Rhettbarnhart

ummm......i would definitely say u have the skill to,as you say,start"ruining"expensive steel
looks really good!!!!

ty for the compliments it encourages ;) switch the handle is heart pine prolly not the best for a kitchen knife but....i stained it with mahogany stain i think

i made this as a birthday gift for my mom btw this was done by stock removal

lonselat did u get that anvil off atlanta craigslist?

take Dons advice about a file in a cpl hours u can have a good grind

thank you:)

ok so i finally finished it tonight i didnt end up usin cocobolo because it hasnt been delivered and i was tired of waiting:)

all looks very square and symmetrical!!!

when i am makin a knife i always slip a couple times....lol

is the band aid from the knife?

i think the knapped look is very nice on a small knife like that

Kb and Rich Hale
i heated to critcal and straightened when i was done straightening the color was almost gone i slipped it back in the forge and re-heat treated it.....so i am guessing yall are probably right.Oh well live and learn as they say and at least its not ruined:)in case i didnt make it clear......no i did not re-normalize

"good rescue"
thanks but i still dont like it quite as much as before


"do you know why it cracked?"
Rich i will give the process i used.......steel was 5160 from aldo i dont think i ever hammered below temp.i normalized 4-5 times then heat treated twice by going to nonmagnetic and quenchin in veggie oil.After the second ht i noticed the blade was warped so i heated back up and straightened on the anvil then heat treated one more time......CRACK!!!!my opinion is that the reason it cracked is because i straightened the blade after hardening but i could be completely wrong.Any thoughts?anybody?btw i ordered cocobolo wood and will hopefully be finishin it soon
Rhett

here are some piics with a temporary handle

thanks kyler but i am afraid it is drstically changed now!!!

ARGGGGHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!it cracked during ht :angry: the crack was on the clip side and i was able to grind it out but i had to grind it out so much it looks like something u would c in a sci fi flick!!!

look on ebay just those tools are probably worth a cpl hundred.....

i finally decided to make a hidden tang knife and decided to post progress here.Any of the blade gurus can tell me if i screw up and tell me wat to do differently ,and if anyone has advice i will consider all of it.enjoy.....First i got a piece of 5160 from aldo and then i drew out the blade then made a template from wood.after that i forged to shape then hit with an angle grinder and a 1x30 from harbor freight.here are the results so fari will post pictures of progress as soon as i have more time to work on it.

u would have to have a pretty big forge to ht a blade that big.I started makin a sword when i stared bcus i had the "i want to make a cool medieval sword"attitude it never got finished and never will.I am still a beginner but my advice is to forge some small knives drop points,neck knives etcetera get the basics down bfore u waste a big piece of steel.with every inch u add onto a knife u also add a lot of work just my two cents take it or leave it. Rhett

thomas the only thing i could find on them is a post on ebay a cpl months ago and that is wat they called them it is a lot like a track clip but bigger i think

those r awesome especially for ur first ones!!!!

i made this knife from a railroad tie stay,oak salvaged from a crate,and copper from a groundwirefrom the sharp side
from the top
and one more from the side
in my hand
i wont be selling this so it doesnt matter that i made it out of unknown steel enjoy.criticism welcome

just throwing this out there i just bought a piece of 5160 from new jersey steel baron .25inx1.5inx4ft was 20 bucks tipped off the ups another 15 bucks and had it at my door within a week when u throw in the time u woud have put in looking for leaf springs and drawing them out to the right thickness 35 bucks for a piece of steel the right length is a good deal!!!!

i agree with 2tim15 my favorite style for skinning chopping and anything else u need is a drop point