Latest knife

[MastaStan]

Stainless with English oak handle scales. It went from a paper template, that mocked me for weeks to something I'm pretty proud of. Its not perfect but I think its going to be a bit of a prototype for improvements, not only on design, but also on materials .

It has a very nice weight and feel to it. I went for a bushcraft look and feel. First bushcraft/scandi I've done so let me know what you think.

 

[lanternnate]

I like the blade shape a lot  and the hollow rod handle pinning looks cool. One of the things I've found messing around stone sharpening some of my Scandi attempts is the position of the choil to the grind has a big impact. If you start the Scandi bevel at about the midpoint of the choil it's easier to sharpen the entire cutting edge because the stone doesn't need to get as snug against the back of the bevel. The ones I've done like yours where the bevel starts more at the front of the choil are a bit more of a pain to get sharp the entire edge.

From a personal preference perspective, the handle looks like it might be more comfortable for me if the front were a bit narrower. I like the dropping rear though. I like the feel of a dropping rear to the handle in these kinds of knives.

[templehound]

If we make a knife it should have the goal to cut, feeling comfortable to the hand, made stable and solid and have some beauty in the eye of the beholder.

Your knife has no real scandi grind because it is hollow ground.Hollow ground knives are for short cuts, like for surgery or shaving.

In Scandinavia wood whittling is a part of the culture and so are knives with a low bevel  flat grind.Those grinds are not meant to cut deep into the object, which is not possible with woods.

If You see hollow grinds on such knives, then they are auto-ground mass ware, or the result of misunderstood cutting geometry.

Second critique I have on the size/wideness of the bevel...it is too narrow, You should dare grinding higher, giving it more ability to cut.

 but If You think: " it cuts pretty good!".... than its fine

Third is the unequal positions of the tube pins holding the scales, getting an uniform distance is no big deal.

Well, the "prototype thing"....definitely nothing that fits a "first try" especially on design.

Finishing a knife(thats what You did) is always something You can be proud of and that deserves all respect.

 getting better is something that keeps Your pride alive and growing.

You asked for thoughts and I gave them.

stay keen and all the best

Cheers

 

 

 

[Will W.]

Pros: 

Profile looks nice.

Those scales are AWESOME!!!

Tube pins look well executed.

Plunge line and ricasso are very crisp.

 

Cons:

Center pin is offset, and looks a little odd.

Bevels are a little short. 

 

Overall, nice work. I really like it. 

[gote]

Interesting for a scandinavian to learn about Scandinavian knives. I grind mine with a sligth hollowness in the ground part. This makes it easier to sharpen it since there is less material to remove. Those I buy also have this grind and they serve me well. This hollowness has a radius of about 4 inches and is of course very different from the cut throat razor style of grind.  

[MastaStan]

21 hours ago, lanternnate said:

I like the blade shape a lot  and the hollow rod handle pinning looks cool. One of the things I've found messing around stone sharpening some of my Scandi attempts is the position of the choil to the grind has a big impact. If you start the Scandi bevel at about the midpoint of the choil it's easier to sharpen the entire cutting edge because the stone doesn't need to get as snug against the back of the bevel. The ones I've done like yours where the bevel starts more at the front of the choil are a bit more of a pain to get sharp the entire edge.

From a personal preference perspective, the handle looks like it might be more comfortable for me if the front were a bit narrower. I like the dropping rear though. I like the feel of a dropping rear to the handle in these kinds of knives.

Thank you for the feedback. I love honest feedback, gives me something to work on.

16 hours ago, templehound said:

If we make a knife it should have the goal to cut, feeling comfortable to the hand, made stable and solid and have some beauty in the eye of the beholder.

Your knife has no real scandi grind because it is hollow ground.Hollow ground knives are for short cuts, like for surgery or shaving.

In Scandinavia wood whittling is a part of the culture and so are knives with a low bevel  flat grind.Those grinds are not meant to cut deep into the object, which is not possible with woods.

If You see hollow grinds on such knives, then they are auto-ground mass ware, or the result of misunderstood cutting geometry.

Second critique I have on the size/wideness of the bevel...it is too narrow, You should dare grinding higher, giving it more ability to cut.

 but If You think: " it cuts pretty good!".... than its fine

Third is the unequal positions of the tube pins holding the scales, getting an uniform distance is no big deal.

Well, the "prototype thing"....definitely nothing that fits a "first try" especially on design.

Finishing a knife(thats what You did) is always something You can be proud of and that deserves all respect.

 getting better is something that keeps Your pride alive and growing.

You asked for thoughts and I gave them.

stay keen and all the best

Cheers

 

 

 

Thank you for the feedback.  You've definitely give me food for thought and that's exactly what I wanted.

