A Gal's first knife -- Very in progress

That's a nice first effort. You chose well and didn't bite off more than you could handle (unlike me, who thought it would be an awesome idea to start off on a 1/4" thick 12" x 4" piece of D2).

As a result, your efforts paid off and that's a nice knife. Send that sucker off and get it treated.
 
Looks good, do a couple more before sending off to HT, you may learn a couple things on the next couple that you can still tweak on the first.

A solid start.

PS: Might want to get some thin medical type gloves to work with (your cold sanding and filing) so your hands don't end up like most of ours ;)
 
That looks really good for a first knife! Heck it looks good for a fifth knife. Certainly better than my grinds hehe. All the advice given seems good as well. It's odd, literally yesterday I was thinking of posting to ask if there were any female knife makers.
 
It looks great and I only have one suggestion that hasn't been mentioned yet.

If you only plan to do a paracord handle this isn't an issue, but if you ever decide to put scales on, you will run into the following problem: The hole is too close to the ricasso. You will run the risk of chipping your wood when you add pins. I like to keep my front pin at least .5" from the edges of the wood, otherwise the wood just gets too thin and can break. If any of that makes sense.
 
jonnymac44 said:
Very cool! Nice first effort, and I'll echo some of the others that it's great to see a lady making knives. My wife is as supportive as they come, one of the best knife maker's wives in the business I am certain.....but I'm still trying to convince her to grab some steel and grind. I'll show her this thread for sure!
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That would be awesome if she started...I can't believe how fun it has been! Major addiction! Now it's hard to actually get things done around the house cause all I want to do is work on my knife (and future ones)!

bladsmth said:
I have some pink paracord I use for ladies knives that would go great on that. Send me an email and I'll toss some in a mailer.
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I will certainly email you! I can't thank you enough for all of your instructions...I have read them over and over and been reading them all along the way. Wouldn't know what to do without them!

strider214 said:
Outstanding (the knife and nail polish)! I am just getting started and you are way ahead of me already. I guess I'm a little envious that someone's first attempt has the plunge looking as good as yours with that nicely curved shoulder. How the heck you do it?

I agree that you should round off the angle on the spine to flow a little better.
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I felt the same because I saw some incredible first knives! I followed all of Stacy's instructions from the stickies. I had no idea how to do a flat grind so I checked on youtube from 3riverblades as well as a few others. I tried to mimic the motion on the grinder, but still found it a little difficult. It's hard to see the angle that they have the blade on the belt grinder from the video, i think it would be easier to see it done in person by a professional. But it was definitely somewhere to start.

jawilder said:
It looks great and I only have one suggestion that hasn't been mentioned yet.

If you only plan to do a paracord handle this isn't an issue, but if you ever decide to put scales on, you will run into the following problem: The hole is too close to the ricasso. You will run the risk of chipping your wood when you add pins. I like to keep my front pin at least .5" from the edges of the wood, otherwise the wood just gets too thin and can break. If any of that makes sense.
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That is very good advice...in fact, I've even talked about the possibility of eventually putting scales on it. Once I start getting a hang of working with the steel, my next adventure will be scales as well as doing my own HT. I have a loooong way to go, but I have been having an amazing time!

As for the edge that I was a little worried about, it does look consistent throughout, so I think it will be okay during HT.

Will probably order some high grit belts today from trugrit so that I will have them when I need them :)
 
I just had a thought - bold, confident, likes guns, lives in Salt Lake and used to live in Paris, France. Do you guys suppose Charli is really a nom-de-forge for.....Naaaahhhhh.
 
My feelings echo my buddy JonnyMac's post. :thumbup: :cool:

I do NOT agree about rounding the spine anywhere. ;) :) I think your blade profile is great... it's got a fighter/bowie-ish feeling to it because of that shape, which IMHO is a really cool thing. I would, however, round off the facet you have on the butt end of the handle. The hands like smooth and curved surfaces.

