sfeile Posted July 11, 2018 Share Posted July 11, 2018 I've been commenting and critiquing others, so I figured it was only fair to post some of my own work for you guys to have a go at. I'm still less than 20 knives at this point in time and actually less than a year with a forge. These are the latest ones, I actually just finished both of them. Well... The one with the micarta (my first ever attempt at making micarta) needs a final finish on the scales and sharpened, but here they are for you guys to pick apart and tell me what I can do better. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
windancer Posted July 11, 2018 Share Posted July 11, 2018 Nice work! Nothing there for me to pick apart at all. You should be proud of them both Dave Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lou L Posted July 12, 2018 Share Posted July 12, 2018 Look great to me. The scratch peepers May come along and demand you hand sand for five hours, but I think they are really pleasing looking. The first one looks to be integral....not sure because of the glare. If so, well done! I really like the look of the second one. It whispers, “cut things” in my ear. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sfeile Posted July 12, 2018 Author Share Posted July 12, 2018 18 hours ago, windancer said: Nice work! Nothing there for me to pick apart at all. You should be proud of them both Thank you Dave! 13 hours ago, Lou L said: Look great to me. The scratch peepers May come along and demand you hand sand for five hours, but I think they are really pleasing looking. The first one looks to be integral....not sure because of the glare. If so, well done! I really like the look of the second one. It whispers, “cut things” in my ear. Thank you Lou. Yes, I need to work on my finishing. No arguments there at all. The second one is just a scotchbrite belt finish after a 220 belt. I still ended up with a few random oddball scratches though. The first one doesn't actually have a guard, it is just the plunge line. They are both full tang and "V" ground. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
templehound Posted July 12, 2018 Share Posted July 12, 2018 Hard to tell, what You can do better, because the critiques that I maybe have are all about taste and personal preferences.....I like the knife with the wood handle much more because it is not so Spyderco-like as the other one and has a more beautiful blade shape......but as I said, very personal. What is most important to me are the edges of both blades....both knives have very nice edges and very accurate points....very well made! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sfeile Posted July 12, 2018 Author Share Posted July 12, 2018 16 minutes ago, templehound said: because the critiques that I maybe have are all about taste and personal preferences. Thank you! Personal preference critiques are definitely welcome as well! I know what I like, but it may not be the same as others tastes or even what fits the way they might use them. If someone has better ideas or even can explain to me a reason why something works better or worse for them, I can learn from that and improve on my next projects. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MotoMike Posted July 12, 2018 Share Posted July 12, 2018 Well, I've never forged a knife so my critique is based on next to no knowledge. They are great looking knives. I prefer the second one, and as it has been mentioned it is sort of spydercoish. Or as I say, cop knife. Looks good. the Micarta looks quite toothy. can you tell about how it is made? If I had a criticism, it would be that to my eye, if the leading edge of the scales paralleled the plunge line, it would just seem more in place. but it is an aesthetic opinion. It's a sweet knife. as is the other. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sfeile Posted July 12, 2018 Author Share Posted July 12, 2018 Thanks Mike! Now that you say that, I agree. It Does throw the aesthetics of a little with those lines being different doesn't it. 12 minutes ago, MotoMike said: can you tell about how it is made? As far as how the micarta was made, I made a "box" out of plywood. A bottom and 3 sides. Then I lined it with wax paper. I had 6x6 inch squares of old denim cut and I placed one in the box, then soaked it down with fiberglass resin. Add another piece and soak it. Kept repeating until I got just a bit thicker than my desired finished piece. I then put another piece of wax paper on the top, and another piece of plywood and snugly clamped it to hold it in place until the resin cured. After it cured, I trimmed the edges and cut it in half to make it into a pair. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MotoMike Posted July 12, 2018 Share Posted July 12, 2018 so now your are sporting denim cut offs? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JHCC Posted July 12, 2018 Share Posted July 12, 2018 For once, no pictures, please. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MotoMike Posted July 12, 2018 Share Posted July 12, 2018 short shorts? It sounds like a lot of denim Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sfeile Posted July 12, 2018 Author Share Posted July 12, 2018 I walked out into the living room holding what was left of the jeans and my wife said "why are you making daisy dukes?" I had to show her what I did then she thought it was pretty cool. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MotoMike Posted July 12, 2018 Share Posted July 12, 2018 ohh. I'm with JHCC. No Pics!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sfeile Posted July 12, 2018 Author Share Posted July 12, 2018 I said holding, not wearing! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MotoMike Posted July 12, 2018 Share Posted July 12, 2018 OK. been quite hot lately. just wondering Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
