JME Posted June 1, 2016 Share Posted June 1, 2016 My first try at a knife. Lots more work to go though. From some stainless rod. Blade shape is wrong, I want it shaped more like a fillet knife but overall I think it is a good start. Not sure what I will do for a handle but I am sure I will figure it out. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Darious Posted June 1, 2016 Share Posted June 1, 2016 Its a little hard to tell in the picture. Has your tang been flattened or is it stock? just wondering how you plan on putting a handle on it. Overall blade looks like it has a nicely defined edge. even if it wasn't the design you had in mind Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dustin Quade Posted June 1, 2016 Share Posted June 1, 2016 You could do a rat tail handle on that. It looks like you have enough length. You basically draw out that remaining material to a point. Bend the end of it towards the spine of the knife using the nose of the anvil, which make the figner guard and you then bend it towards the blade edge at about the half way mark using the nose again, this gives a small bulge which is nice to hold in the hand. Here is an image of one online. I did not make this knife but i actually have one in my living room right now waiting for heat treat lol. Description might not be the best but you can probably get an idea from the picture. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ThomasPowers Posted June 1, 2016 Share Posted June 1, 2016 Usually called a self hilted, Brut de forge, blacksmith knife, etc, than a rat tail which is usually a hidden tang knife with a tang of dubiously small size for the blade/use. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dustin Quade Posted June 1, 2016 Share Posted June 1, 2016 16 minutes ago, ThomasPowers said: Usually called a self hilted, Brut de forge, blacksmith knife, etc, than a rat tail which is usually a hidden tang knife with a tang of dubiously small size for the blade/use. Oh yea? Fair enough I have always called this kind of knife a rat tail on account of it looking kinda like a rats tail. I still think it’s still a good option for him given the amount of stock remaining for him to work with. I'll just make sure that when I post the pics of mine I'll use the right name Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ThomasPowers Posted June 1, 2016 Share Posted June 1, 2016 Don't know if it's "right"; just more common and the term "rat tail" for a tang has a very pejorative connotation as some of the very cheap, very low quality imported blades have such tangs "tack welded on" that often fail and that's too nice a blade to be lumped with those! It is funny because if you were making a handle for a fireplace poker or cooking implement that would be called a rat tail... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JME Posted June 1, 2016 Author Share Posted June 1, 2016 Darious, I am really not sure what to do about the handle. Dustin, I like your idea though. Think I will give it a try. I have about 10' of the stainless rod so lot of material to experiment. Thanks. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dustin Quade Posted June 1, 2016 Share Posted June 1, 2016 9 minutes ago, JME said: Darious, I am really not sure what to do about the handle. Dustin, I like your idea though. Think I will give it a try. I have about 10' of the stainless rod so lot of material to experiment. Thanks. No problem. Hopefully you will post a pic of the finished product when your done. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JME Posted June 1, 2016 Author Share Posted June 1, 2016 Just now, Dustin Quade said: No problem. Hopefully you will post a pic of the finished product when your done. I will defiantly be posting a few pics. I want to make a small set of matching knives and this is the first experiment. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Buzzkill Posted June 1, 2016 Share Posted June 1, 2016 We're ok with you posting pictures. No need to be defiant about it. I haven't seen anyone mention it and you're probably already aware...... but unless that is high carbon stainless it will not harden and so it's more suitable for a wall hanger or a letter opener than a knife that needs to hold a cutting edge. A lot of the commonly used stainless is 304 or 316 and neither of those will harden when quenched. If it does happen to be a hardening alloy then the proper heat treatment is probably pretty difficult to do without a proper heat treating oven. Either way, welcome to the dark side. I'm looking forward to seeing what you create next. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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