A real newbie here

[Shoots High]

Hello everyone! Isn't the internet amazing. There's a web-site for everything. I am not much of a knife maker, but as I approach retirement this may be another good hobby to take up, and this may be a place that I'll visit often.

I recently made the two knives shown here for my grandsons. The one is obviously a Damascus blade and the other is made from a power reciprocating hacksaw blade. I am getting some positive feedback from those who have seen them. They certainly have their flaws, but these are my first two.

I have a question about the quality of the Damascus blades I am seeing on ebay. I am seeing blades sell for around $10 - $20 range. Can these be any good? I bought he one in the picture below years ago, and I believe I paid about $80 for it.

[Ray Rogers]

Welcome, Shoots High. Fill out your profile so we know where you are and maybe even a name.

Looks like you're off to a good start with your knives. I would suggest that you buy your blade steel from a reputable supplier though if you plan to try and make any more knives and you want to be sure of the quality. You're probably OK with that damascus blade but the other blade maybe, maybe not. It is very difficult for a newbie to judge the quality of a blade made from scrap steel because almost any kind of metal can make a blade that will cut something. They used bronze and copper for swords once upon a time - see what I mean?

Anyway, I'd stay away from $20 damascus blades. At that price they almost have to be made from or at least contain a large percentage of mild steel. Good blade steel from a supplier like some 1080 from www.alphaknifesupply.com is fairly cheap. When we know what you are using, we can give reasonable advice. Without that, everyone is just guessing ...

[rscoffey]

Ditto what Ray said. Alpha Knife supply or N.J. Steel Baron (Aldo).

Bob

[Crex]

Very good start. I have to 3rd Ray's advice on steel. There's a lot to learn using mystery steel and it will eat up a lot of your time. Get the basics down right using as many "knowns" as you can, and keep things simple before you start experimenting. I understand the urge and see it in my students all the time. The true craftsman learns to make a sound knife then thinks/moves forward to higher grade materials and embellishments. Work on the basics until it's second nature to turn out your highest quality in blade design, thermal cycling, fit and finish. Then when you move on to higher grade materials you won't be wondering if it's good, you will know.
May I suggest you take this knife design out and work with it hard. I think you will find the pronounced down curve of the handle becomes very uncomfortable and limits the types of cutting you can do. The guard on the 1st may be a little painful with hard use as well.
I use a lot of antler as well, but have found that less pitch or curve is more servicable and comfortable in the long run when it comes to actually using a knife.

[ckluftinger]

Those are fine looking knives, for a first try or any try! My only further comment would be that it would seem you have made the blade with a stub tang, but no pins to hold it in place. I'm sure you glued it in well, but I don't trust glue alone in the long run. I'd use either a full tang with a screwed on pommel or some sort of pinning arrangement on top of the glueing. Just my 2 cents' worth. Heck, with inflation this'll cost you a nickel...

[Shoots High]

Guys, thank you for your kind words concerning my knives. When I say these are my first two, that is not entirely accurate. I made one other about twenty years ago. It too was a hidden tang. I gave it to my son for one of his birthdays, and he has used it every year for many years now as his primary hunting knife. He has used it on as many as forty deer kills as well as on some limited butchering of those deer. It too is a hidden tang, and I appoxied it in also. Since it has held these many years, I not knowing any better, figured it would work again. I want to make more knives, so I will be getting away from the hidden tang mount. I have used the hidden tang because I find deer antlers make beautiful knife handles. The ones you see in the photos are mule deer, and each has a story to go with it. I have a wheel barrel full of sheds that I can use over time. However, I would like to try some exotic woods also. Somewhere in the not to distant future I would like to make my own Damascus blade. When I get more time I'll be searching the archives here for the instructions on how to do it.