D.IVO Posted July 12, 2018 Share Posted July 12, 2018 I cant see anything to criticize, All that remains to know is how they perform .. Next step is make a sheat for those two. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Buzzkill Posted July 12, 2018 Share Posted July 12, 2018 If you like the look and feel of the blue jean micarta as you have it then ignore the next part. If you want to give that micarta a little more of a glossy/smooth appearance and feel, you can sand it with relatively fine grit. On the top layer that will bring out the blue jean pattern a bit more, but it will make the handle a little more slick/slippery in the hand. Again, it's a preference thing and nothing wrong with what you have. Always test on a scrap piece before trying it on a finished handle though. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sfeile Posted July 12, 2018 Author Share Posted July 12, 2018 35 minutes ago, Buzzkill said: If you want to give that micarta a little more of a glossy/smooth appearance and feel Thanks for the tip Buzzkill! 3 hours ago, D.IVO said: All that remains to know is how they perform Thanks D.IVO! So far all the blades I have made have been from the same piece of steel (large truck leaf spring) and had the same normalizing/quench/tempering done to them. Although, I have to admit that I over-heated one before quenching but it broke before I ever got it to the finish grinding anyhow. This is the one that I carry all the time. I screwed up the grind on it a little so I decided to use it as my "abuser" just so I knew how they should be expected to hold up. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cincinnatus Posted July 12, 2018 Share Posted July 12, 2018 Both knives look great - thanks for posting. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rhitee93 Posted July 12, 2018 Share Posted July 12, 2018 I think they are good, but if you want the nitpick issues, I'll give them to you The pin placement on the wood handled one looks a bit off. I think the center pin needs to be a bit higher. Sometimes you have to space the pins unevenly to make them look right after the handle is shaped. The plunge line for the second one appears to run up to the spine. High grinds are good, (ie no noob grinds) but it is a pet peeve of mine to see a plunge line if I am looking straight down at the top of the spine. It looks like the plunge on the first one has been washed out by buffing, but that may be caused by poor lighting in the pic. Nice crisp grind lines are a must for me. I'm not sure I like the triangular notch in the second one. Stress risers like that make my skin crawl because I am an engineer by trade. To be fair, however, someone would have to be doing something pretty abusive to cause it to break so it is more of a personal thing to me. I need to play with micarta some. It looks like a nice practical grippy handle material. Nice work Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sfeile Posted July 12, 2018 Author Share Posted July 12, 2018 37 minutes ago, rhitee93 said: nitpick issues Nitpick issues are definitely welcome. 37 minutes ago, rhitee93 said: plunge line for the second one appears to run up to the spine. It does on that side (I did get a little heavy on that grind) but is not really visible on the spine. I know what you are saying though and will make sure to watch that in the future. The other side is good and the other knife is good, so it is definitely something I need to watch on my consistency. 37 minutes ago, rhitee93 said: It looks like the plunge on the first one has been washed out by buffing It is. My thought was to blend it a little since it was a higher polish, but yes it does wash out the line. Not so much "blending" then. Got it. 37 minutes ago, rhitee93 said: I'm not sure I like the triangular notch Actually I don't either. I agree with you about the stress point and I'm going to round it out when I put the edge on it today. I used a triangle file to mark it and just kind of left it. I do need to fix that. 37 minutes ago, rhitee93 said: Nice work Thank you! And thank you for the critique as well. Keeps me on my toes and gives me things to work on. Thank you Cincinnatus! Edit: The pin placement... Yes I agree. I didn't realize it was that bad until I got the scales shaped. Definitely something to pay attention to. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
John in Oly, WA Posted July 12, 2018 Share Posted July 12, 2018 Another very nit picky comment on the first one, the notch (sharpening choil?) looks like it cuts into the plunge line. If it were moved forward slightly so the back of the notch was flush with the plunge line, it wouldn't interrupt the plunge line and then that line would extend smoothly to the bottom of the ricasso. But that's just me being pickticularly picky. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sfeile Posted July 12, 2018 Author Share Posted July 12, 2018 34 minutes ago, John in Oly, WA said: back of the notch was flush with the plunge line That is a very good suggestion. I hadn't thought of that but I can see it now that you mentioned it. Thank you! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MC Hammer Posted July 16, 2018 Share Posted July 16, 2018 Great job Sfeile.........they will cut ! How can I say anything bad about those knives when I've never made a knife myself? I'm not a fan of super shiny finishes as I'm more of the old Bowie knife type, but you are well on your way into knife making. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sfeile Posted July 17, 2018 Author Share Posted July 17, 2018 23 minutes ago, MC Hammer said: Great job Sfeile.........they will cut ! Thank you! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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