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The Newbies Arena Are you new to knife making? Here is all the help you will need.

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  #1  
Old 11-19-2012, 10:40 AM
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cbsmith111 cbsmith111 is offline
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Second Completed Knife

b4complete.jpg

This is my second completed knife (first from a known steel with proper heat treatment.

It is made from 3/16" precision ground A2
Blade is about 4 1/4" and about 8 1/2" overall with a scotch brite pad satin finish
Handle scales are sand blasted black canvas micarta with black micarta pins
No sheath yet

I made several mistakes on this knife. It actually looks better in the picture than it does in person strangely enough. I meant for the scales to be longer and come further towards the blade. Long story short, it didn't work out that way. There are some dips and gouges and I pretty much made a mess of the edge trying to sharpen it on my belt sander. I'm not satisfied, but it was a necessary step in my development. I have two more of this design to finish out, and I am optimistic that by the third one I will have it pretty much down.

Any other advice would be great. I think I understand how to correct what went wrong with this one. It was mainly overlooking things and making mistakes in technique.
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  #2  
Old 11-19-2012, 10:44 AM
Doug Lester Doug Lester is offline
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Nice contours and the plunge line looks great. Our mistakes look a lot more obvious to us because we know exactly where they are. Keep up the good work and just try to do better on the next one.

Doug


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  #3  
Old 11-19-2012, 12:28 PM
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Ray Rogers Ray Rogers is offline
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It really does look good in the picture. If you give up on knife making you could have a future in photography.

I do my initial sharpening on my grinder. If possible, angle your platen (tilt the whole machine if necessary) to create the edge angle you want. That way, you don't need a tool rest - all you have to do is hold the blade so that the sides of the blade are perpendicular to the floor. Holding the blade at 90 degrees like that is easier than trying to hold the knife at 25 degrees to the belt. Pretend the belt is a stone and work the edge on it.

I like to use a fresh 120 grit belt for this process and run the grinder slow if you can ...


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Old 11-19-2012, 12:45 PM
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That is really funny because I took the picture with the 3mp camera on my phone. The light must have happened to hit just right. I am trying very hard not to give up on knife making. I think I can learn to do it well. I am extremely self critical, and I get discouraged easily.

That seems like a good suggestion with having the belt angled instead of the blade. I just have a cheap 1x30 sander that I mainly use for cleaning up my profiles, shaping handles, etc.

Does anyone have any experience using those paper sharpening wheels. You know the kit that comes with a grit impregnated wheel and then one that you use polishing compound on? Are they really that good or just a gimmick?
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Old 11-19-2012, 02:31 PM
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I think it looks great!
With a 3/16" thickness I might have brought the primary bevel up higher to the spine, that is my only suggestion.
Looks like it could be a good workhorse camp knife.
Regarding the cutting edge.... I don't own a 2X72 either (I don't even own a 1X30) and have been doing it strictly draw-filing by hand. Really difficult on hardened steel.
I've been looking at this "Work Sharp Knife Sharpener" until I can afford a belt grinder: http://www.worksharptools.com/sports....tabs.tpl.html
Curious if anyone else has used this to create a cutting edge.


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Old 11-19-2012, 03:10 PM
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If I did it over again I would have ground the bevel higher. Actually, if I could go back I would have never attempted 3/16" thick doing the bevels with hand tools. 5/32" would have been much less miserable and would have been thick enough. I have looked at that sharpener and wondered about it too. I can't really think of a reason why it wouldn't work. I could probably come up with some sort of jig for my sander to accomplish the same concept.
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Old 11-19-2012, 03:17 PM
grant grant is offline
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I used one of those sharpeners when I was finishing a blade on the road. It worked okay. I would use it again in a pinch. Not as slick as my 2x72 grinder, but that's hard to take on a plane.
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  #8  
Old 11-19-2012, 03:37 PM
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Ray Rogers Ray Rogers is offline
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The Work Sharp and those paper wheels are for sharpening a blade, not for creating the edge initially. The paper wheels will not create an edge where there is none. The work sharp will do it but it is intended for sharpening and not for creating the initial edge. You'll wear out a lot of those little belts getting the job done.

The best tool is a belt sander, the bigger the better (up to 2x72"). Smaller ones will work but you'll need several belts per knife. The narrow belts will notch the edge more easily than wider belts ...


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Old 11-19-2012, 03:48 PM
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Thanks Ray,
That's what I kinda figured since it doesn't even have a platen. I'll continue with my method of diamond files and steel files wrapped with emery. Takes a while but works until I can become more well equipped.


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  #10  
Old 11-19-2012, 04:58 PM
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Quote:
Originally Posted by cbsmith111 View Post
I am trying very hard not to give up on knife making. I think I can learn to do it well. I am extremely self critical, and I get discouraged easily.
I think alot of new knifemakers have felt like that somewhere along the way.........

I strive to make my next project even better than the last, I'm very critical on my own work as well CB. Remember there is no prize for finishing first or cutting corners to just get it done. I do this as a hobby that I love and taking whatever time it takes to be very happy with the end product will always remain my #1 goal............especially when the end user may potentially be a customer or better yet a customer's referral. Good luck on your "next" project !! look forward to your pics !!

Cheers
Rob
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  #11  
Old 11-19-2012, 06:28 PM
tuskbuster tuskbuster is offline
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i myself use the slack belt part of the grinder to put my edges on .it also helps smooth out the edge line.as was said dont use a rest or jig just get to know the feel of the grinder and bladeand dont apply much pressure
and we all do make mistakes ,had a few blades that wound up a WHOLE lot diferent than was intended
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  #12  
Old 11-19-2012, 10:13 PM
Bowman Bowman is offline
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Lookin' good CB! Don't give up.
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  #13  
Old 11-20-2012, 06:42 AM
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Crex Crex is offline
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Nice job CB. This being #2 speaks well of your talent and desire. Make a couple of hundred more and see where your focus lies.
Part of the "art" in artist, is being able to take those little aggrevating "mistakes" and making them look "On Purpose" or camoflauging them into the work piece.
Just remember that the artist never really finishes....he just gets tired of working on that particular piece.
As Ray said, those sharpeners are ok to great for pulling the final sharp edge, but way undergunned for setting that final edge bevel. Use a grinder or files for that...good filing skills will set one very nice and even in very little time.


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  #14  
Old 11-20-2012, 06:48 AM
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Thanks for the engouragement and advice. Often the things I enjoy the most also cause me the most agony. I get expectations built up in my head, and then get frustrated when things don't go that way. I wallow in despair for a few minutes and then move on. It's just part of my process. I have to keep reminding myself that this is only my second knife. I have a bad habit of kind of getting sloppy or "experimenting" once one little thing goes wrong.

I actually have been experimenting with using a slacked belt to sharpen with a convex edge. I have had some limited success with it. I've done my large fixed blade I carry in the woods that way for a while now. For some reason it seems easier to do on some blade shapes than others.
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  #15  
Old 11-20-2012, 09:33 AM
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Your second knife looks much better than mine did. I think you will make a great maker , it just takes time. You will never make a knife that you can't find something wrong with. The rest of the world may not be able to see it but you will. Great job,Keep at it man......


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