Two of my knives

[Zrognak]

So I seen a lot of knives on the forums, insanely talented bunch of people here, I will be going through so many threads tonight I want to see it all. I myself im not a blade smith more of a jack of all trades i guess, I do carpentry, jewelry and blacksmithing, I made a few knives over the years I don't sell knives, I might in the future though when I feel like I can make a knife that will hold and is good enough, but thought I should share two of my knives that I made recently or within 2 years only made 2 knives the past 2 years so not much to share, anyway here they are.

critiques are welcome.

So I needed a small hunting knife its for birds mostly. So i made this for myself. Wish I used smaller pins on this one.

Knife 01

Its made from scrap steel, wood is just flame birch, the  sheath is made from veg tanned leather (first sheath i actually made)

 

Knife 02

This is a fun project, I needed a special carving knife, the bevel is convex. Its made from scrap as well, found everything except for the buffalo horn piece. its moose antler and birch burl for the handle

 

As I said I don't sell knives, not good enough for that yet, want to be sure the knives I make hold up a lifetime, and I know I should not use scrap steel for knives, but its just for my own use and it is cheap stuff to practice on.

 

Cant wait to see more creations on this forum from people, like I said Im having a blast cause there are so many things to see.

Cheers!

[templehound]

Knife 01 is well made indeed, real fine user!...and the lanyard hole and file work testifies to careful execution.

The pictures showing more the embellishments than the blade or a better overall perspective....the angle of view comes only from the rear and that is a pity...that knife deserves better pictures or at least one or two more...Imho....solid leather work too!

Knife02 is the kind of flint blade knife art I never cared about so much...looking at art knives I always feel like a simple minded monk.....Not so easy  to comment on something that is subjective to personal taste

The handle is to square and the guard might look better if it flows into the handle with a radius....but besides  it gives a glance of Your creativity and as it demonstrates on the Celtic carving, it is obvious that You are a skilled fellow.

Thanks for sharing and keep up the nice work .

Cheers

 

 

 

 

[Zrognak]

 

10 hours ago, templehound said:

quotes removed

Thank you, that is great feedback.

Knife 01 took longer to make then the 2nd knife, here is a pic from the side. im happy with this knife from a functional standpoint cause it works great as a hunting knife.

We are all different, it is great cause something has been bugging me about knife 02 and now I know its the guard in buffalo horn think the shape of it and the color of the horn does not fit at all now that i come to think of it, it is not the only thing though. as for the square handle that is a preference for me personally what it was going to be used for was going to be doing a lot of twisting motions with it and needed a firm grip, but yea it is more a art project than anything cause i never used it much, but it is good practice to get better. I like the rock pattern personally but it can be useless to have on some knives, like the knife I made cause it can scratch the wood if im not careful.

I love all knives, if they have art or if they are simple, think it that sometimes knives though considered "simple" are masterful art pieces, and should be acknowledged as such, just like this forum has a great variety of blade makers so have a great variety of blades, think the world would be so boring if everyone made the same stuff. And the great thing is we learn from each other, like someone who is detail heavy can learn from someone who makes clean knives and vice versa, think balance is key.

For personal preference, I seen so many knives with too much going on that it takes away from the over all craftsmanship, though greatly crafted think sometimes It can be a bit too much, so personally I would want to find a balance, cause Im not a blade smith right now but I might become one in the future, I would want to make artsy knives but I don't want all my stuff to sit on some shelf someplace, I want em to be used.

 

Thank you again for your feedback, greatly appreciated.

[rhitee93]

I think both of those knives show a good attention to detail, and speak well of your craftsmanship.

Aesthetic design is a personal and subjective thing so I rarely comment on it, but I find both of those knives pleasing to look at.  The first one looks like it would be a good utilitarian knife as well.  

[Zrognak]

Thank you sir that is kind of you to say. And yea personal preference on things we like can be so different, its a good thing  though cause so much variety to look at, I been having a good time going through the forums, so many talented people, both who are new to blade making and veterans, so much great stuff. But anyone can speak their mind about what they think about my stuff even if it is a personal view, I never think there is such a thing as bad critique.

 

And you are right it works pretty good as a utilitarian knife, I can have it on my belt and on a cord around my neck so it is a bonus.

[sfeile]

Those are very nice! Stunning detail and excellent fit and finish. I'm envious of your leather work as well. Mine is almost up to an amateur level now haha.

[windancer]

You should e proud of both knives! Job well done

Thanks for sharing the pics and the info.

Dave

[DuEulear]

Both are verry good looking and i would be proud to have paid fair market to wear one on my hip. 

If the file check is good and you dont have any cracks and she holds an edge it musta been somthing good now where do i order more...

Scrap steel is fine for knives as long as you don’t mind playing the heat treat guessing game with evry new bar of material. This can get really pricy in time and lost work when you loose a otherwise good blade to unpredictable results in ht “CRACK...PING...WARP!!!! Makes known toolsteel bar cheap by comparrison.

Good looking pair keep them comming

du

[Zrognak]

22 hours ago, sfeile said:

Those are very nice!

Thank you, and don't be to hard on yourself im sure your leather work is good.

16 hours ago, windancer said:

You should e proud of both knives!

Thank you sir.

5 hours ago, DuEulear said:

Scrap steel is fine for knives as long as you don’t mind playing the heat treat guessing game with evry new bar of material. This can get really pricy in time and lost work when you

Yea scrap steel is not fun to work with at times, for example I forged a knife from a old truck spring and it ended up being cracked in multiple places, thought I had failed with the heat treat but took a closer look at the leaf spring it had a lot of micro fractures ones that didn't show up on cause of the rust. Lost time is not good if you are trying to make money, but as I see it im not selling anything im just working right now to get better at forging and fit and finish, so if I have to start over as much as it is frustrating the only thing I lose is the fuel I use for the forge, for me the time is not lost cause I learn a lot.

But I hear ya man, as soon as I can afford to buy a good amount of good quality steel I will start using that instead cause I still need to learn how to heat treat certain steels and how to work them so it is a good idea.

And thank you for your kind and encouraging words.

[billyO]

On 8/12/2018 at 1:24 PM, Zrognak said:

Lost time is not good if you are trying to make money, but as I see it im not selling anything im just working right now to get better at forging and fit and finish, so if I have to start over as much as it is frustrating the only thing I lose is the fuel I use for the forge, for me the time is not lost cause I learn a lot.

I think most of us here would agree 100%.

Keep up the good work.

[Zrognak]

That is good to hear, thx man