Just some rambling and a picture

B

Black cat

Well-Known Member
Long day in the shop working on a knife for my mother. It's about 90% done, needs a bit more shaping, final polish, and sharpening.

It's a small 1084 mirror finish with buffalo handle.

Mirror I can do, but following the recommendations from here to get a satin finish using scotchbrite... Not so good :p
It's much better of course but still not the quality i'm aiming for.

Plunge lines... Idk. I still cant do a sharp plunge, they all get rounded. So i'm still just tapering the entire blade and generally omitting the plunge or making a very rounded off plunge.

It's all good, just practice.

Oh and epoxy! Always I get epoxy oozing out from under the handle scales onto the ricasso making a mess of things.
Havent figured out how to fix that...
I can clean it up reasonably well with the buffer and a toothpick but if its a satin finish blade it might be a problem.

I'm tempted to wear a full body hazmat suit or something idk lol.
I dont know about the rest of you but even with safety glasses and coveralls and so on I end a day in the shop feeling like a crispy critter. Cant seem to wash enough to get the grit off the skin and out of the eyes, nose, other places :p

Anyway heres the current work in progress...

BTW this is my third completed knife.

image.jpg
 
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a trick i use during the epoxy stage to keep the ricasso clean:

right before glue up, dry assemble the scales on the blade. Use a Q-tip to smear a release agent all over the ricasso area amd even the fronts of the scales. I use Hornady Unique case lube because it's what I have on hand, but vaseline or the like ought to work the same.

Then pull the pins and carefully remove the scales.

Then i clean the inside flats of the scales with acetone to remove any release agent that got where I didn't intend.

Now when the epoxy oozes out onto the ricasso as the clamps are applied it's no big deal. As the knife sits there all clamped up all it takes is a couple wipes with a Q-tip to totally clean the ricasso and the fronts of the scales.

no more scratching with picks.


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Don't kid yourself. It looks good for a third knife. With practice you will only keep getting better and better.

On the plunge lines . . . get a file guide. It will help wonders.

Keep grinding!!

DeMo
 
You can use a 3/16 brass round shaped to a chisel point to remove solder and glue at the front of your guard or scales. The brass will cut the glue but not scratch because it is softer than the steel. It will also cut off solder.
 
Black cat said:
Plunge lines... Idk. I still cant do a sharp plunge, they all get rounded. So i'm still just tapering the entire blade and generally omitting the plunge or making a very rounded off plunge................

I dont know about the rest of you but even with safety glasses and coveralls and so on I end a day in the shop feeling like a crispy critter. Cant seem to wash enough to get the grit off the skin and out of the eyes, nose, other places
Click to expand...

I think it looks great for the 3rd knife! As far as plunge lines go, I think it depends largely on the belts you're using and your grinder setup. What kind of grinder are using? Belts? I think the shape of the flat platen's edges has a lot to do with the end look too. Chris Taylor showed me how to break the edge of a J-flex belt, then let it overhang the edge to clean up plunges.

Also, I think your grinder setup can have a lot to do with how much dust you're eating. Do you have a quench bucket right under the grinder to catch most of the junk? I even made a little dust deflector cover for the drive wheel on my grinder to catch more of the crud that follows the belt past the quench bucket.
 
Thanks everyone these are all great ideas! I'm going out to the shop right away to start trying them out :)

This is the third completed... But I have at last count 20+ that are in various stages of grinding. I keep starting blades, not likeing something about them then hiding them in a drawer :p

The last few days i've started "catching up" on all those unfinished projects.

Most of my energy is spent reading about knifemaking and blacksmithing lol. Several hours a day every day for years.


Self Made Knives said:
I think it looks great for the 3rd knife! As far as plunge lines go, I think it depends largely on the belts you're using and your grinder setup. What kind of grinder are using? Belts? I think the shape of the flat platen's edges has a lot to do with the end look too. Chris Taylor showed me how to break the edge of a J-flex belt, then let it overhang the edge to clean up plunges.

Also, I think your grinder setup can have a lot to do with how much dust you're eating. Do you have a quench bucket right under the grinder to catch most of the junk? I even made a little dust deflector cover for the drive wheel on my grinder to catch more of the crud that follows the belt past the quench bucket.
Click to expand...


I have a pile of 2x72 j-flex belts that I never use. I think I got them years ago for plungelines but they felt strange.
I did round the edges of my platen and try to get the j-flex to bend around them but it wouldnt keeep the shape very well.
I'm thinking perhaps if I run it against a block of wood for a bit till it keeps it's shape ?

For the dust I considered a deflector or quench bucket under the grinder but its bolted to the counter top with no space underneath for that. I think i'll have another look and see if I can come up with a solution.

Thanks!
 
All done and sharpened to a hair splitting edge. Today I did some final shaping, polish and sharpen. Turned out rather good I think :D

Kind of wish I had some flitz to hand polish and carnuba wax to seal it (next time)
 
A quench bucket right under the grinder makes a HUGE difference in the amount of junk going everywhere. Put a drop or two of dish washing soap in it to break the surface tension and most of the dust sinks on contact. My grinder overhangs the edge of the workbench, so the belt is mostly clear of everything. I don't get hardly any dust on me.

Chris told me to take the Jflex belts, overhang them about a 1/4" off the edge and break them down right on the corner with a junk piece of steel. It makes the edge roll over a lot better.
 
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