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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 01-15-2013, 03:18 PM
kevin mc kevin mc is offline
 
Join Date: Jan 2013
Location: North NJ
Posts: 5
new here, advice on first knife please....

Hi All,

This is my first post and would like to introduce myself and ask for some guidance on my first project.

First let me say hello and thank everyone for the wealth of info on this forum. I have been reading tons for the past few days and have a much better understanding of what will be involved. I have been trying to psych myself down (not up) as I have a tendency to over commit when I approach a new project, which usually leads to disappointment and things that never really get finished.

My approach with my first knife project will be K.I.S.S. however I would like to start with a rectangular bar of steel and make a knife from scratch, so obviously this will entail a steep learning curve and choosing a design that will fulfill my wants but also be the least complicated path to a finished knife.

I have been thinking about making an EDC knife for myself. It will be kept in/on a bag I use to carry a few items when I trail run or hike the wilds of Northern NJ. Use will be confined to the odd rope cutting or walking stick carving task and in the unlikely event I should be attacked by a coyote having a sharp piece of metal tucked in my belt may work to my advantage.

From what I have read 1084 for the blade and g-10 for the scales seems to be a good combo for this project. I would like to do a chisel blade as I seems simpler to shape and sharpen one side only (maybe I am wrong). I do understand that this will make a left or right handed knife and that is ok with me. For the overall shape I want to do either an angular tanto or a clip point, not sure if one is better than the other for a beginner.

The dimensions I am aiming for are, 3 ? blade, 7 ? overall, 1 3/16 wide and .1875 thick. I have scaled pictures of a knife I like the look of and will make a cardboard template to see what this will actually look like.

My plan is to use hand tools for all of the shaping and finish work and I will send the blade out for HT. I am assuming that at the very least I will need:
Hack saw for cutting out the blank
Files for shaping
Sanding blocks with various grits for shaping and finishing
Stone and diamond file for honing edge
Drill and bits for holes
Work bench and vise to hold work

At the very least I am looking for comments on the project in general on:
1084 steel, good choice or not?
What type/grits of sandpaper?
Recommendation for good heat treater?

I noticed that the Steel Baron is very close to me so that is where I will get the metal. Here are pictures that I am using for inspiration:

how do I post pictures? I dont have the manage attchments buttons.

Thanks
Kevin
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  #2  
Old 01-15-2013, 04:05 PM
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ricky_arthur ricky_arthur is offline
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Welcome, Sounds like you are approaching things in a more thoughtful manner than most of us. Good for you.

Your questions.

At the very least I am looking for comments on the project in general on:
1084 steel, good choice or not? Yes it would be hard to choose better.
What type/grits of sandpaper? 60,80 120, 150, 220, 320, 400, 600, 1000-1500
Recommendation for good heat treater? One of the knife supply places does heat treat for like 10 bucks. Dont remeber which one cause I do my own HT but someone will be along shortly with that info.


On posting pics, the best way to do it is to host it on photobucket or a similar site. Then click the little picture icon on the top row above the dialog box and copy paste the direct link into the popup box.
Ricky

Last edited by ricky_arthur; 01-15-2013 at 04:23 PM.
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  #3  
Old 01-15-2013, 04:15 PM
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Ray Rogers Ray Rogers is online now
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Kevin,

Welcome to the forum and thank you for providing the necessary information that will allow us to answer your questions. You've done some homework and that will help a lot!

The only subject of importance that you didn't mention is how you plan to heat treat your blade. If you plan to do it yourself then 1084 is likely to be the best choice. If you plan to send it out then 440C is probably the simplest and cheapest way to go.

As for tantos, maybe that's simpler to make but I have my doubts. As a general purpose field knife the design doesn't strike me as being particularly useful but I'm sure it will cut what you want to cut. The tanto will require you to have a grind line (the border between the full blade thickness and the bevel). The grind line is the most difficult part for a new knife maker to get right. It helps, I suppose, if you only have one but that leaves the other side of the blade looking kind of weird. If you made a regular blade with a full flat grind on both sides then you could concentrate on making the blade and not have to be concerned with a grind line just yet.

As for coyotes, if one attacks you then it is probably rabid and running away might be the better choice. Other than that, they try pretty hard to stay away from people ...


