Buzzkill Posted October 24, 2016 Share Posted October 24, 2016 Here's the first dagger I've ever made. This was a birthday present for my younger brother whose birthday was at the beginning of September, but life happens and I wasn't able to get this finished up and to him until a couple weeks ago. In its previous life the blade was 3/4 inch coil spring. Guard and pommel pieces are brass. Handle is elk antler tine with some dyed and stabilized burl spacers with some copper for accent. It's certainly not perfect, but I'm mostly happy with the way it turned out. It's about 16 inches overall and about 11 inches from guard to tip. Comments or constructive criticism that can help make the next one better are always appreciated. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dom Posted October 24, 2016 Share Posted October 24, 2016 Wow, this is amazing. Especially as a first attempt. I'm sure you now have a most happy brother. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Daswulf Posted October 24, 2016 Share Posted October 24, 2016 Beautiful work Buzzkill. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LibrariaNPC Posted October 24, 2016 Share Posted October 24, 2016 That is one lovely blade! I am rather jealous with how that looks, from the finish to the shape, and do not have any real criticism to offer. Excellent work! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TheoRockNazz Posted October 24, 2016 Share Posted October 24, 2016 Beautiful and flawless! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Steve Sells Posted October 24, 2016 Share Posted October 24, 2016 Thats nice work in general. Good job on the dye for the antler too, its so easy to over do that. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Biker Bo Posted October 25, 2016 Share Posted October 25, 2016 That's a great first knife . I think you found your calling. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JHCC Posted October 25, 2016 Share Posted October 25, 2016 Really nice work; well done. The only thing I would suggest is a small detail: the brass guard seems to be a constant thickness and a little on the thin side, like it's just a piece of flat bar bent to shape with a hole for the tang.. It would be nicer visually if it were about 1.5-2 times as thick in the middle and tapered down to the current thickness at the tips. It's a little thing, but I think it would improve the overall look and proportions. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Buzzkill Posted October 25, 2016 Author Share Posted October 25, 2016 Thanks for all the compliments guys. I appreciate it. 21 hours ago, Hammerdom said: Wow, this is amazing. Especially as a first attempt. I'm sure you now have a most happy brother. Well, he went out and bought an acrylic display case for it. You'd have to know my brother to understand how much of a compliment that actually is, but yeah I'd say he's happy. 15 hours ago, Steve Sells said: Good job on the dye for the antler too, its so easy to over do that. The antler was pretty much sun bleached out, so I browned it gently and slowly with a small hand torch and then lightly sanded it to bring the lighter colors back through. I'm not sure that's the preferred method, but at least visually I think it worked well. 1 hour ago, Biker Bo said: That's a great first knife . I wish my first knife looked that good! I've made a few over the past few years. That was just my first dagger. It was definitely a learning experience. Some things I thought would be much harder were not, and others were more troublesome/tedious than I anticipated. 20 minutes ago, JHCC said: Really nice work; well done. The only thing I would suggest is a small detail: the brass guard seems to be a constant thickness and a little on the thin side, like it's just a piece of flat bar bent to shape with a hole for the tang.. It would be nicer visually if it were about 1.5-2 times as thick in the middle and tapered down to the current thickness at the tips. It's a little thing, but I think it would improve the overall look and proportions. You nailed it. That's exactly how I made the guard, and I agree with what you've said. I'll have to get some stock that's more suitable for the next one or get set up for casting. Thanks for the input. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NFLIFe Posted October 26, 2016 Share Posted October 26, 2016 That's pretty... Makes my first few knives look like a family of inbred savages. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Charles R. Stevens Posted October 26, 2016 Share Posted October 26, 2016 Inbred savages?! Have you been hanging out at my family reunians? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ThomasPowers Posted October 27, 2016 Share Posted October 27, 2016 Boy we used to look *up* to the folks who were inbred savages at our family reunions....Ozark Hill Folk; Shoot I have a friend who's his own uncle! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JHCC Posted October 27, 2016 Share Posted October 27, 2016 6 minutes ago, ThomasPowers said: Shoot I have a friend who's his own uncle! I'm my own half-eighth cousin. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NFLIFe Posted October 27, 2016 Share Posted October 27, 2016 4 hours ago, ThomasPowers said: Boy we used to look *up* to the folks who were inbred savages at our family reunions....Ozark Hill Folk; Shoot I have a friend who's his own uncle! Haha... I can't say I'm much more refined. Old North Fork, LI farm family trees tend to resemble pachysandra patches on paper. Not the dagger in question here though, that's a blue blood! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Buzzkill Posted October 27, 2016 Author Share Posted October 27, 2016 1 hour ago, NFLIFe said: Not the dagger in question here though, that's a blue blood! Thanks again for the compliments. There are a few things that haunt or motivate me when I'm creating a knife. One of them is a simple phrase I found on this site in Steve Sells' knife making classes - "Excellence is a decision." If it's not the best I can do at my current skill level with the tools and materials I have then it's not good enough. Fortunately I'm a hobby bladesmith. If I had to feed my family based on the work I turn out we'd all be a lot thinner or I'd have to get a lot faster. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Oberu Posted October 28, 2016 Share Posted October 28, 2016 Very nice grind lines! I use a file to get lines like that.. Nicely done! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
novam1a Posted November 17, 2016 Share Posted November 17, 2016 how did you keep your grind line so straight? i am having trouble in that area. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Buzzkill Posted November 17, 2016 Author Share Posted November 17, 2016 The first step was to have the bevels in good shape from forging. I spent more time and heats on that part than I would have preferred, but the results were decent. Learning to "uncorkscrew" a blade took a bit of trial and error. After that I ground each of the 4 bevel surfaces on the flat platen of my grinder in line with the belt rather than across it. I use a fairly strong magnet to help hold the blade while grinding. After the rough grind and the heat treatment I went back to the flat platen and again ground each bevel surface in line with the belt. I think I went to about 320 grit that way, then it was a lot of hand sanding using a flat bar and a lot of sandpaper strips from 400 grit to 2000 grit. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JME Posted November 18, 2016 Share Posted November 18, 2016 Great job and your brother is lucky. You have some talent. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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