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The Newbies Arena Are you new to knife making? Here is all the help you will need.

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  #1  
Old 09-27-2012, 10:15 AM
Jacktheknife Jacktheknife is offline
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Posts: 127
#### I'm Dumb!

Gentlemen,


As the title suggests, yes, I seem to be 'dumber than dirt'.
I made my first knife 9-10 years ago and have made hundreds of others. Still using one of the first knives I made for skinning coon, it is still my favorite. I sent 12 Rail Road Spike knives to a knife buyer up in New York 2-3 weeks ago. But as for saleable knives... knives with handles on them, I have never finished even one.

The 'ceramic' 2" x 72" sanding belts from Tru-grit with the 'File Guide' I got from:
USA Knife Maker.com coupled with the 'to me' new concept of a plunge cut and the beveling or tapering of the blade, and throw in {since we are here anyway} meeting Masterbladesmith Dallas Dan and learning how he does most of his work with sandpaper. I mean Dan has a forge for swords with four, individually adjustable burners, but he does more 'sword work' on a roller, a big thing that rolls 1600* steel without making hammer marks. Rolls it out into a sword blade!
Dan will sit and sand a Roman Short sword all day. I would ask if there isn't an easier way to do that with all this machinery and all your knowledge, than sit and sand with sandpaper?
"No" was the answer. "One can't mess the sword up with just sandpaper and swords have been made like this for thousands of years". And Dan ought to know.

Well, I make skinners, short little knives 6" long with blades 1 3/4".
They never looked right till I decided to learn how to put a 'plunge cut' in them. The file guide helps and then I thought about 'beveling' the blade from handle to point and from back to edge. The file guide helps here as well. But then I thought about the 200 knives out in the Knife Shop {the barn} I learned everything I know by messing them up. From sharpening before heat treating to trying to drill afer heat treating I ruined more knives than Jehovah has got witnesses.

After 9 - 10 years I can profile, drill, harden and temper, and handle knives very well but I have never mastered beveling blades. Beveling, the missing link of my knife making knowledge, beveling is what I am working on now. {That and making Apfelwein}
Somewhere between using the Grizzly belt sander with the ceramic belts in the finer grits and sitting all day and hand sanding like Masterbladesmith Dallas Dan does lies the last big thing I need to master. IE. getting my little skinner blades beveled where just the blades are beautiful to look at.
Ray says the 'visible line' between the flat, 'side' of the knife and the beginning of the bevel, is done by eye! That is what I hope to master one day. The Grizzly can mar a blade so once a blade is pretty much done on the grinder, the edge unsquared off with an old belt, the bevel started and carried as far as possible, I sit and sand with sandpaper like Dan and I am hoping to reduce the in between time, get more done on the machine and have to do less by hand, as I progress but the plunge cut with the beveling is making my knives look like, well... knives now!

That and I am getting my brewing stuff down from the attic today.
37.5 gallons of Apfelwein 'can't hurt'.


Thank you...


Jack the Knife

Last edited by Jacktheknife; 09-27-2012 at 11:37 AM.
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  #2  
Old 09-27-2012, 11:18 AM
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Ray Rogers Ray Rogers is offline
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Some people just seem to favor doing things the hard way. Doesn't make you dumb but maybe stubborn. You can do all the sanding on the Griz from the initial bevel with a 60 grit to a pretty nice finish with 400. Once you get to that point, then start sanding with sand paper for the sole purpose of making the blade look nice. Shouldn't have to worry about removing any metal with sandpaper, just make it look nice.

PS

That wine could hurt if you drink it before working with power equipment...


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Old 09-27-2012, 11:43 AM
Jacktheknife Jacktheknife is offline
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Ray,


I didn't mean I intended to drink all 37.5 gallons of Apfelwein at once!



Jack
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Old 09-27-2012, 03:01 PM
Doug Lester Doug Lester is offline
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Ya, I'd spread that wine out over a week.

Seriously, it fine to try other peoples' techniques but what matters is what works for you. Some people like jigs and some consider them the bane of their existence. Some smiths establish the bevels of their blade and keep them centered by raising the spine slightly off the face of the anvil. Others can do the same thing with the blade flat on the anvil. Some may do hand sanding after 220 grit. Others will take the blade out to 600 grit on the grinder and then go to a Scotch Brite belt for a satin finish. It's all in the end product.

Doug


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Old 09-28-2012, 09:57 AM
Jacktheknife Jacktheknife is offline
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Doug and Ray, Y'all,


The 60 grit ceramic belts really hog the metal!
I was out late sanding on the Grizzly and have the first 5 blades right here looking dern near perfect. On the first blade I learned to keep off the edge as it grinds away fast! But the last two I did look almost perfect! Like you said Doug "What matters is what works for me".

With another few days at the task maybe I can finish a dozen knives, handles and all and on the machine! After changing belts and sanding above and below the belt backing I am beginning to see different ways to sand blades and am very encouraged. The ceramic belts help as does the file guide. The concept of the plunge cut and the bevel has revolutionized my poor understanding of knife making and with more practice I'll finish a knife yet! But it was the help here on the Knifenetwork Forum which helped the most. Thank you Ray and Doug and all the others who added a little help here and there over the years. I find it hard to imagine a good life life without a computer.


Thank you...


Jack the Knife
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Old 09-28-2012, 10:12 AM
Doug Lester Doug Lester is offline
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Happy for you.

Doug


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