Nathan Kraft Posted March 8, 2020 Share Posted March 8, 2020 Not sure if this is the right site to post this (it not being forged) so sorry if this is the wrong place. I started my first knife today; my own design (by which I mean I didn’t copy something off the internet- obviously it is influenced by common knife shaped and such). I only finished the blank, but what do y’all think of the profile so far? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
masonred Posted March 9, 2020 Share Posted March 9, 2020 Good start post more pics as you continue. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nathan Kraft Posted March 9, 2020 Author Share Posted March 9, 2020 Any modifications you would make/things that look weird? Also should I do bevels first or quench first? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ThomasPowers Posted March 9, 2020 Share Posted March 9, 2020 Are you forging in the bevels or just grinding them? Either way I suggest a partial grind before heat treat, leave the edge at least as thick as a US dime, perhaps even thicker if you are new to it... It's a lot easier to just do cleanup/final grind after heat treat than to need to do a lot of grinding of hardened steel. What's the steel(s)? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nathan Kraft Posted March 9, 2020 Author Share Posted March 9, 2020 I am working with 1084 steel. I am going to grind the bevels (specifically file with a jig). Also, the order is drill handle + scales, grind bevels, heat treat, finishing sanding and such, attach handle,scales, finish handle and put finish on blade right? Lastly, I know heat treat for 1084 is pretty simple, but if I'm using my coal forge rather than a propane forge does that change it at all? And how do you heat the oil for the quench? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ThomasPowers Posted March 9, 2020 Share Posted March 9, 2020 What finish are you putting on the blade? If you are using a coal forge instead of propane you can do a differential heat treat if you want. Sticking a piece of pipe with one closed end into a pile of hot coal to make a muffle furnace to heat treat in can help a lot too. (I like to add some charcoal dust to keep the atmosphere reducing in the pipe.) How I preheat oil: I have a chunk of steel on a piece of 1/8" steel "wire" that I heat in my forge and then hang in my quench tank near the bottom. The steel wire has a hook to hang on the edge of the tank. When it's close to the correct temp I remove the chunk and let it drip into the coal forge. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nathan Kraft Posted March 9, 2020 Author Share Posted March 9, 2020 I am planning to just hand sand to high grit. I'm not sure what else i could do to it with my current resources. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nathan Kraft Posted March 9, 2020 Author Share Posted March 9, 2020 Also wondering what I can use for handle scales. More specifically can I just use a piece of scrap wood or do I need specific types of wood or wood prepared in specific ways? Is it best to just order scales online? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chris C Posted March 9, 2020 Share Posted March 9, 2020 When it comes to handles, Nathan, the sky is the limit. Everything from spalted firewood scraps, to Armadillo scales to Ivory, to God-only-knows-what! That's half the fun. Get creative. I've seen guys make G-10 out of blue jeans material. (I wouldn't use it, personally, but everyone has their own idea as to what is cool) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nathan Kraft Posted March 10, 2020 Author Share Posted March 10, 2020 Is stabilization necessary if I use wood scales? Or will oil suffice? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chris C Posted March 10, 2020 Share Posted March 10, 2020 No, not necessary. Folks have been making knives for a lon-n-n-n-n-n-n-n-n-g time out of wood and putting a finish on them. Oil is still my preference for some handles. Edit: In fact, I use Tru-Oil for a lot of my wood carving knife handles. Like the way the wood feels in the hand after it dries. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CrazyGoatLady Posted March 11, 2020 Share Posted March 11, 2020 I've heard of knife handles made from stabilized horse manure, so I reckon, the sky really is the limit Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chris C Posted March 11, 2020 Share Posted March 11, 2020 "Horse Pukkys"..................nope, not for me, CGL. You Texicans are welcome to my share of that material for handles. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CrazyGoatLady Posted March 11, 2020 Share Posted March 11, 2020 LOL! Yeah, there would be no shortage for sure. Hmm I wonder if you could use goat droppings? I'd never run out of handle material Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chris C Posted March 11, 2020 Share Posted March 11, 2020 Or Llama poop for me! (this is gettin' creepy, CGL!) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Irondragon Forge ClayWorks Posted March 11, 2020 Share Posted March 11, 2020 One of my favorite handle material is bison bone. A friend of mine used to raise them and I had free supply of the bones. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CrazyGoatLady Posted March 11, 2020 Share Posted March 11, 2020 Sorry Chris! Buffalo bone would be nice to have a supply of. I like the look of rams horn also Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chris C Posted March 11, 2020 Share Posted March 11, 2020 Just now, CrazyGoatLady said: Sorry Chris! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nathan Kraft Posted March 11, 2020 Author Share Posted March 11, 2020 Well this discussion took a turn lol. I’m planning to do the filing on my bevels tomorrow after school. What types of wood would y’all recommend. Also, I’m wondering if y’all have any tips on matching the handle scales to the blade pattern if I use a mustard patina? I am wanting to use wood scales with pretty stark contrast grain and the grain going down the length of it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Les L Posted March 11, 2020 Share Posted March 11, 2020 I think bois d'arc, would have a nice contrast. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JHCC Posted March 11, 2020 Share Posted March 11, 2020 The most important thing to remember about wooden handles is that you do NOT want something with coarse grain that's prone to splitting. In other words, no oak, no ash. Hickory and bois d'arc (aka bowdock or osage orange) are about the coarsest grain I'd go with, myself. Things with a tight grain like maple, cherry, etc are good. My first two knives had handles of applewood, which looks great. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ThomasPowers Posted March 11, 2020 Share Posted March 11, 2020 Well to re-address the earlier question: it depends on the wood, the planned finish and what you hope to use it for. I really prefer dishwasher safe materials for skinning knives that you expect will get pretty mucky. I'd pick a tougher finish for a camp knife that will see a lot of use in bad weather than for one that will stay indoors. If you want a wood to match the blotchy, patchy look of a mustard finish you want something burled or sometimes spalted. Now if you want to use the mustard to pattern the blade to be like the handle look into things like fiddle back maple, flame patterned, crotch, etc---like some of the fancier hawk handles. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nathan Kraft Posted March 11, 2020 Author Share Posted March 11, 2020 Today I finished my filing jig and started the bevel on one side. I would’ve kept working, but my parents said I had to go eat lol. What do y’all think? Also, I remember that I am supposed to have round, not square, plunge lines. But I’m not sure how to do that? Thank y’all for all the help! Also, I still need to get the blower for my forge, so once I get the gross grinding on my bevels done, I probably can’t do more work besides drilling the pin holes until this weekend. Thanks for any critique or suggestions! Clarification: I have not finished this side’s bevel, I’m about half as far as I would like to be, and am cutting this down to the width of a dime until the heat treat Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ThomasPowers Posted March 12, 2020 Share Posted March 12, 2020 For the blades I do; I would like to see a much longer bevel as I make knives for slicing and not for crowbar/axe use. What is the intended use for this blade? I would also do most of it drawfiling as it's much easier and faster and only use a filing jig to clean it up right before heat treat. You have done an amazing clean job of filing and I expect that doing the same job with a longer bevel will be amazing too. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nathan Kraft Posted March 12, 2020 Author Share Posted March 12, 2020 I am going to be using it as a hunting and general camp knife. I still am going to extend the bevel to about 2-2.5x what it is now. It will still be pretty steep angle, as I am working with some pretty beefy stock (1/4 in- I got it for christmas, and my parents weren't quite sure what to buy lol). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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