Help me with the knife design, please

[Heli00]

Hemgelo-77, great, thanks for the feedback.
Also, why do you think I would need to use alignement pins with this basic construction?

Thanks,
Constantin

 

[Heli00]

Thanks again on all your feedback, really appreciated.


So here it is, after some work I’ve done on it today.

Decided on O1, since I alreay have some experience with the steel.

As you can see, same as the intended design.

I left some material on the ricasso's length, that will be removed by hand, with files.

Knife’s centreline looks pretty good from both top and bottom.

Let me know if you see anything wrong up to this point.

Next step, bevels.

Thanks again,
Constantin

 

[Richard338]

So far, so good...the next couple steps will be key, good luck.

 

[Natlek]

Thanks again on all your feedback, really appreciated.


So here it is, after some work I’ve done on it today.

Decided on O1, since I alreay have some experience with the steel.

As you can see, same as the intended design.

I left some material on the ricasso's length, that will be removed by hand, with files.

Knife’s centreline looks pretty good from both top and bottom.

Let me know if you see anything wrong up to this point.

Next step, bevels.

Thanks again,
Constantin

Are you sure that you are new to the knife making I like it so far , bevel on grinder , right ?

 

[Heli00]

Natlek, thanks. But as you know, there is a huge difference between “knowing the path and walking the path” I have read about knifemaking for a while now, but limited experience. The previous step was the easiest. Now is starting to get serious.
Yes, bevels on a 2x72 belt grinder.

Thanks again,
Constantin

 

[Hengelo_77]

If you use aligment pins you can take all parts apart, finish them and then epoxy everything
It lets you finish different parts in different directions and to different grit sizes. It gives more control

 

[Heli00]

If you use aligment pins you can take all parts apart, finish them and then epoxy everything
It lets you finish different parts in different directions and to different grit sizes. It gives more control

I see, more like in a frame handle type construction, thanks.

 

[Heli00]

Hi again,

OK, so I had some time tonight and this is what I got off the belt grinder.

Next step is to do some hand sanding and get it ready for heat treat.

It is not perfectly symmetrical on the left side, near the tip. I plan to fix that by hand sanding, just so I won't screw it up on the grinder. Well, will see how I feel next time, I may try the grinder.

Now, I got too enthusiastic and grounded the tip too thin and heated it up.
It is at 0.03” thickness now, after some mods.

I had to change the belly a little to get rid of the too thin point. So the knife is a little shorter now.

Do you think the tip is still too thin for the intended use? As a hunting and food prep at camp type of knife.

Thanks again,
Constantin

 

[Fred.Rowe]

Don't get to tied up in your first knife. Just learn from the process, there is a great, great deal to learn about knife making and much of it you will learn in these first few blades, that is, if you are watching closely. If you don't already know, read up on heat treating and what goes into heat treating. So much of what happens to steel, when it's heated, we don't see take place which makes steel hard to understand, unless, you read about it.
Enjoy the process and do not look for perfection in your first blades, it takes time, Fred

 

[Heli00]

Thanks Fred. I’ll try and fix it and make it part of the learning process. It may never be perfect, but it has to be to the best of my current abilities.

Another question please, do you guys grind the distal taper before the bevels?
In my previus knife I did, but this time I let it form on its own, while I was griding the bevels.
I suppose if you have low bevels, then you may have no choice, but to grind the distal taper by itself.
What is your preferance?

Thanks,
Constantin

 

[Fred.Rowe]

Thanks Fred. I’ll try and fix it and make it part of the learning process. It may never be perfect, but it has to be to the best of my current abilities.

Another question please, do you guys grind the distal taper before the bevels?
In my previus knife I did, but this time I let it form on its own, while I was griding the bevels.
I suppose if you have low bevels, then you may have no choice, but to grind the distal taper by itself.
What is your preferance?

Thanks,
Constantin

Grinding the distal taper before, will make the grind easier overall. The thicker the stock, the more relevant this is.

Fred

 

[Heli00]

Thanks Fred, makes sense.

 

[Heli00]

Just a short question please. I’m picking up a 9” disc grinder tomorrow. Is Nathan the Machinist still makimg the discs, i don’t know how to get a hold of him.

Thanks,
Constantin

 

[TRfromMT]

H Heli00 if you put '@" in front of someone's user name they will get an alert you tagged them in a post.

Nathan the Machinist - question for you in the post above about a 9" disk

 

[Heli00]

H Heli00 if you put '@" in front of someone's user name they will get an alert you tagged them in a post.

Nathan the Machinist - question for you in the post above about a 9" disk

Great, thanks alot!

 

[Heli00]

Nathan the Machinist - Do you have any 9” discks for sale, I am very interested.
If not, would you consider making one for me? I would realy appreciate if you could let me know.
You may also email me at heli00@rogers.com.

Thanks in advance,
Constantin

 

[skillgannon]

I don't see that you have hardened your blade yet. If not there is no big deal about getting color at the tip. I wouldn't worry about it. It's very possible that you will loose that but I would leave it there as a sacrificial area. How are you heat treating it? If all you have a oven your tip will be fine. If it's a forge its best to leave that area thick.

 

[Nathan the Machinist]

Nathan the Machinist - Do you have any 9” discks for sale, I am very interested.
If not, would you consider making one for me? I would realy appreciate if you could let me know.
You may also email me at

Thanks in advance,
Constantin

I'm sorry, those disks were a one-time run and have been gone for a long time now.

They were very expensive due to their construction techniques and materials, but to set up to make just one would probably cost ten times more. I'm sorry, it just isn't very feasible.

 

[Heli00]

Skillgannon, you are correct, haven’t hardened yet. I do have a temperature controlled oven.
But I have a few questions before I move forward.

1. Right at the tip is at 0.03” thick. 1/2” behind the tip it goes to 0.065 and another 1/2” higher goes to 0.09” when measured on the spine. Is this too thin? I’d like to know for the future if I should have kept more thickness.

Now, if it is too thin, I could go the following routes I guess:

a. Make the blade less wide, so I can get to more meat behind the tip and edge and try save the blade, even so it is not the original design anymore or
b. Start again

2. I used 3/16” stock. Do you think I should have used 1/4” for a 6-6.5” long blade?

3. Starting at what blade length, one should use 1/4” stock?

Thanks again for all your help,
Constantin

 

[Heli00]

Thanks for getting back Nathan and I appologise for being impatient.
I understand, what a bummer.
But if you ever decide to make another batch, please let us know. Maybe enough people would be interested to make it cost effective and worth for both you and us.

Nathan the Machinist - What about the plattens, i would like the flat version of those if feasible to make another one.

Thanks again,
Constantin