Seeking advice on blade shape

G

Grayden Cameron

Member
I was in the shop in between projects and had some extra pieces laying around so I thought I would try my first hidden tang knife as a dry run for a bowie knife a friend wants me to make him. As I was planning out the blade I thought that I would try and make a bit of a harpoon style blade as well and below is what I ended up with.

scjg5y1.jpg



Now my question is that to my eye near the tip the lines of the spine seem to be "off" or not "flow". What would be your advice should I drop the tip down to flow more in line with the rear of the spine or should I go with something more like a clip point? Just hoping for some feedback from some more knowledgable makers this is one of those things that just doesn't quite look "right" Thanks in advance.

PS I was able to fit up the guard without any gaps so the original intent of the project was a success.
 
Greydon, I think that your eye is very good and it is telling you that the original blade shape is not condusive to the harpoon treatment. Having been a trial knife it is a tremendous success as you have proved your stick tang technique but to my eye as well it looks like you have tried to incorporate two distinct styles on the one knife. A typical straight backed and narrow blade such as you have started with is not complimented by the harpoon.

It would be helpfull to start with a design on paper after perusing a number of knives that have been made from the ground up to have that style of blade and see how they flow and more importantly, the type of blade shape that works best with the harpoon and how it related to the rest of the blade shape.

I do hope you except this as constructive and not critical.
 
I believe the reason it might not be pleasing to the eye is because the manner in which the "harpoon" was accomplished. In this instance the harpoon was ground in, reducing the cross section of the blade. It's a situation that occurs when just about any feature of a knife is done as an after thought. Generally the "harpoon" feature looks best when it's designed into the blade..... the spine is left full width, and the harpoon feature "protrudes" about the straight line of the spine. I'm not knocking it at all, just trying to explain why it might not be pleasing to the eye in this blade profile.
 
Thanks for the thoughtful responses this is what I was hoping to get back. I will take your advice and use it moving forward. I enjoy trying new techniques and methods in knifemaking that is what makes this such a enjoyable hobby for me. I will at some point sit down and adjust the profile and have this one used as a bit of a tester to see how my geometry and overall design works and feels in the hand hunting season is in full swing here in British Columbia and no better time to test out some a blade.

PS Ed I watched your video on Youtube on using Tru-oil to finish on wooden handles and it really worked turned out nice with this handle in the sunlight the grain really has some nice chatoyance. Thanks for sharing your knowledge and techniques.
 
I think Ed hit the nail on the head with his comments. I was trying to think of how to explain it but he nailed it. Almost looks more like a gut hook then harpoon. It is a nice knife though dont get me wrong.
 
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