Freehand drawing

[Niles]

Hello all, first post on this forum as I just started making my own knives.

I've been sifting through threads and getting some great info, but it's tough to put it all together. So I've got a question about geometry that I imagine has been answered, but I haven't found yet. If there is a thread already developed, I'd be happy with a link.

The question is, do you follow certain geometrical rules when drawing a knife without a reference? For instance, lining the tip of the blade up with a line on the handle, or blade handle proportions for the sake of balance, angle of the blade relative to the handle, etc. I know that every model and style is different, but are there any axioms of ergonomics that can give you the ability to look at a drawing and say "no, that blade does not match the hand position that handle will force", or "the only thing that knife will do well is push cut", etc?

Here is a quick drawing for instance. Without cutting it out and making it of wood (which I will do), I don't know how to evaluate it for functional edits.

Thank you to all the contributors of this forum!

 

[JG Custom Metal Works]

I use a set of French curve stencils when coming up with a new design. Helps a lot. They're like $8 IIRC at Office Max

 

[Niles]

I use a set of French curve stencils when coming up with a new design. Helps a lot. They're like $8 IIRC at Office Max

I see what you did there.

 

[Fred.Rowe]

Very few knives are designed using straight lines. "Most knives are a collection of curves of different radii. Kitchen knives are the rare exception. If you design a knife and take into account the location of the cutting edge, relative to the hand that grips it, you have made a major step towards a functional tool.