Howdy from good ol' Alabama

Welcome and what part of Alabama do you live? As my profile shows I'm in Baldwin Co, just across the bay from Mobile, AL. Full time knifemaker? You should have a few photos to show us. Good luck - BTW, what type of knives do you specialize in? Kitchen? Hunting?
 
Well, I'm in Mobile county. I like to do a lot of hunter/skinner style knives haven't crossed over to kitchen knives yet. I said somewhat full time because I'm home schooled and that is my extracurricular activity so I try to make a knife every few weeks. I started about 2 years ago working off the back porch, now i upgraded to the garage! These are some of the knives i have done. (Far right was My first knife. Far left is my most recent.)


.56977053_356873148267596_3108173785216319488_n.jpg60081154_381242389147893_9110454812612231168_n.jpg3rd knife.jpgfirst knife.jpg
 
Well glad to meet you Jacob - homeschooling is GREAT! We did it a few grades when our daughters were young using both Calvert and Abeka schools. Tell us more about your shop, what tools? what steels to you use? How do you do heat treating?
 
I made the mistake of only getting a 2x48 belt sander when I should of got a 2x72. I found that there are some things that I cant do because of how the grinder is set up, but I make it work. I have yet to venture to far into the different types of steel, I find myself sticking with 1095 and O-1, but they work fine. thinking about trying some 1084 as its a little cheaper than 1095. Plus I stick with cheaper steal so I don't worry to much if I ruin a heat treat or not because I use a propane forge for heat treating. I also use a harbor freight drill press for drilling. what do y'all recommend for 2x72 grinders?
this is my shop area and forge.


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Welcome, homeschoolers ROCK. Both of my kids have been home schooled since birth and they are now both in home high school. You should be fine with the 2x48 for a while. Most of us here started with a HF 1x30 so you are already a big step up from that. But I would start saving for a 2x72 now because they are all cost prohibitive. I like your knives I think you are off to a great start. Again, welcome.
 
I'm amazed how many folks are homeschooling these days. It was 30 yrs ago when I was homeschooling my girls and much less popular back then. Looks like you just got a brand new forge there - bet you like it. For heat treating put a muffer pipe inside so the flame isn't hitting the blade directly. It will be easier to control the temp on blade.
 
Me too, I was also amazed how much better the quality of education I get too. I get to learn more life skills and I go almost 4x as fast as I would if I was still in public school.
 
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