Top three mistakes rookies make,,,

This is why I came here, The willingness to share excellent advice is overwhelming here. I never thought about micro fissures or other defects in the spring steel. It's extremely disappointing to get a blade all the way to final sanding stages only to find a crack. Now that I think about it one of my most favorite knives turned out with a fatal flaw while finish sanding It was extremely frustrating. I thought it was from overheating my Steel in the my coal Forge. But I guess it could have been there from the start. I'll use the steel for practice, and save the good stuff for when I am better at things. I stopped grinding on this one when I found the flaw , now it's just a piece of personal art. Thanks so much for your help0304192345.jpg
 
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BossDog said:
Several times you should enjoy....
Mis-drilling scales
Gluing them on backwards or wrong side
Cracking scales from pins that are too tight
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Ugh cracking scales with tight pins. Did this with a beautiful piece of amboyna burl. Never again, still mad about it.

Add in
Burning fingers because you touched the hot steel you were just grinding. I don't think I'll ever stop that, brain damage....
 
chrisstaniar said:
Ugh cracking scales with tight pins. Did this with a beautiful piece of amboyna burl. Never again, still mad about it.

Add in
Burning fingers because you touched the hot steel you were just grinding. I don't think I'll ever stop that, brain damage....
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I like to reference my position by lightly touching the belt while grinding with my finger. But let me tell you right now it's not a good idea to do that with a fresh 36 grit belt on. I'm just a bag of bones, but the bag is pretty thin in a couple of places.
 
"As for my vote for the number one mistake, and I may sound like a broken record, but I have learned from my mistakes and many other makers I have worked with- not resisting the temptation of starting out with scrap or mystery steel. "
Kevin R. Cashen

Kevin tirelessly work to raise the bar of knowledge on blade-smithing....He has his work cut out for him...
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75,000 members....SEVENTY FIVE THOUSAND....And not everyone is using old files...lol.
 
I fully understand the need to know what your metal is so you know how to treat it. And if you're selling knives it goes without question as absolute necessity. But for the hobby guys and some of us green people I have a green streak yes, it's a lot of fun to take a useless piece of scrap and turn it into a useful tool. Even if it isn't perfect or last forever. That being said I have built a couple of knives out of recycled leaf springs just to find a nasty fissure or crack on my final grinding. That hurts. So if you make your bed don't forget to sleep in it LOL thanks for the help man
 
I think a big mistake I see online is overconfidence. You see guys trying to sell their 3rd or 4th knife with 80 grit grind lines and rough filework for $500. Half of them look like a movie prop from Mad Max. If you're new, don't be ashamed to to say so and be humble. A lot of those guys dont stick with it and move one when they realize it's too much work to do things correctly.
 
Self Made Knives said:
I think a big mistake I see online is overconfidence. You see guys trying to sell their 3rd or 4th knife with 80 grit grind lines and rough filework for $500. Half of them look like a movie prop from Mad Max. If you're new, don't be ashamed to to say so and be humble. A lot of those guys dont stick with it and move one when they realize it's too much work to do things correctly.
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I hear what you're saying. And they figure they should be paid on some kind of an hourly basis to boot. Imagine what a truly Custom Knife Would cost if we just charged minimum wage for the hours invested.
 
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