First handmade knife

[Dawg2019]

I decided to try and make my own knife, for my birthday I picked out a Damascus blank and some ironwood scales for my wife to get me. It has taken about a month or so of an hour here, 30 minutes there, but I finally have something that resembles a knife worth posting.

Gotta love YouTube tutorials. I sanded the handle onto 2500 grit, then polished and finished with boiled linseed oil.

 

[mdwest]

well done!

That looks 100x better than the first knife I made... better grind lines.. better finish on the blade and on the handles.. and a much better/practical design than my first attempt as well..

be careful.. bladesmithing can easily become an addiction... and addictions are expensive! lol..

I went from just using basic shop tools that I already had out in the garage, to owning several "industrial" quality tools in the matter of just as few years (started out with a little piece of junk harbor freight belt grinder for example.. and now Im running a pro-grade Burr King 2x72.. about the only original tool left in the shop is a cheap bench top drill press.... and thats only because I havent broken it yet or found a good deal on a better one lol)..

When I made my first knife it was mostly just out of curiosity.. I wanted to see if I could do it...

Ive now made close to 300 I think...

I dont sell knives and dont operate as a business in any way.. I just go out to the shop from time to time and "work"... Ive given away hundreds at this point (friends, family members, etc.. all get knives for Christmas, birthdays, etc. lol.. its no surprise as to "whats in the box" anymore lol)... and I have knives in every drawer in the house, in every tackle box, every hunting pack, etc..etc..

I could probably buy a couple of vintage london best rigbys if I had all the money back that I've invested in materials and equipment...

 

[norfolk shooter]

Thats not too bad. Well done mate. Now you got to make the sheath

 

[VertigoBE]

If this is your first, I'm curious to see what number 100 will look like!

Job well done and a piece of equipment to be proud of!

 

[Nyati]

I like it, I´m not an expert, but believe there is a way you can make the pattern of that damascus have more contrast.

 

[Tintin]

Great job @Dawg2019

I also got the urge to give it a go.

Did my learning at the YouTube College of Technical Skills.

Made a jig up that seemed to get the job done.

My home made forge wasn't effective - so I need to revisit that - or buy one - to complete the project.

The hound is giving me that 'I thought 2 legs were supposed to be smart - and you can't even make a basic forge' look.

@mdwest - thanks for the community service warning Dave

 

[mdwest]

Ive still got to get a decent forge.. Im still doing stock removal and then heat treating using an industrial oven... Ive considered a DIY forge.. but as weird as it sounds.. I dont trust myself with fire lol..

a jig is absolutely one of the best investments I made early on.. I was initially just drawing something out on steel and then grinding the hell out of it until it looked like a knife.. while that worked, no 2 knives were ever the same... I could get close in repeating the process, but couldnt get close enough.. it was also next to impossible to get grind lines concentric with each other..

with a jig the metal work parts of the process are MUCH easier, much more precise, and I waste a lot less material.. its paid for itself several times over..

 

[AZDAVE]

@mdwest a thought for your drill press replacement.

https://www.northerntool.com/products/klutch-mini-milling-machine-350-watts-1-2-hp-110v-49657?cm_mmc=Bing-pla&cmpid=566362034&agid=1183075554884682&tgtid=pla-4577541790708729&prdid=49657&ogmap=SHP%7CPLA%7CBING%7CSTND%7Cc%7CSITEWIDE%7C%7CMetal%20Fabrication%20-%20Owned%20Brands%20-%20SC%7CMetal%20Fabrication%20-%20SC%7C%7C566362034%7C1183075554884682&msclkid=9670b964bf7e193c322edf8e5289b7a5&gclsrc=ds#hotbar-description

 

[mdwest]

@mdwest a thought for your drill press replacement.

https://www.northerntool.com/products/klutch-mini-milling-machine-350-watts-1-2-hp-110v-49657?cm_mmc=Bing-pla&cmpid=566362034&agid=1183075554884682&tgtid=pla-4577541790708729&prdid=49657&ogmap=SHP%7CPLA%7CBING%7CSTND%7Cc%7CSITEWIDE%7C%7CMetal%20Fabrication%20-%20Owned%20Brands%20-%20SC%7CMetal%20Fabrication%20-%20SC%7C%7C566362034%7C1183075554884682&msclkid=9670b964bf7e193c322edf8e5289b7a5&gclsrc=ds#hotbar-description

Thats actually the direction Im probably going to go...

A basic drill press is really all I need for 99% of what I do with knives.. I just need one with a little more power than the one I currently use to make things more efficient in the knife build process..

But there have been more than a few times in the last couple of years I have wished I had a milling machine for other tasks..

I figure buy once, cry once.. and just go on and make the investment in a milling machine..

Ive actually been watching a nice one thats coming up on an auction just south of Fayetteville AR soon... I figure if I can get it for a good price, we've got a kid at UofA right now.. I could combine picking up the mill with a kid visit ...