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  #4  
Old 01-15-2013, 04:25 PM
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rockhound rockhound is offline
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Quote:
Originally Posted by kevin mc View Post
Recommendation for good heat treater?


how do I post pictures?
Hi Kevin,
I like your well-thought and simple approach... I think you'll be successful.
This is a great place to ask questions and learn from basic to advanced, and beyond.

Regarding pics: New members pics are moderated prior to publishing. They should show up in a day or two. After that they'll appear instantly when you post.

Heat Treat: Myself and others had great results with Texas Knifemakers service if you need to send it somewhere. They are reasonable - http://www.texasknife.com/vcom/privacy.php#services


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  #5  
Old 01-15-2013, 04:33 PM
Doug Lester Doug Lester is offline
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I'm not a fan of G10 since I ruined a band saw cutting a sheet of it. I really don't see anything that G10 will do that Micarta won't and Micarta is easier and safer to work with. If you do want to use G10 cut it with a bimetal blade, though one maker I've corresponded with said that he had G10 rip the teeth from a bimetal blade, or something like a cutting wheel on a rotary tool. Also, wear a respirator not a dust mask when working with the stuff. If you get the fibers from cutting it in your lungs they will stay there.

Ray's advice on steel selection is right on. My opinion on the tanto point is that it's pretty much an over hyped flavor-of-the-month type thing. It's even a type of point much more commonly found on Japanese swords than on a tanto so it's even a misnomer besides not being all that functional in a utility type knife. As Ray said, you would be doing yourself a big favor by doing a more conventional design with a full flat grind to start with.

Doug


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  #6  
Old 01-15-2013, 09:33 PM
kevin mc kevin mc is offline
 
Join Date: Jan 2013
Location: North NJ
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Hi Guys,

Thanks...so far:
drop point (i said clip, but i think what i want is drop point)
440c would be better as i plan to send out the blade for HT
full flat grind
micarta instead of g 10

Kevin

ps, the coyote thing was a joke, but i did see one, my first and only time living 40 yrs in this very poputaed area 15 miles west of nyc.....yes, he did run away from me but i followed him for a while and he watched me over his shoulder every step.
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  #7  
Old 01-17-2013, 03:28 PM
kevin mc kevin mc is offline
 
Join Date: Jan 2013
Location: North NJ
Posts: 5
ok, I have the picture thing working now.....I am using this as my "inspiration" for my first:
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  #8  
Old 01-17-2013, 09:56 PM
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ricky_arthur ricky_arthur is offline
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You should be able to pull that off. Let us know how it goes.
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  #9  
Old 01-17-2013, 10:45 PM
Doug Lester Doug Lester is offline
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That's a pretty straight forward blade, even with the swage or false edge. Give it a go. If it doesn't work out for you, take a look at where you went wrong and try again.

Doug


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  #10  
Old 01-29-2013, 11:19 AM
kevin mc kevin mc is offline
 
Join Date: Jan 2013
Location: North NJ
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OK, so here is what I have so far, I made a cardboard template made a few changes here and there, scribed the outline onto my stock and cut it out with a hacksaw that took about an hour, then I spent about 30 minutes cleaning up the profile with a 10? flat cross cut file and a 8" half round cross cut file.

I plan to do all of the work by hand on this project....

My initial thoughts are that I like working with metal as all of the work is incremental and you really cannot mess up too bad if you pay attention and take your time.

The hacksawing was a bit tedious, but not hard at all, the filing was actually way easier than i expected. I did buy a set of Nicolson files from the home depot and I am glad I did as they cut better than my craftsman set.

I plan to clean this up a little more; the blade profile looks a little heavy on the top and the bottom to me so I Think I will take it down a little.
  • I would appreciate any comments as to shape, scale, profile, etc.
Once the profile is set I guess I will start shaping the blade,
  • I plan to do a full flat grind,
  • is it better to start at the front, back or work the entire length at once?
  • Also, how do you keep the side symmetrical, do you work one side all the way and then the other or flip back and forth between sides?
I am using 440c .140?/.156? from the steel baron
The total length will be 7 3/8? and the blade will be ~3 3/8, I will finish with micarta scales.
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