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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 08-20-2008, 10:54 AM
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dbalfa dbalfa is offline
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Talking First knives - what do the guru's think?

I have made a few knives now and, much to my wife's dismay, now have another expensive hobby

Would you fine gentlemen have a look at these and tell me what your opinions are.[URL="http://s378.photobucket.com/albums/oo221/dbalfa/Knives/"]
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Old 08-20-2008, 10:56 AM
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http://s378.photobucket.com/albums/oo221/dbalfa/Knives/

see if that works....maybe I need help with computers more than knives...
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  #3  
Old 08-20-2008, 12:03 PM
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Welcome to the club of obsessed and broke! ;~)

I'd say your wife should get use to it. Looks like you may stick at it for a while.

chiger,
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  #4  
Old 08-20-2008, 01:12 PM
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Ray Rogers Ray Rogers is offline
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Yep, you've got a belt grinder on your back all righty. Your wife should join the Wives of Knife Makers Support Group or start a local chapter.....


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  #5  
Old 08-20-2008, 01:33 PM
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NJStricker NJStricker is offline
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Looks like you're off to a good start. The handles look a little wide to me, but not as bad as some others I've seen. Looks like good, hard working designs.
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  #6  
Old 08-20-2008, 04:45 PM
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Robert Dark Robert Dark is offline
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Quote:
Originally Posted by dbalfa
I have made a few knives now and, much to my wife's dismay, now have another expensive hobby

Would you fine gentlemen have a look at these and tell me what your opinions are.
Well Hoss, I ain't a "GURU", but it looks like you might just be on the right track. I would recommend working on more distal taper from the ricasso to the tip.

In one photo, the blade stock looked pretty thick (based on the thickness of the stock at the handle). On a small knife, think 1/8" or 3/16" stock.

Fill out your profile so we can learn a little more about you. (where you are from, etc.)

Keep up the good work and share more with us.

Robert
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Old 08-20-2008, 05:14 PM
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OOOOHHHHHHHHHH your so hooked
At least the wife will know where you spend all your spare time.
Good look'in blade. Heed the advice from these guys they'll not lead you astray.


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  #8  
Old 08-20-2008, 07:57 PM
Doug Lester Doug Lester is offline
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Well, from what I've seen you may be well on your way to a hobby that stands a chance of paying for itself. Keep telling your wife that. Point to that stack of steel that you just bought and ask her if she realizes how many hundred of knives that represents. Show her that stack of wood that you have drying in the garage, you know in that space where she once parked her car, and tell her that that's an envestment in the future and be sure to point out how much money you saved by buying your handle material in bulk and cutting it for yourself. Of course the last part of that agruement also justifies getting a table saw and probably a band saw too. When you buy your first grinder tell her that you did that to increase the money flow in the household. Go for the the ecconomics of the thing. Women can really understand ecconomics.

Doug Lester

P.S. I've been married and divorced three times so I really know of which I speak.


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Old 08-21-2008, 06:31 AM
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dbalfa
Have to agree with Robert on both the "profile" and the distal taper, but looks like a very good start. Now it's practice, practice, practice..............(just remember - "I'ts perfect practice that makes perfect").
Once you get real comfortable with the methodology you are presently using and gain confidence in getting it done right - take a break and come to a Trackrock event. I guarantee I can mess with your thinking. Mostly kidding, but I will open up another side to the game of knifemaking.
Just remember - You are not a real knifemaker until you reach the point where, even if you win the lottery, you'll still wind up taking out a loan for more equipment and supplies!


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  #10  
Old 08-22-2008, 02:07 PM
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Thanks gentlemen

For a word toward the "old school" types I have been reading here, the little black knife was made almost entirely from hand file work, sandpaper, mixed with sweat and a little blood. I don't know if you can get a well defined grind line on a sander, at least I can't. To me, that aspect separates a "custom" handmade from a production knife. I know the stock is thick for such a small knife but it does "feel good" in your hand. I had a specific size goal in my mind when I started and that was the only steel I had to work with, so...... I don't think you could ever break it...

Someone said something about the ricasso.... not familiar with that term. Could someone enlighten me. I know where the choil is and tang, etc, but not up to speed on all the proper lingo. Part of the reason that knifes upward sweep is the length I was holding myself to. Probably lends itself more to skinning or the like rather than EDU. I did have someone try to buy it off my side, that made me feel good.

Speaking of equipment, I just bought a bandsaw, 2" belt sander and some leather tools....it begins
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  #11  
Old 08-22-2008, 05:19 PM
LRB LRB is offline
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I would say that you have a lot to learn, much study to be done, many questions to ask, but you are off to a very good start. This is my first, 1971. I was in the same position as you, except back then, no one shared secrets, and there were not as many to even ask.
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  #12  
Old 08-22-2008, 10:10 PM
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NJStricker NJStricker is offline
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Quote:
Originally Posted by dbalfa
Thanks gentlemen

For a word toward the "old school" types I have been reading here, the little black knife was made almost entirely from hand file work, sandpaper, mixed with sweat and a little blood. I don't know if you can get a well defined grind line on a sander, at least I can't. To me, that aspect separates a "custom" handmade from a production knife. I know the stock is thick for such a small knife but it does "feel good" in your hand. I had a specific size goal in my mind when I started and that was the only steel I had to work with, so...... I don't think you could ever break it...

Someone said something about the ricasso.... not familiar with that term. Could someone enlighten me. I know where the choil is and tang, etc, but not up to speed on all the proper lingo. Part of the reason that knifes upward sweep is the length I was holding myself to. Probably lends itself more to skinning or the like rather than EDU. I did have someone try to buy it off my side, that made me feel good.

Speaking of equipment, I just bought a bandsaw, 2" belt sander and some leather tools....it begins
Nothing wrong with hand tools. I have a 2x42 belt sander, and though it tracks well for a piece of wood working equipment, I still use files to "grind" my bevels. I've made about a dozen knives this way over the past couple of years, and in the past few months have filed out 4 more blades. It's an exercise in patience, though sometimes it feels like an exercise in futility. But, the slow going allows me to watch the bevels take shape. My first knives were too thick, too convex, and too low on the grind. The edges were sharp, but they did not cut well. So, with each blade I try to learn a little more, and each one cuts better.

If you stick with small knives and thinner stock (I use 3/32 to 5/32, and longest blade is about 4 inches) you should be fine with hand work paired with a sander.

Check out the list of books in the Sticky section of the Newbies Arena. Read as much as you can, and educate yourself about knife nomenclature, steel types, and blade shapes. Use the Search function here until your eyes pop out from reading so much. And ask plenty of questions. I've never been to another knifemaking forum where there are so many experienced makers willing to help someone else in the craft.

Last edited by NJStricker; 08-22-2008 at 10:13 PM.
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