Fist time freehand filing ffg knife bevels

L

Londinium Armoury

Joined
Jun 2, 2020
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1,044
Not my first knife https://imgur.com/a/scLGgM4
Okay so it's not my first knife, but it is kind of a first, for completely freehand filing 2 ffg bevels. I used a vallorbe chainsaw file to start off the plunge lines.
Then filed down at a sharp angle to meet the middle scribe line on the edge flat on each side.
Then just freehand filed the flat primary bevels and blended it all in.
Just draw filed it to finish, now I'm about to start hand sanding.
This knife has already been named the “Olive Oil“ because it's plain and boring.
 
Londinium Armoury said:
Not my first knife https://imgur.com/a/scLGgM4
Okay so it's not my first knife, but it is kind of a first, for completely freehand filing 2 ffg bevels. I used a vallorbe chainsaw file to start off the plunge lines.
Then filed down at a sharp angle to meet the middle scribe line on the edge flat on each side.
Then just freehand filed the flat primary bevels and blended it all in.
Just draw filed it to finish, now I'm about to start hand sanding.
This knife has already been named the “Olive Oil“ because it's plain and boring.
Click to expand...
Looks clean. How long did it take you?

P2hoMkn.jpeg
 
Londinium Armoury said:
Thanks for posting the picture, it won't let me do it like that, I give up trying.
It took me under 2 hours to do it all including draw filing, also had a sneaky coffee break half way through.
Cheers.
Click to expand...
That's pretty quick. To get the picture to show, right-click on the picture on the imgur site and select "Copy image address" from the pop-up menu. In the forum editor, click on the "Image" button on the toolbar. Paste the copied image address into the field where it says "Image URL". If you do it right, the image will be visible in the editor.
 
Hubert S. said:
That's pretty quick. To get the picture to show, right-click on the picture on the imgur site and select "Copy image address" from the pop-up menu. In the forum editor, click on the "Image" button on the toolbar. Paste the copied image address into the field where it says "Image URL". If you do it right, the image will be visible in the editor.
Click to expand...

Testing image.
P2hoMkn.jpeg


Oh sweet, I can now do it, I'm such a spanner, I was just clicking copy image and not copy image address.
Thanks so much, now I can actually post pictures like a normal person.
 
Stacy E. Apelt - Bladesmith said:
Just a little refinement will soften that a lot.

View attachment 1547725
Click to expand...

I'm having a bit of trouble on the final finish level with scratch marks left by files. I try to leave enough meat left on the edge to compensate for hand sanding and final draw filing. But I seem to gorge a little deep especially around the plunge line. I keep stopping to card and brush the file off after about every 10 strokes, I think my bastard files might be a little too coarse, they seem to dig in really fast and hard and leave little deep scratch patterns.
I'm going to try a fine diamond flat file or something, I can't seem to get rid of the marks with sand paper alone, even coarse low grit stuff.
What kind of file should I be finishing with the draw filing before hand sanding? When I buy files they don't really give fine or course ratings, I think my files are too aggressive maybe. What files would you recommend?
Thank you.
 
EWiXUIE.jpg

Almost finished, decided to put my home made Micarta on it.
My digital callipers are broke, it's thinner behind the edge than a Spyderco Chaparral, but a tiny bit thicker than an Opinel number 8, if that helps judge it's geometry.
 
If your file is digging into the hardened blade ... the knife isn't hardened.
 
Stacy E. Apelt - Bladesmith said:
If your file is digging into the hardened blade ... the knife isn't hardened.
Click to expand...

The knife skates files even after tempering, I filed the bevels before heat treatment, the bastard files were just leaving heavy scratch patterns, and I'm having trouble finding bastard files that leave a finer scratch pattern, to make it easier when I transition to hand sanding.
 
Get a magicut file. They are pretty aggressive and leave a much finer finish than a standard bastard file.
 
A.McPherson said:
Get a magicut file. They are pretty aggressive and leave a much finer finish than a standard bastard file.
Click to expand...
Thank you, I will have a search online for some, hopefully they are for sale over here in the UK.
Cheers for the tip.
Edit: You mean the Nicholsen Magicut right? I just did a search and I think I found them on Amazon, Nicholsen Magicut models.
 
Londinium Armoury said:
The knife skates files even after tempering, I filed the bevels before heat treatment, the bastard files were just leaving heavy scratch patterns, and I'm having trouble finding bastard files that leave a finer scratch pattern, to make it easier when I transition to hand sanding.
Click to expand...
You can make file with sandpaper ..............half inch wide is enough and will remove scratch from file fast .
 
Natlek said:
You can make file with sandpaper ..............half inch wide is enough and will remove scratch from file fast .
Click to expand...

