Two day apprentice....

Smallshop

Smallshop

KNIFE MAKER
My friend's son has been in the shop yesterday (9am- 8:45 pm...1/2 hr lunch) and today...He had a file that he had annealed properly and shaped into and attractive drop point hunter with a convex grind and a handle he had already shaped (Grrrr...what can you say...lol)

yesterday...He heat treated and tempered the blade, cleaned the scale, put in the handle pocket for the hidden tang, fit the tang, handle, and guard...and drilled two pin holes for the pins. Epoxied them all together, put a finish on the handle...

Today....shorten pins, touch up handle, started the sheath while the touch up finish is drying....I think we'll be done at 4-5 o'clock.

My part was to fire up the HT furnace...heat the quench oil...show him how to drill the tang hole and cross holes on a handle that shouldn't have been finish that far...lol. help him with handle finish...and how not to waste Ted's leather...lol...starting on sheath #2...

He is 12...this is his 4th knife...he is selling it to his sister as a Christmas gift for her husband. He listens...knows about knives...has a real good eye. I will try to post a pic when he is finished....this knife is amazing for a young guy his age....
 
elijah.jpg

i think he did great! Showed him Ed Caffrey method of sharpening...and he has it shaving (after a few tries...)

I think he has a real eye for design! The thing just feels nice in the hand....3.4" blade, 4.2" handle, old,old hickory file for steel, convex ground, maple burl handle, stainless pins...as usual my pic leaves something to be desired...lol.
 
Now that is slick! Everyone is different, but there's not much that I enjoy more than helping someone along that path of making a knife (even though it stretches me sometimes :) ). I hope it is as rewarding for you! And along the way, I'm sure he's learning much more than just how to make a knife! Thanks for sharing that. God bless you and your willingness to give of yourself,
Merry Christmas!
 
bladegrinder said:
12 years old huh? that's a preeeeety good looking knife for a twelve year old. ;)
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Yep...I showed him how to finish the handle...and I helped him on the rough grind of the convex (he had it too steep to get a final grind angle) everything else is his...he showed up with the handle shaped and the knife shape finished, and the guard finished....so very little involvement from me.;) Well...he heard more philosophy than he probably wanted to...LOL!

sometimes talent is just talent...lol.DSC01652.JPG
 
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He has a little shop at home...1 x 36 belt sander...pedestal grinder...some power tools...files, etc. The only way he is allowed to watch TV is to earn TV time....for every hour in the shop (his or mine) he earns an hour of TV time....He told me that he liked working on this knife because my equipment works better AND he earned 20 hours of TV time on this project...lol. I think his folks are on to something...
 
Smallshop said:
He has a little shop at home...1 x 36 belt sander...pedestal grinder...some power tools...files, etc. The only way he is allowed to watch TV is to earn TV time....for every hour in the shop (his or mine) he earns an hour of TV time....He told me that he liked working on this knife because my equipment works better AND he earned 20 hours of TV time on this project...lol. I think his folks are on to something...
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It wont be long before he quits the deal for tv time prefering instead to be in the shed or he will build up so much tv time that he will never use it (nor want to) in his or his childrens lifetimes.
 
Smallshop said:
He has a little shop at home...1 x 36 belt sander...pedestal grinder...some power tools...files, etc. The only way he is allowed to watch TV is to earn TV time....for every hour in the shop (his or mine) he earns an hour of TV time....He told me that he liked working on this knife because my equipment works better AND he earned 20 hours of TV time on this project...lol. I think his folks are on to something...
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Tell his parents thank you!!!! There are still responsible parents left!! Tell that young man he is lucky.
 
Von Gruff said:
It wont be long before he quits the deal for tv time prefering instead to be in the shed or he will build up so much tv time that he will never use it (nor want to) in his or his childrens lifetimes.
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That is what is happening...they have to pry him out of the shop. The main thing he learned from me is patience...not to rush when excited...and how to do a super-glue finish on the handle...

What did I learn? Might wanna try some hidden tang knives...lol
 
Smallshop said:
Yep...I showed him how to finish the handle...and I helped him on the rough grind of the convex (he had it too steep to get a final grind angle) everything else is his...he showed up with the handle shaped and the knife shape finished, and the guard finished....so very little involvement from me.;) Well...he heard more philosophy than he probably wanted to...LOL!

sometimes talent is just talent...lol.View attachment 66631
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You couldn't wipe that grin off his face if you tried! Yep, he is hooked!!
 
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