First two

[dudeinthehut]

Well, These are my first two knives.

The blue one was made on a medium grit 6" grind stone and a 1x30 belt grinder. The pins are brass. The handle is indigo and black ink Diamondwood. The steel is an old Nicolson file which was retired from the aircraft industry. I gave this to my father for extended testing.

With the addition of an 8" Multitool using 2x48 belts I was able to give my second effort grind lines I was happy with. Like the first, it is a reborn bastard file. The handle is black linen Micarta. The pin is nickel-silver. The recurve is intentional, but less than I was shooting for. I thought I'd take a stab at file work on the backbone, just to say I've done it. The sheath is designed for inside the pocket. The idea for this design is to offer an alternative to folders with a clip. This one is now my daily carry.

As a footnote, I made two sheaths for my first knife and one for the second. I used Gorilla Glue on all of them with great success. Dad is testing one of them with no stitching for long term durability of hold. I'll let you know if and when it fails.

Feedback is welcomed.
Thanks for looking! (Sorry for the dark photos.)

Andy

[AwP]

I like those, they look good. I especially like your first one, the really narrow ricasso gives it very graceful lines, I wouldn't mind seeing a straight on shot of it.

[dudeinthehut]

I wish I better pics of the first knife. Most were blury and really dark to the point of uselessness. Sorry. Perhaps I can post a scan of the pattern if you like.

Thanks for the encouragement. It helps.

Andy

[JUNGIANEINSTEIN]

Those look great for first two knives, my first two knives are a little rougher....anyhow, keep up the good work and I got slightly decent results shooting pics of mine in sunlight as opposed to flash indoors..... nice, clean work.

[dudeinthehut]

Thanks for the photo advise (and the kind words).

Andy

[Cold Steel Cult]

It always amazes and sometimes infuriates me to see how amazing other people's first knives are... suffice to say my first two werent exactly made of steel. Anyway great great job; your first two knives are better than my best two knives by a lot. I guess im just a slow learner...

[dudeinthehut]

CSC,

Thanks for the compliment. I have seen and read many of your posts here in the forums, and it is clear to me that you have a firm grasp on this stuff. Don't sell yourself short.

In fact, I owe you and everyone else here a debt of gratitude. I have been blessed to stumble, yes stumble, into a very rewarding hobby and then to find such a vast resource of interactive information here on TKN.

If I may..., I read David Boye's book when I was 12yo. I was just putzin' through the library with my mom and grabbed it at random off a shelf. I liked the pictures, checked it out, and read it. I told myself, "someday" as we had no shop, tools, etc.

A few short months ago, a guy I work with, who teaches bushido (all things samurai), asked me if I knew anything about etching on steel (for his katanas). That one question sparked a 22 year old memory--I remembered reading about the royal water method in Boye's book. Well, I rembered telling myself, "someday", so I went to Barnes and Noble and found Boye's book for another read. Then I read Bob Loveless' and Wayne Goddard's books. I'm glad I read them in that order too. Boye just made it seem so doable, ya'know. The other books were more advanced.

So then, I stumble into this website from a search engine. That's when I really started learning! WOW! What a great bunch this knifemaking crowd is. I have never been so honored to know people who are so generous with knowledge which they obtained the hard way. I am in awe.

Fortunately, I have a part-time gig (tattoo artist) which affords me some extra cash to bank-roll this hobby. I have sold nothing and I have spent mucho deniro! No matter... I have discovered a wonderful world in which I can escape and create. It is an outlet which I am a better man for exploring. I may never make a great knife. I may never sell a knife. But, I will never regret one moment, and I will always smiling under the dust mask.

Thanks for the encoragement my friend. I look forward to learning ever more from you and everyone else here.

Keep grindin'
Andy