design help

[Joe H.]

I am having a hard time designing a knife. I am a fan of ka-bar style knives, but i dont want to make an exact copy. the first knife i started on was one that i copied, and the other was a push dager. I didnt finish the first one, and i found out push dager are illegal in canada.
any sugestions on how to design a knife? i am artisticly chalanged, as in I can draw houses and stick men and thats about it.
any sugestions would be great, and in return im going to learn to spell.
thanks,
Joe

[Ray Rogers]

Maybe you are trying too hard. If you like the KaBar then why not copy the blade or the handle of that knife, perhaps the guard style of another knife, and then the blade or handle (whichever you didn't get from the KaBar) of a 3rd knife that you like?

When you start to actually make the knife the parts will start to flow a little and by the time you're done none of the parts will look exactly like the original influence. So, it doesn't matter so much if you can really design or not. What matters is that you build a knife If you will start to do that, the design will take care of itself as you go.

Don't forget to work on that spelling while you're at it....

[SVanderkolff]

Joe
If you can draw stick men you are ahead of me but I have found that sketching out what you like, even the basic outline with lots of erasing and redrawing eventually you will get to the point where youcan draw what youwant something to look like.
I startedby photocoping the handle of a knife picture that I liked and then trying to add different blades to it. Other than that it just comes down to practice.
Hope that helps
STeve

[nozh_scrap]

I'm kinda having some trouble with knife designs too, but I figured that you just can't escape some designs. They just work, and everyone copies them to some degree. I don't think it can be helped. Sometimes I feel unoriginal, but like I said, I think that some designs are made for a reason. They work. You just gotta do little things to make them your own.

I just get my ideas from looking at other people's knives, custom or production, and adding or subtracting what I like and dislike about them.

Get some magazines and books, and look at the galleries here, and pick the blade and handle shapes that you like. Look at tons of pictures. Go to shows and shops and things and ask if you can handle some knives to get an idea of what feels right. What I would do is try to design and make a knife that I would get excited about and buy. You know what you like and what you dont.

I'm a beginner, and I'm actually following my own advice, but I hope this helps.

[Joe H.]

thanks for the help. i was trying to mix and match handles and blades and stuff on my computer, but i felt like it wasnt really my design. i think i will use a ka-bar blade, but a little shorter handle and a full tang. or maybe ill try the hidden tang, but with wood (because i cant find leather) because the hidden tang will make it easyer to put the guard on.
I supose if im not trying to sell it, it doesnt really matter if it looks like i have a really bad ka-bar. now i just have to get some thinner steel than what i have.
thanks for the help, ill start practicing my drawing, and ill let you guys know how my knives turn out. i dont have much time to work on them though.
thanks again,
Joe

[Andrew Garrett]

I have just the opposite problem! I design all the time and have almost no time to grind!

I have designed dozens of what I consider to be very original designs. I'm sure the experts can find the influence of Dwayne Carrillo in some of my tactical designs and shades of David Boye in my chopping knives. One of my hunters even shares visual details with a Bob Loveless knife.

But, I did stumble onto a basic handle shape that I use on most of my stuff. I want it to make my work recognizable. I suggest you start there. Give your design at least one thing that you have never seen before, and then it's yours! Now, chances are, that someone else out there has the same design element in there work. There are just too many makers out there to research all the knives they ever made to insure that you don't copy one. Two people can come up with the same good idea ya'know. As long as you can say you had not seen it before you came up with it, it's all good in my opinion.

My method:
I like to trace the shape of the file or barstock that I intend to make the knife from. This gives me boundries, so-to-speak.

Then I draw a line through it where the leading edge of the index finger will start. This is usually about 4 1/2" from the butt end of the handle, depending on who and what the knife is designed for.

From this point, The sky is the limit. I just draw lightly with a good ol' #2 pencil (mechanical for crisp lines), and work it untill I have something I like. Sometimes even the width of a pencil line can make a difference!

Good luck!

Andy