Guys- I clicked on her blog--- she is a police officer! So I doubt she is as worried about getting her hands dirty as you may think. ;) :)

I hope you follow up on this as you go. And FWIW- I personally think it's kind of crazy when someone does a WIP on their first knife but do it in a way that sounds instructional...:confused:

The way you are doing yours, on the other hand, is a GREAT idea as it shows your humility, but does allow you to easily seek advice from more experienced folks... which could save a person a whole lot of headache/heartache! :thumbup: :)
 
I agree with Jonny and Nick. No matter what a knife looks like there will be people that like it and people that don't, so make what YOU like. No matter how many mistakes/errors you make it should still be a good usable knife. If you want, send it to me when you are ready for heat treat and I will give it my utmost attention. And since it is your first one I'll do it for free. Thank you for your LE service, good luck, & welcome to the addiction.

Darrin
 
Darrin you are the coolest guy ever.

Charli this is fantastic work, and much more so considering it's a first knife.
 
This thread is refreshing in many ways. Welcome to ST and keep up the good work!
 
If you ever want to put scales on it you could always drill the hole for the scale just a little behind the one you have at the ricasso. You might want to trace it on a piece of paper and play with where the scales should start in relation to the ricasso. With the existing hole being so close you might have to slant or round the start of the scales to hide that hole.
 
NickWheeler said:
My feelings echo my buddy JonnyMac's post. :thumbup: :cool:

I do NOT agree about rounding the spine anywhere. ;) :) I think your blade profile is great... it's got a fighter/bowie-ish feeling to it because of that shape, which IMHO is a really cool thing. I would, however, round off the facet you have on the butt end of the handle. The hands like smooth and curved surfaces.

Guys- I clicked on her blog--- she is a police officer! So I doubt she is as worried about getting her hands dirty as you may think. ;) :)

I hope you follow up on this as you go. And FWIW- I personally think it's kind of crazy when someone does a WIP on their first knife but do it in a way that sounds instructional...:confused:

The way you are doing yours, on the other hand, is a GREAT idea as it shows your humility, but does allow you to easily seek advice from more experienced folks... which could save a person a whole lot of headache/heartache! :thumbup: :)
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Nick, thanks for the kind words and looking at my blog. It needs some updating and I plan on writing some updates about my new hobby. I agree about the butt of the knife. Originally I wanted the butt a little bit rugged because I was going to be carrying it at work and could use it for striking purposes in the event that I was in a fight; both ends of the knife would be useful. However, due to the length of the knife, the butt will end up being a "hot spot" and would be uncomfortable. I will head back to the grinder and round the butt of the knife to make it more comfortable and hopefully more aesthetically pleasing.

darrin sanders said:
I agree with Jonny and Nick. No matter what a knife looks like there will be people that like it and people that don't, so make what YOU like. No matter how many mistakes/errors you make it should still be a good usable knife. If you want, send it to me when you are ready for heat treat and I will give it my utmost attention. And since it is your first one I'll do it for free. Thank you for your LE service, good luck, & welcome to the addiction.

Darrin
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Thank you! I will send it your way as soon as its ready and will take care of the return shipping!

I was debating on whether or not to jimp. After reading prior posts, it seems like its completely personal preference. Also seems like something I could really mess up with my lack of experience. I am leaning towards not jimping since I like the look of it as is and don't know if I will have any slipping issues. But I am open to suggestions.
 
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Great start, C-Charli, welcome to the forum!

I'm a fan of rounded (or a least gently broken) edges where the hand contacts the spine, butt, or whatever. Even rounded, it will have plenty of striking power, it just won't cut as much.
Regarding jimping, it can be tricky to get even by hand, and then some entertaining sanding has to happen. Personally, I'd avoid guilding the first lily and save the jimping for another blade. You'll make many more, and each is an opportunity to build on the last one.

-Daizee
 
I agree, I think I'd be biting off more than I can handle! Always something to look forward to on the next knife. I've been trying to keep this as simple as possible following the K.I.S.S philosophy.
 
Simple is elegant !
( This is one of my favorite female examples in knife comparison. It may be a bit sexist, but many of these kids seem to have the light go on when explained that way :) ).

BTW, I really get a kick out of your username.....but you don't look all that dangerous compared to most of the chaps on this forum.
 
Spectacular. If you hadn't mentioned it was your first knife, I'd have wagered it was from experienced hands...........
 
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