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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 07-04-2013, 12:22 PM
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Naboyle Naboyle is offline
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1080 with African blackwood





Small EDC 3/16 1080, brass pins, African blackwood scales with green liners, and a Kydex sheath. Everyone is getting better than the last I think.
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  #2  
Old 07-04-2013, 01:15 PM
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Ray Rogers Ray Rogers is offline
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Getting better is part of the plan. Looks good, very pretty. Now do the rest and try to figure out if the edge geometry is good (3/16 could be a bit much on a blade that small) and see how the handle behaves when things get messy (put some cooking oil on it and try to do some hard cutting - be very careful!) . I'm trying to get you to test whether or not your handle has enough 'shape' to it to provide a secure grip under adverse conditions....


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Old 07-04-2013, 10:01 PM
Doug Lester Doug Lester is offline
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Yes, it is better. You do need to check the center of the point a little better if that's not just the angle of the blade in the photo that is making the point to look off center. The handle is great looking. African Blackwood is one of my favorites. Too bad it's starting to get expensive but that harvest does have to be limited or there will be none at all.

Doug


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  #4  
Old 07-05-2013, 06:45 AM
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Naboyle Naboyle is offline
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Ray, I've been trying to figure out the whole "edge geometry" thing. I'm not sure if I'm really doing it right thou. I've been doing all flat grinds. I just grind till the edge is pretty close to finished and then take it up to the spine. Then i lift the angle a bit to sharpen it. So basically they turn out the same except when I use a wider bar to start with. I've tried to stop the grind coming up the blade but with a 2x42 I can't get a straight grind line. It always seems to get blended. It's never crisp if you know what I mean.

Doug, I think it's just the pic. I try really hard to keep everything even. But the like I told ray I'm having a hard time figuring out if I'm doing it the "right way" all I know is my last few knives have been good at cuttin stuff.
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Old 07-05-2013, 08:41 AM
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Ray Rogers Ray Rogers is offline
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'Edge geometry' basically means giving the blade the best combination of characteristics for the type of cutting the blade is intended to do. For instance, you wouldn't even think of making a fillet knife or a steak knife from 1/4" stock because those knives are intended for slicing and slicing is easiest with very sharp knives and the very sharpest knives are those with thin blades because thin blades allow for thinner edges. Whew, long sentence!

The height of the blade is the next thing to consider with geometry. If the blade is very high like, say, a 4" cleaver then a full flat grind on 1/4" steel still results in a fairly thin geometry. But, if the blade were only 1/2" high like a small fillet knife the 1/4" steel would create a absurdly wedge shaped blade that might still be sharp but wouldn't slice very well at all.

Of course, slicing isn't everything. Knives designed for other purposes may need a different geometry but I think you'll find that if you design your blade geometry so that it favors slicing ability you'll generally be making knives that are more useful and easier to use. A knife like yours probably would cut better if it were made from 1/8" stock. It should slice better if it were even thinner than that but for that type of knife you might expect harder use than you'd give a steak knife so the thicker steel is appropriate for strength. Yet, most of the strength should come from the HT rather than bulk and that's why a properly HTed 1/8" blade would have all the strength a knife that size would normally be expected to have.

As for the grind lines, a 2x42" grinder and plenty of practice should be able to do that easily. But, at least at first, make it easier on yourself by using a satin finish. Trying to get a polished finish on a blade AND keep crisp grind lines is a real difficult thing to do...


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Old 07-05-2013, 09:54 AM
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Thanks Ray. I understand what you're saying now. Guess I didn't give it much thought on the steel size compared to what type of blade I was making. I always just tried to make them as thin as I could and as sharp as possible. I hand sanded this one to 600 grit then went over it with green scotchbrite. I can't seem to get an even finish. It usually ends up with a shine to it no matter how I do it. I can't get the satin look to it. I've tried grinding on my rest, above the rest, free hand, one hand, no hands, elbows dug into my hips, loose as a goose. Ok maybe not no hands but I just can't keep it straight down the length of the knife on both sides. I always figured I needed a different grinder or something. Honestly I'd just given up and settled with fully grinding to almost the spine even if I didn't really want to.
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Old 07-05-2013, 11:42 AM
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WynnKnives WynnKnives is offline
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For me getting a perfect grind line has always been harder on flat grinds than hollow grinds. But in the end it comes down to being able to apply perfect pressure to the right are, you have to be able to feel the connection of the knife and grinder, it has to become a second attachment to yourself... just practice
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Old 07-05-2013, 12:36 PM
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On the subject of a satin finish, try this: the finer you go with your grits the closer to shiny you get. A mirror polish is nothing more than a super super fine grit finish, after all is said and done. So, stop at 400 instead of 600. Make sure that when you do the 400 you use a fresh belt so that you actually get the 400 grit scratches on the blade but make sure they are nice and even. Go over it by hand if necessary with 400 grit sandpaper. After that, smooth it up and blend the scratches with a Scotch Brite belt or pad. That should give you a good satin finish that isn't shiny and that is still a much nicer finish than you'd get on most commercial knives yet still very suitable for a using knife ...


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Old 07-05-2013, 01:53 PM
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Ill try that on the newest one I'm working on. Hopefully you can give me a good report on my HT kith knife. Then I will at least know that I'm grinding and sharpening blades right.
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  #10  
Old 07-06-2013, 04:20 PM
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Hunter10139 Hunter10139 is offline
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I'm a newb and I don't know if my sense is worth anything but I've read and I've tried hand sanding with a thick oil after 320 grit and it seems to work pretty well. Of course you probably already knew this I just thought I'd share an idea in case it'd help.

Hunter
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