January 16, 201016 yr this is my first attempt at badesmithing. the stock is a recycled old file and the handle is aged cherry with brass rivets. any tips about what i might do to improve my knives would be great. thanks for looking. cheers jason
January 16, 201016 yr thats a very good first attempt! i like the overall shape of the knife its kind of organic ish...nice job
January 16, 201016 yr Author thanks! it was a blast to make. i think its going to be the first in a long series for me. cheers!
January 17, 201016 yr this is my first attempt at badesmithing. the stock is a recycled old file and the handle is aged cherry with brass rivets. any tips about what i might do to improve my knives would be great. thanks for looking. cheers jason Looks good to me! However, if you provide some more information about the process and/or materials (glues, etc.), we might be able to help. For example, most hardware store epoxies from Home Depot, Lowes, etc, won't hold the wood/steel bond very well. Also, how did you heat treat the file after forging, grinding, etc. There are lots of folks here that can help and will be more that happy to.
January 17, 201016 yr Author hey thanks for looking. i used your standard home depot epoxy. when i did the heat treat first i got the blade up to the critical temp (non-magnetic) and immediately quenched it in oil. next i got another piece of stock screamin hot and laid the blade on its back edge on the stock, letting the heat rise to the blade until the blade got to straw yellow then i immediately quenched it in water. then i did 2 cycles of equalization in the oven at 350 for an hour each a day apart. that was about it. any suggestions? cheers! jason
January 17, 201016 yr My question is how does it work? Does it cut well, and hold a great edge? If not then it is a letter opener. A knife is a tool, so it doesn't matter how good it looks if it can't perform. I like the overall design. From the angle of the picture it appears that the blade has a slight downward curve, is that correct? If you can add your location, as there may be some bladesmiths close to you that could help out.
January 18, 201016 yr Author it cut great and has spring to it so i'm not worried about breakage. the blade does indeed curve down slightly. i'm livin in chicago right now and if anyone know a bladesmith in the area i would love to know about it. cheers jason
February 5, 201016 yr A LOT better than my first try. I tryed to make my first knife out of an old file today and i accidentally melted it in half in my home made forge... Well at least i know now my forge gets hot enough. Sweet lookin knife you made though, hopefully my next attempt will look half that good.
February 5, 201016 yr After the other feedback my comment would be to keep an eye on the location of the rivets. The first one is very close to the edge of the timber handle. Bet it does not cause you any trouble but its weaker and, to my eye, does not look as good. Cheers
February 11, 201016 yr Author thanks for the props man! let me know when you have a blade to look at, love to see what you're workin on. cheers! jason
February 11, 201016 yr Author After the other feedback my comment would be to keep an eye on the location of the rivets. The first one is very close to the edge of the timber handle. Bet it does not cause you any trouble but its weaker and, to my eye, does not look as good. Cheers great suggestion! thanks jason
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