New to Knifemaking; sounds like the right place for this...

R

rafterp

Member
Good morning! I'd not seen this page before. This is my first. Started life as a farrier's rasp. Annealed in the fireplace. Heat-treated in a charcoal grill. Heated til non-magnetic, quenched in Canola Oil. Tempered in the kitchen oven at 400degrees for 1.5 hrs. It's just under 11" overall. 5.25" blade. 5" handle. Hand sanded blade to 400 grit. Handle sanded to 1000grit then finished with Tru Oil. Any comments/questions appreciated.
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Looks like a great first! I like the overall design and look a lot. I'm sure you learned a lot. As for advice (I'm pretty new at this too) on the next one I'd concentrate more on pin placement and edge geometry. Looks like a fairly thick cutting edge, it'll cut better if you go thinner. Did you file or grind the bevels?
 
Thanks! I filed this one by hand. I drilled the pin holes in the handle, then when I actually got the slabs shaped, I realized I had the front pin too close to the plunge! It was fun though (makes me wish I had more tools)!
 
For some of us, its like that used to say about crack cocaine. Try it once and you're addicted. I filed my first one too and decided quickly that was too much work! Now you'll have to find/build a belt grinder. This forum is a great place to get help and advice.
 
For a first one it ain't half bad at all. I like the shape. Next time take the primary bevel up higher and watch the pin placement. I once had a maker you must look at the concept and see what it will be as finished. Another told me do a completed to scale drawing and if you like it build the knife to match, thanks John! You will learn with each knife the areas that will give you problems completing a finished product you are happy with!
 
rafterp said:
Thanks! I filed this one by hand. I drilled the pin holes in the handle, then when I actually got the slabs shaped, I realized I had the front pin too close to the plunge! It was fun though (makes me wish I had more tools)!
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Wishing for more tools is common. I made my first knife with a couple of files and a drill, I now have a shop full of tools and I want some more.
 
Justin Presson said:
Nice work, I agree with the pin placement comment but other than that looking good.
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I think Mr. Craft's suggestion makes sense (scale drawing). I sketched out what I wanted. I saw one on a survival gear site and tried to imitate it. After I got the blade roughed in, I initially tried to drill a lanyard hole. Well my big bit was too dull to drill through. So, I went to the hardware store to get some pin material and a new drill bit. They didn't have one the size I wanted for the tube, so I got a new one to drill through for the pins. I made the pins out of some eyebolts they had. I went home and drilled the blade. When I had time to come back to work on it on a different day, I decided to rough out the handle slabs. I shaped the handle slabs at another shop (I didn't have the blade with me). I went home and fit the slabs to the blade and realized my mistake...I had shaped the front of the slabs too far back, so the pin went through in an unappealling place. I should've drilled another hole, but I'd already burned up the cheap bit I bought. So many lessons...:31: There's more, and some of which I'm probably not even aware. One other mistake I made...I should've ground all the rasp teeth off the handle of the blade. The black epoxy showed the toothy pattern along the grips. Oh yeah, black epoxy was a mistake...didn't think it'd show. I used too much and it squirted everywhere. Thought I'd never get that junk sanded off! Clear epoxy next time (and a little dab'll do ya, will be the theme for the day). I think he's correct on the edge geometry too...I shoulda filed it thinner. The shoulders on the blade are wide, blunt, I'm not sure how to describe it...it's more of a chopping blade than a slicing blade. Although, it will slice magazine paper. I had to quit shaving arm hair...my wife said I looked like I was catching something! Thanks for all your comments, critiques and encouragement!
 
welcome, lots of help and ideas here all you have to do is ask. if you look in this area of the site, you can get info on knifemaking and heat treat. if you go back in the posts about a year then go forward, you should find several threads about setting up a basic knife making shop. I have been making blades for 4 years or so and still like to use a file for certain tasks before heat treat, i find is as fast and less messy than a belt grinder. what sort of shop do you have now? most every tool you use for knife making can be used for wood working or other stuff. like i said, ask questions and you should get good answers. again, welcome. and knifemaking isnt like crack, more like pot, you dont have to do it, but it feels good when you do.
 
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