Stock removal initial bevel filing guide question

[TikTock]

I am trying my hand at some stock removal and had a question. I do not yet own a belt grinder and will be doing my blade using files. I can easily shape the blade itself but am looking forward to the bevel filing and had some questions/concerns. I know the idea behind the bevel lines and angles, etc, but I see my problem being centered around creating a flat grind from the bevel line to the rough edge prior to heat treating with hand files. When sharpening, I use a Lansky-like setup with a guide to hold the stones at the correct angle to ensure a clean and even angle. Can something like this be used for my initial bevel during stock removal? I just cannot see myself being able to hold a large file perfectly even. Are there tricks to this? Do people usually remove as much as they can and then switch to smaller files to flatten and even the bevel? It just seems like if I had some sort of guide fit to the correct angle (like someone using an angled platen on a grinder), I could worry more about the actual angles and accuracy without constantly worrying about manually holding a very thin angle. Any suggestions?

[RI_Shooter]

You should buy a copy of How to Make Knives by Barney and Loveless. This book has
an entire chapter with photos of how to make a narrow tang hunter from start to finish
entirely with hand-tools. I actually made my first two knives with files using this chapter
as a guide, way over twenty years ago.

As general advice, I would break it up into the following steps, using the simplest
tools:

1. Design the knife, cut out the pattern, and lay it out on the steel, after spraying the
steel with Dykem Blue, and scribing around the pattern.

2. Hacksaw out the general pattern. Profile to the line with a 14 or 16 inch flat
bastard file. Use 10-12 inch round files where needed for curves.

3. Lay out edge lines. In addition to a centerline on the the edge, you want two
additional guidelines on either side, that leave a 1/16" flat centered on the stock.
then lay out the location of the plunge cuts on either side of the blade.

4. Clamp a piece of bar stock on the plunge cut line as a guide, and cut the plunge
cut with a square file. You have to either buy a safe file or make one by grinding
off one of the four sides of the file. You keep this safe side against the clamped
bar stock as a filing guide.

5. Cut the bevels with a large 14-16" bastard file, keeping the clamped bar stock in
place as you alternate sides, to prevent a stray file stroke from cutting into the
ricasso. Make sure you stop at the outer centerline on either side so that you keep
a 1/16" thick edge.

6. When you have it as even as possible, draw file, a lot, to get the true flat, and
slightly thin the edge. When you you have it draw-filed truly flat and the edge
thinned down a bit, stop. Toward the end, use a file card a lot to try to prevent
stray pieces of metal stuck in the file from causing deep scratches.

7. Start hand sanding with 100 grit paper. Don't stop with the 100 grit until you are
really sure the file marks are all out. Then go through the grits.

8. Don't do any false edges or swedges on the back of the blade until you have the
true flat on the main bevel finished to 100 grit.

9. This works, but it makes me tired even to remember it. The first one will take a
long time because there are many things you can only learn by doing. I would
suggest 3/16" steel for the first knife. 1/4" would take a long time for a first try
and anything thinner than 3/16" is too easy to mess up on a first attempt.

10. There are a few makers, like Jockl Griess of Germany, that do all their knives this
way, and and get a good deal for each, if this helps. Good luck, and be patient.
You will need lots of patience.