For 80% of the shallow scratch marks it's not a problem, but you get a small % that are a lot deeper and take a long time to hand sand out, and when I'm taking the stock down quite thin behind the edge I don't want deep scratch file marks because then I'm going to have to take the entire surface down to the level of the deepest file scratch, which will leave the stock too thin.
So I want to find finer grades of files so I don't have to take off more than I planned. If I plan to have a final BTE thickness of say 12 thou or 10 thou. I don't want a deep scratch that makes me take it as thin as 8 thou, it's also a lot of wasted time having to sand the entire blade, just because of a few deep scratches, I'd prefer to evenly prep it with a finer file finish before I start draw filing and hand sanding.
 
You can get some EDM stones to add to your repertoire.
I find they are a nice bridge between a coarse grit on the grinder and hand sanding.
 
Londinium Armoury said:
The knife skates files even after tempering, I filed the bevels before heat treatment, the bastard files were just leaving heavy scratch patterns, and I'm having trouble finding bastard files that leave a finer scratch pattern, to make it easier when I transition to hand sanding.
Click to expand...

Bastard is the name for coarse.
The bigger the file, the coarser it is too.

You should be able to find a flat, mill smooth in every hardware store.

https://archive.org/download/ATreatiseOnFilesAndRasps1878/A Treatise on Files and Rasps 1878.pdf


Files-teeth.jpg
 
Hey Londinium Armoury,
While this forum is the best for the wealth of knowledge, if you are living in the UK (think you posted you live in London) and need reference for tools you might want to check out a Edge Matters, a UK forum that you have to register to access. I am just a member and some time poster there. Tool availability and names can differ from one place to another. That Nicholson Magicut file that A. McPherson mentioned, very hard to find in the UK and very expensive if you do. If you haven't discovered Axminster Tools...well, maybe you need to entrust your wallet to someone else first ;) They do a good range of Vallorbe files.

I filed bevels for many years and found that the Vallorbe files were noticeably better than the Kennedy brand I bought through Cromwell industrial tools, which were in turn better than the junk sold to the domestic user in places like Homebase.

For final smoothing before sanding I used a single cut Mill Saw file. I second the recommendation for EDM stones, just have a look for Kemet Gesswein, 13x6x150 size. 220, 400 and 600 grits, used wet, at a 45 degree angle like a pencil so they wear evenly. Cuts faster than paper, but not as evenly, so not really good for final finishing, can leave deeper scratches than paper of the same grit.

For handle shaping, I put a tutorial up some years back, but it now appears only if you Google search "spyderco bushcraft handle tutorial" still using photobucket pictures, which is strange because I put all the photos on Flikr.
https://www.flickr.com/photos/144852763@N08/albums/72157704790630391
most used files for my handle work are shown in the first picture, 6" bastard, a bastard half round, 10" bastard square and a cabinet rasp.

Chris
 
C_Claycomb said:
Hey Londinium Armoury,
While this forum is the best for the wealth of knowledge, if you are living in the UK (think you posted you live in London) and need reference for tools you might want to check out a Edge Matters, a UK forum that you have to register to access. I am just a member and some time poster there. Tool availability and names can differ from one place to another. That Nicholson Magicut file that A. McPherson mentioned, very hard to find in the UK and very expensive if you do. If you haven't discovered Axminster Tools...well, maybe you need to entrust your wallet to someone else first ;) They do a good range of Vallorbe files.

I filed bevels for many years and found that the Vallorbe files were noticeably better than the Kennedy brand I bought through Cromwell industrial tools, which were in turn better than the junk sold to the domestic user in places like Homebase.

For final smoothing before sanding I used a single cut Mill Saw file. I second the recommendation for EDM stones, just have a look for Kemet Gesswein, 13x6x150 size. 220, 400 and 600 grits, used wet, at a 45 degree angle like a pencil so they wear evenly. Cuts faster than paper, but not as evenly, so not really good for final finishing, can leave deeper scratches than paper of the same grit.

For handle shaping, I put a tutorial up some years back, but it now appears only if you Google search "spyderco bushcraft handle tutorial" still using photobucket pictures, which is strange because I put all the photos on Flikr.
https://www.flickr.com/photos/144852763@N08/albums/72157704790630391
most used files for my handle work are shown in the first picture, 6" bastard, a bastard half round, 10" bastard square and a cabinet rasp.

Chris
Click to expand...

Hey thanks that's very helpful information, I've never been on that forum before, I'll have to check it out. I have had a good experience with the Vallorbe round chainsaw files, I use one of those to set my plunge line, it leaves a very clean and fine scratch pattern, it's the best small round file I own.
I will check out your tutorial link for handle shaping, thanls a lot for the detailed advice.
 
12345678910 said:
Bastard is the name for coarse.
The bigger the file, the coarser it is too.

You should be able to find a flat, mill smooth in every hardware store.

https://archive.org/download/ATreatiseOnFilesAndRasps1878/A Treatise on Files and Rasps 1878.pdf


Files-teeth.jpg
Click to expand...

So that's why when I buy large files they always come less fine, whenever I shop for files I always try to get the largest one I can find, I assumed you could get differen't grades of bastard file. Thanks for this info, I will try and look around for the longest flat smooth I can find.
Thanks very helpful.
 
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