My guess is someone will be willing to pay a bit too much for it (Its a pro grade, industrial, small mill.. older model, but appears to be in great operating shape).. but.. if I can land it cheap, my shop will be complete

 

[rifletuner]

Great job @Dawg2019

I also got the urge to give it a go.

Did my learning at the YouTube College of Technical Skills.

Made a jig up that seemed to get the job done.

View attachment 634828

My home made forge wasn't effective - so I need to revisit that - or buy one - to complete the project.

View attachment 634829

The hound is giving me that 'I thought 2 legs were supposed to be smart - and you can't even make a basic forge' look.

@mdwest - thanks for the community service warning Dave

That knife profile looks good. What steel did you use?

I cant afford the oven I need for heat treating stainless steels. I will get one eventually, but need to save a bit first. I have outsourced the heat treat on all my knives. Let me know if you want to send yors out and I will PM you some options.

 

[Nhoro]

I think that is really good work. As someone said, you could increase the dark/shiny contrast to make it more striking. Iron chloride is usually used for etching and then strong instant coffee. Both will mess with your handle but I am sure you can suspend the blade only in coffee. It would really make your work pop.

 

[Tokoloshe Safaris]

lol

well done!

That looks 100x better than the first knife I made... better grind lines.. better finish on the blade and on the handles.. and a much better/practical design than my first attempt as well..

be careful.. bladesmithing can easily become an addiction... and addictions are expensive! lol..

I went from just using basic shop tools that I already had out in the garage, to owning several "industrial" quality tools in the matter of just as few years (started out with a little piece of junk harbor freight belt grinder for example.. and now Im running a pro-grade Burr King 2x72.. about the only original tool left in the shop is a cheap bench top drill press.... and thats only because I havent broken it yet or found a good deal on a better one lol)..

When I made my first knife it was mostly just out of curiosity.. I wanted to see if I could do it...

Ive now made close to 300 I think...

I dont sell knives and dont operate as a business in any way.. I just go out to the shop from time to time and "work"... Ive given away hundreds at this point (friends, family members, etc.. all get knives for Christmas, birthdays, etc. lol.. its no surprise as to "whats in the box" anymore lol)... and I have knives in every drawer in the house, in every tackle box, every hunting pack, etc..etc..

I could probably buy a couple of vintage london best rigbys if I had all the money back that I've invested in materials and equipment...

l ok

 

[Tokoloshe Safaris]

I think that is really good work. As someone said, you could increase the dark/shiny contrast to make it more striking. Iron chloride is usually used for etching and then strong instant coffee. Both will mess with your handle but I am sure you can suspend the blade only in coffee. It would really make your work pop.

 

[Tokoloshe Safaris]

I really like the overall design. I would prefer a rounded handle end.
I would prefer rounded handle end.

I would like to see your sheaths.

Cheers lon

 

[BeeMaa]

@Dawg2019 - Very well done. If you are anything like me, you are concentrating on what you see as flaws in your work. Instead, take some time to enjoy what you have accomplished. It’s no small task.

Then, as you are contemplating your next design, you can work on improving the skills where needed.

Congratulations on your first.

 

[Dawg2019]

Thanks for the kind words. No fancy tools here, just a hacksaw, angle grinder, files and a cheap 1x30 belt sander I picked up from Harbor Freight. As for a forge, I simply carved out some fire brick as and used an old propane torch. I got up to temperature and became non-magnetic, just took a little while.

Might want to upgrade some things before my next project.

 

[Witold Krzyżanowski]

Nice knife. Congrats.

 

[mdwest]

a cheap 1x30 belt sander I picked up from Harbor Freight.

My primary belt grinder is a burr king 2x72 with a 1.5hp motor…

But I still occasionally use my little 1x30 harbor freight as well…

Combat Abrasives has a variety of belts for a 1x30 that can make it a really useful little tool.. they have surface conditioning belts, very fine grit belts (up to 1000 grit) that are great for getting a mirror finish on steel and/or putting a final razors edge on a blade (I typically use a 600 grit for that… but they have them up to 1000 grit)…

It’s tiny so it doesn’t take up a lot of space in the shop… I actually really enjoy using it still..

It’s also great for deburring pins after you cut them from stock

Combat Abrasives

Abrasives for the Knifemaker & metal fabricators that are looking for quality, industrial grade abrasives that are suited for any professional or hobby.

www.combatabrasives.com

 

[Tintin]

That knife profile looks good. What steel did you use?

I cant afford the oven I need for heat treating stainless steels. I will get one eventually, but need to save a bit first. I have outsourced the heat treat on all my knives. Let me know if you want to send yors out and I will PM you some options.

Thanks Fergus,

Blade is 1075 - I cheated a bit and bought a blank ;-)

I've seen some of the guys that heat treat - about $30 from memory.

My Scottish ancestory leads me to think that by the time I get them to do a couple, with postage - I could almost buy a little basic gas forge.

@Dawg2019 - your little setup looks simple, quick and easy - saw a few similar ones on YT - might have to try it. I think I made the chamber too big on mine.

 

[SCHUNTER73]

That’s very cool and impressive.