Okay guys here is my 1st attempt on making a blade. I experimented with a small stripe that was cutoff from a leaf spring and tried to do the basic shaping and forging of a blade to see how well i can handle the blade making sequence. I rough grinded heat treated tempered and grinded again with 120 grit and then hand polished with finer grits . The marks of the 120 grit are still visible on the blade but i didnt tried to completely removed all marks. After all it was only an experiment. I will be using this blade to the yard works to clear grass etc. it is a bit sharp anyway :) Didnt went all the way to very sharp edge.
Well that's my 1st experimental knife ( roughly shaped, polished and assembled). Of to next tries now.. All comments welcome.

it seems i have a prob with showing the pics :(

http://imgur.com/a/wnL9V/all#0

I hope this will work so you guys can see the pics.

Pretty good for a first knife, looks about as good as one of mine. What steel? What wood did you use on the handle? Looks like a softwood like white pine or such. I'm gonna make some heads spin by telling you this, but as a cheapo myself you can find some pretty nice wood on old pallets. I've found cherry, walnut, purple curley walnut, several verieties of mahagony, cocobolo and some that were really pretty but I didn't have a clue as to what they were. They aren't stablized but if you do it right they will work very well, at least until you get comfortable enough for the more expensive stuff.

Thanks Jm. I used leaf spring steel . probably it is 5160. To be honest i dont know what kind of wood it is. It was left overs from pallets and other wood jobs we had on the house last year. Blocks used for the rood and benches. it is soft wood yes. easy to work with. i didnt place any vernish or anything on it. it is just sanded smooth. I am trying to be as low budget as possible also so yes i use a lot of scrap materials :)
Cheers.

Nice Job George. I started with scraps as well. Old leaf springs are usually 5160. Watch for cracks though they can get you at quench time. Once I had a few decent pieces made I didn't mind spending a bit on materials. Once people know what you're doing the materials will just keep coming. One man's junk is another mans treasure. Keep at it,every new one will be better than the last.Cheers Darren

Not sure why that post has all the lines through it? Sorry

MOd Note: its because you used the Underline button, I cleaned it up for you

I like it man great first knife :) just rub some boiled linseed oil or other oil finish on that handle and it will be a good hard worker.

Thanks for the replys guys.Really appreciate it for your comments and advices. I am glad that you liked it. Of to my next try soon when the raining days stop and i can get to the yard and work more. Cheers to all.

looks great man, im going to attempt my first knife soon as it stops raining lol, how did you find beveling the blade?? my biggest problem is im thinking alot and not alot of doing :P. trial and error i guess, im trying a 3 layer knife for the thickness, its 1/8 inch thick steel so gonna giver the go and Labradorian try :P