"My very first knife" - post up!

Robert Dark said:
Rex, you should see some of Tom's knives. He is as old as dirt, and almost as ugly as I am, but he can grind like most folks only dream of.

Robert
Click to expand...

Robert,
I'm planning on putting a club together in the near future, and I'm hoping when I put on and sponsor "old farts day", I can get you 2 to, "come on down, and join me!" No, there will not be, "A NEW CAR!!!"
OK, I'm kidding around, actually the plan is to see how much interest there is in starting a club for old and new knifemakers, I'm kinda envisioning the 2nd Thursday at Uncle Al's
sorta thing, except it'll probably be on Saturday, with a few less Mastersmiths! I doubt you 2 would want to join me being so far away, it wouldn't be all that beneficial with the distance...then again I have some ideas that may make it worth your while. I would like to have you guys come down to share some knowledge, or maybe we might be able to come up there. I'm only planning on getting the club kicked off, once that's done the members will pick the Prez and the rest of the officers, my only requirement is that it be open for everyone, even a few I don't care for, and that EVERYONE share some of their knowledge with EVERYONE!!! That'll thin the group out a lot, especially since I want to allow kids (with a parent of course!), I was talking to a knife maker Saturday at the GunShow, I've heard a lot of people mention his name, saying he made some nice knives, but I'd not ever run across him until then, and yes he does make some nice knives. Super nice guy, his name is William Brown, he goes by Billy Brown, but I think he mainly goes by Feigh Brown, have you heard of him? He lives in Hope Hull, AL. I'm planning on going by his shop as soon as everything settles down around the house, we still have a ton of stuff to do, to get all the way moved in, but once that's done I think I will start getting the club kicked off, it sure would be nice to have some accomplished makers attend the first meeting....<hint> <hint>, any ideas??? I'll let you that one soak in for a while.

BTW - Robert, you need to be showing more of your work on here too, if...and that is a big IF, my memory serves me right, didn't you show me an extremley pretty knife at Batsons a couple years ago? I'm not sure if it was a slip joint, but I'm thinking it was, I do remember, for sure, it was very nice! Whatever it was!!! Brain surgery aint' for sissy's! The lingering effects are terrible!!!! Maybe we can badger Tom into showing us some pics!! What do you say Tom, got any pics to show us?? If not go take some!!!
Put them on here, PLEASE!?!? Thanks Guys, Rex
 
Tom Militano said:
Here's one I finished lately. I'm having a lot of problems with my hands, so my grinding has slowed down some.
P1060031.jpg
Click to expand...


DANG TOM!!!!
I didn't see this one, before I asked for some pics, that baby is S-W-E-E-T!!!! Love the Turks head knot too!!! Those are such a pain to tie, but the effect is awesome!!!! The red Sting Ray skin is beautiful!!!! That is awesome dude!!!
BTW, don't worry about not looking like ...."anything else", now if you like someone else, there could be a problem, I mean just imagine, if you looked like Obama!!!! You could pick up "Radio Tokyo!!!"

GREAT WORK, I'm deeply impressed, kinda shocked, that such a NICE Tanto would be made in AL-FREAKIN-BAMA!!!! If we keep on we might be the next Arkansas for knifemakers!!!! With talent like that here, I don't see why not!!! REX
 
Tom Militano said:
Rex, I had a heavy background as a tool grinder for Uncle Sam, before I started making knives. I set up a tool grinding room at one of his depots and ran it for about four years. That isn't wood, it's some kind of man made stuff;. I'm not sure what it is.
Click to expand...

Now I see why Bruce says you started out an expert!! No matter what the handle is made of, it's a stunner of a 1st, heck for me that would be an awesome 50th knife!!!! Maybe I'm trying too hard to be inovative..., nah, I got to be me! Keep them coming, I'm loving this thread!!!! Thanks Bruce for thinking this one up!! Rex
 
Tom Militano said:
Rex, I had a heavy background as a tool grinder for Uncle Sam, before I started making knives. I set up a tool grinding room at one of his depots and ran it for about four years. That isn't wood, it's some kind of man made stuff;. I'm not sure what it is.
Click to expand...

I do believe that helped, your first was better than my tenth...honestky I've lost count, my son has it though! The Pup don't miss much, especially when it comes to my mistakes!
Rex
BTW, You said Depot, which branch were you in?
 
