"My very first knife" - post up!

John Wilson said:
This thread has been key to my persistence in knifemaking. Back when I started, all I saw were pictures of what looked to me like other-worldly creations forged by angels. Meanwhile my knives were almost good enough to be used to scrape out the bottom of the deep fryer at a D- health code rated corndog stand.
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That’s hilarious! I know what you mean though. I have a bunch of rejects in a box somewhere. My better knives are useful for spreading epoxy and such. My best knives are sold and in the hands of hunters and collectors. Just don’t stop, they get better
 
ok, everybody else doin it so here it is - my VERY FIRST knife - made it with an old lawnmower blade - i think i heard a guy on forged in fire say that some mower blades are hardenable. all common newbie mistakes are present - pin not centered, poor grind line, darn handle too short, its literally too short to get a grip on. anyway keepin it as memorabilia.
 

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victoroni said:
thank you john for being so gentle - i was actually proud of it when first finished - fortunately i found the dogs shortly thereafter !
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Can relate. My first knife (knives) were horrible. It's sickening to think about how much work I actually put into them and how bad they turned out for all that effort. But that's how learning goes, doesn't it? I've learned much more from failure- probably because I have more practice.
 
i guess thats part of what makes it such a fulfilling pastime - the anticipation of personal improvement - attempting to craft every knife a little better than the last one. knowing that perfection doesn't exist yet aspiring to it anyway !
 
Here's my first from Aug '18. Strange turn that actually got me started. I'd been piddling with handling some blanks and doing some playing with regrinding on a 1x30 since maybe 2015. I got real determined to be a knifemaker, and in April 2017 we bought a place in the country...with a nice 30x40 shop. I had to completely redo the house. Completely. It took me 9 months. About halfway into that, my dad shows up one day while I'm working on the house. His neighbor was moving, and sold all of his knife making stuff for $600. That was an NC Whisper lowboy, 100lb II&B anvil, 12spd drill press, Baldor buffer, oxy/ace torch set, 9"x48" sander, table saw, and a raft of other small stuff. I had *NO* interest in forging. Fast forward to Aug '18. I'd completed my 2x72 build and was kinda just trying to scratch funds together for an oven. Then it just dawned on me that I had all the stuff to make a knife, if I forged it and heat treated it in the forge...enough waiting! A pack of leaf springs and a ridiculously long time in front of the forge and a couple gallons of canola, we had a knife. And I paid the bill for all that equipment with it. ;)

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Bump

This thread is a gold mine of inspiration for new and seasoned makers alike. For old farts it’s a good way to look back and appreciate how far you have come. For new makers it’s a glimmer of hope to realize that makers who turn out otherworldly masterpieces weren’t hatched from an egg with that level of skill.

I wish every maker on this site would share their humble beginnings here.
 
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John Wilson said:
Bump

This thread is a gold mine of inspiration for new and seasoned makers alike. For old farts it’s a good way to look back and appreciate how far you have come. For new makers it’s a glimmer of hope to realize that makers who turn out otherworldly masterpieces weren’t hatched from an egg with that level of skill.

I wish every maker on this site would share their humble beginnings here.
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My first knife is so abysmal that this will be the first time I've actually posted it. When I pulled it out I decided it was so crappy that it needed a name so here is Creepy the knife from the abyss.

https://imgur.com/oddOQVn

I did everything wrong that is possible for a first knife. I used a bolster, gaps every where...And the steel was no name... 1/4 thick. The only thing I do like about it...well not really like...is the pins for the bolsters don't show. Thanks to a four pound sledge.
 
My first was made back around 2012. I made it for my dad. After about 5 knives I quit and started refurbishing old RCA and other record players.

I just started back with the knife hobby last year. I'm much more patient and I enjoy the hobby a lot more second time around...

Here is the very first.

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Ok... here it is. First knife. Time has NOT been good to it. Excuse the inconsistent finish on the blade. That's just where I sanded the rust off of it real quick before I took the picture. I shined up the handle, too. It's a tung oil and linseed oil finish.

The blade is mystery metal. A file won't grab on it. It was a piece of 1" round shaft that I got for free. A LOT of hammering to get it to look like a blade. Started out trying to make a 5 inch blade - got good at hiding mistakes by the end of grinding it. The wood for the handle is some figured white oak that saved from an OLD wind-fall on family land that we milled. Added copper sheet to either end of the wood handle.

Not only my first knife, but I had just learned how to light the forge LOL. Took a solid 30 minutes to get it hot enough to forget and lots of fiddling (takes maybe 3 or 4 now, not bad for anthracite).


Oh, and the reason it rusted was I damaged the handle (I don't remember how, been a long time) and had it on the bench to be repaired then just forgot about it. Humid in the summer in VA.
 

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