Watch a 17 year old learn to make knives.

LiamLynch

LiamLynch

Well-Known Member
I am going to be doing this thread so I have somewhere to put all my news and what not. I'm trying to do something like Steven Long's thread only not quite so well. I will put here all my progress making knives and sheaths and what not but also I will put up new designs and patterns I think up in this cranium of mine, if I make something non knife related I will probably put it here as we'll so as to keep everything together. I will try and sort out the pictures properly at some point but I might still be posting links for a while. image.jpgimage.jpgimage.jpgimage.jpgimage.jpgimage.jpg
The completed knife is where I stand now. The the other pictures are of a design I call the "Tassie Devil" I'm making it for a chap from Bruny Tasmania. You can kind of see the design but I will put up pictures of the 4 designs I am working on tomorrow. They are all in 2.7ish mm CPM 154-CM from Aldo who charged squat for a 36*2" of the stuff. I am doing a Tassie Devil Mk.I and Mk.II which are slightly different, a sabatier which is nameless at the moment and a funny looking paring knife which is also nameless. I will document the building if my business also, by the time I can get a business running my knives should be saleable to strangers.
 
Hey, that's neato ! I started knifemaking back when I was 16. That was 1996... Now 17 years later I'm still learning. You've got a great start there ! Keep up the good work !
 
David, I must have started when I was around 14 but this is things starting to properly kick off. Here are the three designs I'm working on. The first is my take on the sabatier, I won't be doing the bolsters though. The second is a paring knife for the mother. There is another 3/4" added to the blade length in reality, it is almost a wharnecliff I think. I tried to make the point not too aggressive so my sister can use it when she learns to use a knife. The last is my Tassie Devil Mk.I. I spent a long time designing this knife with the guy until he was completely happy with the design. There are two lanyard holes for instance as he wanted to be able to have a braid of 'chute cord like a D-guard. He insisted on serrations and I have done my best to create a design allowing the serrations to be easily maintained. The Mk.II differs only in the lack of serrations and the handle is a slightly different size.
 

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Sorry guys but tonight I've got nothing for you. I can't work on the knives because I seem to have contracted some horrible strain of lurgy rendering me useless. I have only my thoughts tonight (GMT), and said thoughts are thus; dont keep your children inside, it ruins their immune system and they get stuck inside when they are old enough to have things to do. Back to making stuff. What do you do with off cuts. I will have a few rather hefty pieces, I don't really want to waste them. They are around 2" long and of varying widths and thicknesses. Also is there any way of getting a matte finish without a bead blaster? They are cool but I don't want to spend the money on one.
 
Just a quick update at luncheon time before I get back to grinding. It's certainly harder to move than O1. I have a new toy that isn't quite a KMG but it is close. The blade is bigger than the card pattern made it feel.
 

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I don't know what it is like for grinding bevels but it is good for shaping handles. I might try a taper tang on the paring knife as well.
 
You may not be able to grind evenly on that machine but you can file in your plunge lines and then Hog off a lot of steel with the belt sander and then even it up with files and paper.

That should work great on handles. Remember to wear a mask.
 
That's what I'm doing, it's slow enough that in remembering to take pictures as I go. I am nearly finished after 2 hours of grinding as opposed to around eight in a smaller blade and O1 which grinds easier.

I am using a paper mask which is better than black snot for a week. I'll put up the pictures when I'm done in the shed.
 
I'm finished for the day, that's me got a blade profiled and bevels ground in 10 hours which is faster than without a grinder. I couldn't get a very nice grind using my left hand on the grinder but I managed to clean it up. I am in the process of preparing the blade for heat treatment now. I am pretty pleased with myself to get this far in 2 days work. I was going to upload more pictures of grinding but you guys know what it looks like. This is the blade so far. I messed up one of the pin holes but there are six more and a tube hole as well, so it won't be weakened really. The client has decided against serrations after I showed him the picture of the blade. That makes things a lot easier for me. I will hopefully flatten the shee-oak scales tomorrow
 

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I got a deposit this morning for a knife I designed a while ago. This time it's going to WA. It is a model I called the Pict. This one is big. It's 250mm long and the blade is around 7" I think. It will be ground from 4mm 14C28N with 304SS pins and a curly jarrah handle. It is the one second from the top.
 

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Sicilian767 thought of naming the knives after local tribes, the closest tribe to me were the Picts so that's where it came from. The blue wasn't tattoos I don't believe but war paint. To wear blue into battle meant that you would either return victorious or dead. He wants a leather sheath with it so it won't look tactical so much.
 
Liam,
Leather may not look tactical to young people, but leather and wood are the original tactical sheathing materials. :biggrin:
 
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