Great thread! Great Forum! Well I figured it would be only right for my first post to be of my first knives! I dont have any pics of my "very" first one but I will try to get some...
Heres my first wich technically is #2 one with my HF 1 X 30...its a file with whitetail antler...I gave it to a friend that helped me out a lot. Think i have enough pins in there?!
knife5.jpg


Heres the next one...Gave it to my dad...1095 with buffalo horn
IMG_3805Small.jpg


And heres the next one that I finished up just before Christmas...a guy at work bought it from me for his brother.
1095 with cocbolo and red liners...I cleaned it up a little more and took more pics but dont have them right now

IMG_5443800x600.jpg

IMG_5442800x600.jpg

IMG_5454800x600.jpg


All of these were done with my HF special...I have a 2 x 72 on order...cant wait to get it!!!!
 
Welcome to the pack Powalker. Thanks for the first posts on here too.
I cant see any reason to criticize first knives because the whole idea of this thread is to show improvement anyway. I can see design and handle advancements in your knives. Just wait until you get a better grinder. Its gonna make an instant leap forward.

Maybe one thing you might do is find one steel and stick with it. Its a hard thing to heat treat all different kinds of steels but if you become familiar with one the quality of the edge holding will build confidence in you as a maker and greatly broaden your customer base. Its always nice to hear good reports back from the end users.

powalker512 said:
BTW I am very new to knifemaking so any advise/critisizm is welcome!!
Click to expand...
 
Last edited:
Yeah I am goin to stick with 1095....for one its fairly cheap and easy to get and fairly easy to HT when you dont have much equipment. The only reason I used a file is because that is about all of the knowledge I had at the time....didnt know bout 1095 and all of these other steels.Thanks!
 
powalker512 said:
Yeah I am goin to stick with 1095....for one its fairly cheap and easy to get and fairly easy to HT when you dont have much equipment. The only reason I used a file is because that is about all of the knowledge I had at the time....didnt know bout 1095 and all of these other steels.Thanks!
Click to expand...

Although it has not necessarily been asked for, I feel compelled to offer my two cents:

Personally, I don't think that 1095 is quite as easy to heat treat as a lot of makers seem to want to make it out to be. For one, it has one of the shortest cooling curves of any knife steel. In other words, you have less than 2 seconds to get it from critical heat to your quench tank, and the steel also benefits from what is known as a "fast quenchant", such as Parks 50, or if you're feeling lucky, brine.
That's not to say that many knife makers (including myself) haven't successfully heat treated 1095 with veg. oil or canola oil, but when you start using these types of quenchants, you start adding even more factors for inconsistency of heat treat. It also benefits greatly from a very steady heat source such as an electric kiln. Go much past critical temp (1475F) and you start increasing the risk for grain growth. Very easy to do when heating with a forge and discerning temperature by color.

It is fairly cheap and easy to get, but at the same time, not all 1095 is created equal. Many knife makers claim to have gotten "questionable" batches that simply didn't heat treat like other batches of 1095 they've used.

Not trying to discourage you from trying something new, but if I were to want to start out with a simple carbon steel that I could heat treat myself with minimal equipment, I'd probably go with 1075/1080. Also quite cheap and easy to get.

Also, unless you're forging, stay away from HR (Hot Rolled) steel. CRA (Cold Rolled Annealed with save you a lot of heartache and extra work in the long run.
 
Powalker,
I was going to say about the same thing as Andrew about 1095. Its a challenge to get consistent results. I suggest 1084 and 5160. Both make knives capable of passing the ABS Cutting and bending tests with flying colors. Another advantage is you can use oil quenchant. Mineral oil is a good quench and doesnt leave heavy scale. Its available at ranch and home stores.
 
Thank yall for all of your advise....I had heard this but thought I was good with my trusty magnet:) I have been using mineral oil from tractor supply and it seems to work well. I need some input from yall on 1084 and 5160 on how to heat treat and all those particulars. I am willing to try something new. I just dont want to send anything off for HT. What about damascus? Is it the same as 1095? The reason I was using 1095 is that it was suggested to me by another knifmaker that is very good at what he does. He seen that file knife I made and said quit wasting your time with files because they are inconsistant and you have to anneal before you can get to work...I though that sounded right. Thanks Again!
 
powalker512 said:
Thank yall for all of your advise....I had heard this but thought I was good with my trusty magnet:) I have been using mineral oil from tractor supply and it seems to work well. I need some input from yall on 1084 and 5160 on how to heat treat and all those particulars. I am willing to try something new. I just dont want to send anything off for HT. What about damascus? Is it the same as 1095? The reason I was using 1095 is that it was suggested to me by another knifmaker that is very good at what he does. He seen that file knife I made and said quit wasting your time with files because they are inconsistant and you have to anneal before you can get to work...I though that sounded right. Thanks Again!
Click to expand...

