Two I am working on right now..

martinjj

martinjj

Well-Known Member
These two both came from one Black Diamond file. I look back at my first knife( i have only made three!) and can see how much I have learned from all you guys!! I am always going and reading as many post as I can sucking up all the great info. Soooo I want to thank all the dogs for sharing there vast knowledge.

Top knife was the left over piece of file from the bottom knife.
Black Diamond file.
OAL is 5 1/4
Blade 2 1/2
Thicknesses is .158 of an inch.
Handle will be Blue Jean Micarta
and will have brass rivets

Bottom knife my version of a "Buck Knife" my brother in-law had in his truck
OAL is 8 inches
Blade 3 1/2
I have not made my mind up on the hardware.
It is a little thick .200 of inch but I want the file groves to show on the blade.
first knife 096.jpgfirst knife 098.jpg
 
You've done a great job of profiling both blades and the bevels on the smaller blade look good too. Be aware that leaving the file teeth on the spine of the blade will cause stress raisers that might cause cracking in the quench. I would recommend that you try an oil quench and see if that will harden the blade well enough. Water or brine will be more likely to cause failure.

Doug
 
Doug there are no teeth marks on the spine, I have it all grinned down all around the blank. Thank you for the suggestion, I would never have thought of the teeth marks leaving stress raisers. I am wondering how to get more of a noticeable line on my bevel cut, something my plunge line can follow down the blade. Keep in mind all my stock removal is done with a file. I am saving my pennies to build a NWG!!! I am thinking that since the blank is so thick I might have a better chance with the way I have been doing it. Can a disk grinder be used to cut your bevel?, I have a 1/2 horse power motor I have been thinking of making into a disk grinder.

Martin
 
Maybe I should have said towards the spine, and actually, it's anywhere. I was assuming that most of the teeth would be ground away on the bevels. As far as using a disc grinder to cut your bevels, are you talking about an angle grinder? If you are, the answere is yes but you need to be careful. You might want to take the bevels down close to what you want them to be and then finishing them off with a file. If you are asking about the type of disc grinder as seen on the side of some of the 4X36" belt sander, I would say no. One might be good for getting your blank flat but I don't see how it would establish your bevels. I'm a smith so I establish my bevels with a hammer.

As far as stress raisers go, any irregularity will cause them. People do make knifes with the teeth from files and rasps showing on the flats at the spine so it can be done. I just wouldn't try it with with a water or brine quench because by themselves they have a higher encidence of quench cracking.

Doug
 
Doug, yes I was talking about a disk grinder not an angle grinder. I want to make one(disk grinder) to make my blanks flat and to the thickness I want. I want to make the No Weld Grinder but It will take time cause money is tight!!! I dont Think I would like to create the bevel with an angle grinder that would be scary if the blank got away from me!!!!

My process is I place the file in a two brick forge I made. Than after it has cooled down I put in the vice and get the angle grinder out with a 34 or 80 grit sanding disk in it. I grind the file down til the teeth are just about to disappear. I than take a file to it to get it flat and even. I than trace my pattern onto the the blank, drill holes around the pattern with the drill press. Than I take the angle grinder with a cutting wheel and cut the blank out. I dip it in a bucket of water as I cut it out to not get it to hot! I than take it to the bench grinder to smooth out the edges and shape it into its pattern, also diping into water to cool it down. Than back to the vice and get my plunge line cut with a round file, than I use a flat file to cut the bevel. Sand it until all the scratches are gone and it is all pretty!! Than it back into the forge for it HT and an oil quench. Sand it some more, put on the handle and an edge to the blade.

I just wish I could get more of a distinctive line on the top of my bevel cut. Any body have any ideas or comments good or bad, they will be appreciative.

Martin
 
Ops I forgot I also put the knife into the oven for it tempering cycle after I quench it.

Martin
 
It takes practice on those bevel cuts. Yours looks good for your first few blades. Try a 3/16" round file and then switch to a flat as you work away from the plunge line.
It's a different look that you may like. Experiment and find what works for you!
Great work!

Laurence

www.rhinoknives.com/
 
Martin, those two blades look pretty darn good. I like the shape you chose. I'm glad you came in with second post about tempering - reading first I was thinking.... did he not temper? blade is going to be too hard. Then I saw the 2nd post mentioning tempering.

I like blade work better than putting handles on - that's the real "art" portion of knife making.

I have the same problem getting the nice clean line along the top of bevel. I am freehand grinding on a 1X30 belt (cheap HF - $40?), and a 6X48" belt with a 9" disk on the side (not so cheap HF - $150 after 20% coupon). I can get a sharp bevel line on one side, but it's not always where I want it to be, then trying to match up on other side I tend to wipe out that clean sharp bevel line. I think by making a jig to hold blade steady on a rest I can get both sides to line up with decent bevel lines showing.

I use the disk for flat grinding, and have worked bevels, not sure how well it would work if that were the only thing I had. I "think" it would work ok with 3' or 4" blades.

I use a file for final shaping, and sandpaper on a wood block to remove grind marks. I am now trying a metal block to see if that doesn't help keep a cleaner bevel line. I've only made 2 knifes and working on a blade now - well, that doesn't count the railroad spike knife I made.

I think a jig will help with bevel grinding to keep lines clean.

Have fun and keep posting - that's how I learn, by reading what other folks have written.

Ken H>
 
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Hey Ken Try this cheap bevel jig. I can't take credit for it, I think I saw it here on KD but don't remember who was the maker/inventor. I think it is a pretty neat idea!! I just saved the pick for ideas down the road.

Martin

knife jig.jpg
 
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Thanks Martin - I've already got a hinge set aside to try that with. Just got to cut the pin out to replace with a bolt so I can try it.

73 de Ken H>
 
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