Brandon Miller Knife Maker Extraordinaire!!!

BrandonM

BrandonM

Well-Known Member
Extraordinaire may be to strong of a word. How about "Brandon Miller, knife maker who sucks slightly less with each new blade"?

I've only made a few now, 3 1/2 total, and am quite enjoying it. I am learning to free hand my flat grinds on a Craftsman 2x42 belt sander. That's challenging. I plan to use this thread to post my new knives and works in progress as they come up. The one I'm doing now is my first one for a customer. He's just a friend trying to help me out, but still, my first paying customer. There's one born every minute!

Here is my 3rd attempt. First one to finish to any usuable standards, and my new daily carry. Started out as a 2" x 3/16" piece of 1095.



Here is the one I'm on now. 1 1/2" x 3/16" 1095. 5.5" blade. (This one is for my friend/customer)



 
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Hay, by knife 100 you will get even better. Number one thing to remember the more you do, the better you get. Keep up the good work. I also like the one your on now.

Regards,

George
 
we all had to start somewhere . Keep at it and you will be impressed on the little things you get better at every time , and those little things will make you push to make another one and so on .. Keep at it , I can tell just by what your making now , you will be a good knife maker. Keep up the good work !
 
Needs just a wee bit of sanding, then I will force a patina on this thing against it's will. Black and gray G10 scales.

 
Thank you guys for the kind words. I am really hoping to pursue the knife making thing. If you see me start slacking be sure to tell me I suck and to get my act together.

Better pics of the handle scales. First time using a two tone g10. Fun stuff and looks great!



 
twss said:
Thank you guys for the kind words. I am really hoping to pursue the knife making thing. If you see me start slacking be sure to tell me I suck and to get my act together.
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I am a "new maker" too, only I haven't finished a knife yet, so even saying maker is a stretch... If my 20th looks as good as the one above, I'll be quite happy. Keep up the great work. Very interesting handle sculptures. Well done.
 
kbog said:
I am a "new maker" too, only I haven't finished a knife yet, so even saying maker is a stretch... If my 20th looks as good as the one above, I'll be quite happy. Keep up the great work. Very interesting handle sculptures. Well done.
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Stay the course, and post your progress pics. That's what I'm doing with this thread. Good luck!
 
Here is the first one I did. I was really just trying to kill time at work. Made of mild steel, and shaped entirely with an angle grinder. I know it's terrible.



 
Second try. Someone took pity on me and donated a few scrap materials. I used what he gave me and this happened. I never put an edge on it. It was some crazy thick material for the knife I made. Shaped with a $20.00 bench grinder. Carbon steel of some sort, I don't recall, and G10 scales superglued on. NO PINS!!! It weighs about 200lbs.



 
Hi Brandon.. Glad to see your enjoying your knifemaking to date. It's true we all get better with time. How are you doing your heat treating ? Thats was the one thing that for me in the begining that frustrated me. I was working with 1095 this was before I new about 1084 and I made a knife that I thought was pretty. (it wasn't) and put it in the vise and just wanted to try and flex it a bit. SNAP that was when I started paying attention. Since then I used 1084 until I got a Knifemakers Kiln now I'm back to 1095 and O1 My knives are not snapping anymore.

The third knife looks good. Keep up the good work !
 
For heat treating I have been using a torch and heating just to non magnetic then letting it cool down for a few minutes. I do that a few times to try and normalize the steel. Then take past non magnetic just a bit and hold that for a few minutes. I quench in 32 weight hydraulic oil. I work in a hydraulic shop and have tons of it. After that it cooks in a toaster oven at 400 degrees for 1.5 hours.
 
Finished her up. Sanded to 400 grit, vinegar soaked, then cold blued. Gave it to my first happy customer tonight. After looking at these pictures I realize they suck. Oh well.



 
Nice progress. I am about at the same point as you. I have started a few and am working on one now I hope to actually finish and carry.
 
If you don't mind a word of advice....as I was told a while back...take your time, pay attention to the details, soak up all the information and advice you can. Don't be afraid to ask questions. You are off to a good start! I look forward to seeing more from you.
 
Number 5 is in progress. This one is for a friend. He's paying for material pretty much and I'm donating almost all of my time. It's good to have someone who wants one who will at least cover cost of material and give me a reason to finish another project. Medium sized hunter/all purpose. 1095 steel. Blade is 1 1/4" tall and 3/16" thick. I'll get the other dimensions when I have the time. It's late and the lighting sucks. Oh Well.



 
Well number 5 is finished and made it out before I could take a pic. My friend has it and I'll snap one in the near future. This one, number 6, is almost identical.


3/16" thick 1095. 3.75" blade length, 8" OAL. Black and Gray G10 with gray liner. Forced patina with cold blue and bleach.











 
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