this without you all. Thank you!

Demo: I think I'm gonna sell this one. I'm thinking $10,000. Seems fair to me. lol ... This one is mine forever!




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Hey.... what is the "right way" to put the makers mark on the blade. I figure I should buy the stuff and do it correctly instead of making 300 crappy attempts, then buying the stuff and doing it correctly? Do you get someone to make your stencil? I'm lost on this front.


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Kwzito said:
Hey.... what is the "right way" to put the makers mark on the blade. I figure I should buy the stuff and do it correctly instead of making 300 crappy attempts, then buying the stuff and doing it correctly? Do you get someone to make your stencil? I'm lost on this front.
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You have to learn to use the search function on this site. There are a bunch of older threads that you need to see/use.

Here is one of them. Bruce Bump's first knife thread. It is a classic. Just take a look around in there for a while.

http://knifedogs.com/showthread.php?21543-quot-My-very-first-knife-quot-post-up!&highlight=stencil

You can search for stencil help. There are a ton of threads on that topic. Just go up to the top right hand side of this site. You will see a blank box with a magnifying glass icon. Under it says, "Advanced Search". Open that and you can type in "How to use a stencil" or "stencil mark a knife". You get the picture.

FYI: Google is your friend. You can search there also. You will get all kinds of websites and you-tubes. Lots of information is on the web for knife building. Just use a narrow search or you will be looking at knife porn for the whole day.

DeMo
 
Caleb White has a good video on YouTube about etching knives. If I remember correctly he even tells you where he buys his supplies.
 
DeMo said:
You have to learn to use the search function on this site. There are a bunch of older threads that you need to see/use.

Here is one of them. Bruce Bump's first knife thread. It is a classic. Just take a look around in there for a while.

http://knifedogs.com/showthread.php?21543-quot-My-very-first-knife-quot-post-up!&highlight=stencil

You can search for stencil help. There are a ton of threads on that topic. Just go up to the top right hand side of this site. You will see a blank box with a magnifying glass icon. Under it says, "Advanced Search". Open that and you can type in "How to use a stencil" or "stencil mark a knife". You get the picture.

FYI: Google is your friend. You can search there also. You will get all kinds of websites and you-tubes. Lots of information is on the web for knife building. Just use a narrow search or you will be looking at knife porn for the whole day.

DeMo
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Demo: you are the man!!! Thanks again!


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Still just a mock up .... and this is the messed up guard. I figured I'd practice on this one. I have a ton to do on the handle. I'm fairly happy with progress so far. It's ugly, but I'm happy with what I've learned. Just an update.


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LOL I think it is like that for most of us. Once bitten by the Knifemaking bug you are hooked! Every time I finish one I think hmm this or that would look good so I have to make another to try it!

Kwzito said:
Thank you very much! And to be honest with y'all... I don't think I can stop. I'm still new to the hobby, but I can't even think of anything else.


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Hally72 said:
LOL I think it is like that for most of us. Once bitten by the Knifemaking bug you are hooked! Every time I finish one I think hmm this or that would look good so I have to make another to try it!
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Lol you just described my life haha. The hardest part is to NOT do crazy stuff and mess up one that you are trying to finish... the reason I haven't finished one yet lol. But this one will make it to the end!!!


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The next knife I make, will be done under a microscope lol. I'm paying DEARLY for the sloppy scratches on this blade. I bet it would be cool to see not only people's first knife but their second as well. The difference is prob astounding. I have learned so much!


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First knife.
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Second knife.

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I still had big scratches to sand out. It was several hours after work for 2 days.
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It gets easier. Just be patient.
 
Hey...how many of you listen to music while sanding? Lol. Kinda like having a "drummer" on a roman slave ship?


I don't know if a microscope is necessary...lol. But good bright light is...especially close to the work at hand. Coupla 10$ droplights from WalMart with 100 watt equiv LED bulbs down close and at an angle to the work makes them scratches look like canyons....lol. Seriously...lol.
 
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Smallshop said:
Hey...how many of you listen to music while sanding? Lol. Kinda like having a "drummer" on a roman slave ship?
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I can't hand sand unless I have music going. Any other time I am focused on the task at hand. With sanding, if I don't have music going I'll quickly lose patience and just want it to be over- and that's when I will turn out some rushed looking scrubby work and have to redo it. Hand sanding is something where I need to find a happy place mentally. I have to settle in and not allow myself to begin hating it.
 
Hand sanding is my favorite part. Weird I know. I listen to audio books.
That is curly maple with a leather dye finish. I have plenty that I might be willing to share if you're interested.
 
Got new guard in today. What do y'all think about the fit on the guard? What's nice is that my plan worked. I knew the guard had 1/8 slot so I left the tang a little thick
.132. When I got the guard in, it took very little filing. Even though this is very simple to accomplish, I'm excited that I'm at least progressing past the stage of gorilla filing lol. Thanks guys .... more to come.
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