I suppose I should have asked, but what exactly are you going to be using to bring your steel up to critical temp?

Coal Forge? Propane Forge? One brick forge? Torch? (If so what kind?) Bonfire? Bic Lighter?

A little more info on your setup will help to give some more precise advice on the easiest way for you to get the most consistent results.
 
Mr. Andrew I have a little homade propane forge I am using....when I first got into this I found it on craigslist for 50 bucks....not the best but it gets perty hot. I envy my little brothers..he has a 2 burner one he uses for farrier work but I cant shell out that kind of money right now. I have been quenching in a glass jar...dont think I will do that again...the sides dont get hot because of the mineral oil but the rim gets REALLY hot from the knife heat. I have done some reading on Mr Kevin Cashens stuff and I think I am sold on the idea of using 1084...I might even like it better than 1095. Thanks for your response and helping me out. Also I would like to say I appreciate the verse you have in your signature! A lot of people these days seem to forget where EVERYTHING comes from...thats all on that..dont want to get into a religious discusion on here:)
 
powalker512 said:
Mr. Andrew I have a little homade propane forge I am using....when I first got into this I found it on craigslist for 50 bucks....not the best but it gets perty hot. I envy my little brothers..he has a 2 burner one he uses for farrier work but I cant shell out that kind of money right now. I have been quenching in a glass jar...dont think I will do that again...the sides dont get hot because of the mineral oil but the rim gets REALLY hot from the knife heat. I have done some reading on Mr Kevin Cashens stuff and I think I am sold on the idea of using 1084...I might even like it better than 1095. Thanks for your response and helping me out. Also I would like to say I appreciate the verse you have in your signature! A lot of people these days seem to forget where EVERYTHING comes from...thats all on that..dont want to get into a religious discusion on here:)
Click to expand...

As long as your forge can heat the steel to non-magnetic, you should be ok. Quench in some pre-warmed (about 130F) veg or mineral oil and then temper to taste. I normally temper around 400F for 10xx steels. I also tend to do at LEAST two temper cycles.
If you want to get a little more scientific about things, they do make some temperature sticks that melt at given temperatures. Get some rated for about 1500F or so if you wish. That, or you could get a pyrometer to help monitor the temperature of your forge.

I am almost exclusively using 1095 for my blades, but I normally let the steel soak at critical temp for around 5 minutes if I can, just to ensure everything is good to go.

As far as the question about damascus, it all depends on what kind of steels are in the blade. Often, it's two steels with a fairly similar heat treat process, so you'll sometimes be good to go with standard practices.

At any rate, make sure to test your blades after heat treat and see how they perform. This doesn't necessarily mean you need to go out and buy a rockwell tester or send them to a lab... just start cutting some things. You'll quickly find out if your process is flawed if your edge starts rolling, chipping out, or dulling too quickly. I often cut through a piece of 14 to 16 gauge electrical wire to test my edges for chipping and rolling. Maybe not the most scientific aproach, but it seems to work for me.

Now, as for the verse, I figured it was appropriate for a knife forum... ;) After all, aren't we all looking for the sharpest edges we can find?
 
I know this is a late post, I haven't been to this area of the forums before. As far as the poor grinds go there is a fix called an EDM stone which can make poor grinds look good.
I would like to share my first. DanK2-04.jpg
 
Theres no such thing as a late post here. I hope it goes on until everybody posts.
Nice folder Dan.
I use an EDM stone but need to get some in various grits. Mine is a 220 grit and I have about a 1000 grit with nothing in between. Where do you get yours?
dan van said:
I know this is a late post, I haven't been to this area of the forums before. As far as the poor grinds go there is a fix called an EDM stone which can make poor grinds look good.
I would like to share my first. DanView attachment 29695
Click to expand...
 
Thanks for the compliments guys. Bruce I used to work in a couple of mold shops where is was easy to pick up discarded EDM stones. I also did purchasing at one shop where I ordered stones and supplies from Gesswein. Dan
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top