[lanternnate]

4 hours ago, gote said:

Interesting for a scandinavian to learn about Scandinavian knives. I grind mine with a sligth hollowness in the ground part. This makes it easier to sharpen it since there is less material to remove. Those I buy also have this grind and they serve me well. This hollowness has a radius of about 4 inches and is of course very different from the cut throat razor style of grind.  

I remember reading somewhere (but now cannot find it) that traditionally a Scandi grind was actually a bit hollow ground because they were ground with large stone wheels. Then over time the grind would flatten out from repeated sharpening on a flat stone. As our resident Scandinavian can you shed any light on this if it's true or not?  I'm a fan of the Scandi grind so I've been trying to research it and get it right. I've been doing my attempts flat, but flat is the only option I have with my current grinder.

[MastaStan]

6 hours ago, Will W. said:

Pros: 

Profile looks nice.

Those scales are AWESOME!!!

Tube pins look well executed.

Plunge line and ricasso are very crisp.

 

Cons:

Center pin is offset, and looks a little odd.

Bevels are a little short. 

 

Overall, nice work. I really like it. 

Thank you for your honest feedback,  I think you're AWESOME! I know at you mean about the center pin...it just felt right regardless of aesthetics....it felt better structurally.

Bevels are definitely something I need to work on. Working on my kit, got an amazing person helping me out!!!

 

Thanks again!

 

 

7 minutes ago, lanternnate said:

I remember reading somewhere (but now cannot find it) that traditionally a Scandi grind was actually a bit hollow ground because they were ground with large stone wheels. Then over time the grind would flatten out from repeated sharpening on a flat stone. As our resident Scandinavian can you shed any light on this if it's true or not?  I'm a fan of the Scandi grind so I've been trying to research it and get it right. I've been doing my attempts flat, but flat is the only option I have with my current grinder.

Im definitely intrigued because what I thought was a scandi grind seems to be not  or is.....I dont know....somebody call Thor

Someone will get my sense if humour one day!

[gote]

The traditional basic grinding tool used to be a wheel of sandstone running in water. They started out with a diameter around 2' but after long use came down to 8". If the grind became convex or concave, depended upon how the tool was held to the stone and the choice depended upon the use. Scythes were often ground concave. Knives that were subject to strong forces were ground convex. Flat grind was NOT used. You find the same in Japan. My Japanese kitchen knife (which I bought in a fairly famous specialist shop in Tokyo) has a concave grind but a katana has a convex.

I find that younger people talk about "scandi" also in Sweden. This is an Anglicism. The word seems to have been imported with the internet.

One has to make a distinction between the basic forming of the edge by grinding and the (re-)sharpening of the edge in daily use.

In reality sharpening takes place in the shop or in the wood or anywhere and it is an advantage to be able to have a sharpening stone nearby or in the pocket if out of doors. In real use, the knife was not sharpened in an elaborate rig or machine in a workshop. One holds the knife or scythe in one hand and the stone in the other. The concave grind gives a correct angle and little effort (=little removal of metal).

The disadvantage with the convex grind is that the surface does not give a good support for the correct angle when sharpening. A flat grind and a concave does, The concave has the advantage that very little material is removed every time. Sooner or later the concave surface is "sharpened away" and then it is time to use the rotating stone wheel again.

A flat grind is easily turned into a convex when sharpening. If you slip just a little, you have lost the edge and you have to work yourself back and that is a PITA when you are out in the woods. Besides even if the surface is kept flat it is easy to accidentally change the angle since it it is tempting to put more pressure close to the edge.

I might have a different view on this subject since I use knives. I do not make them. I grind my wood working tools on a Tormex (which is popular with professional wood workers) and which has a rotating wheel running in water. I sharpen knives with a lightweight diamond tool. Carpenters chisels and plane blades I sharpen on a Japanese ceramic stone but the concave grind is useful also there.

[lanternnate]

Thanks Gote. That's just the kind of info I was looking for. I guess those of us not from the Scandavian region have a bit mucked things up with the coinage of the term "Scandi." For me it's about appreciating a rather smart knife design choice common from an area where people really use their knives, if that makes it any better  I make and use knives, but I'm just a fiddling tinkerer at either. I like knives ground in the style of your neck of the woods for in the field users because I have a chance at not messing up on the field stone  Sharpening what would be considered a "normal" edge here in the States I need to be in a more controlled environment to not ruin the edge. I did once try to sharpen a Scandavian style ground knife on a fancy sharpening system. I successfully made it convex and dull as a spoon. Took a fair bit of time fixing that...