A Reintroduction

[cbsmith111]

I have been reading through this forum for some time now, and have posted a couple of questions about some knives I'm working on. There seems to be a lull in new posts, so I figured I would kind of introduce myself more properly and show a picture of my very first knife attempt that I was a little embarrassed to show before.

My name is Brad Smith. I live in Rush (doubt you'll see it on your map), KY which is where I have lived since birth. Growing up in Rural area I developed a love for the outdoors. I have carried a knife at all times since I was about 10 years old, and have always had a fondness for them.

One day a couple of months ago I bought a knife magazine while at the grocery store. In it was a catolog page from Jantz Supply listing premade knife blank kits. I thought it sounded like fun to get one of these and put the handle of my choosing on it...I never got around to it. I had an old damaged file at work and had heard about people making knives from them. So with no clue at all, and without doing any research into the proper methods, I began to grind out my knife. I knew about the general concept of annealing, so I heated the file up red hot with a torch and let it cool back down. It did seem to soften quite a bit. I then ground the sides and edges down smooth and toothless. I scratched out a design onto the steel and profiled it with a bench grinder. I ground the bevels with a 2" sanding disc on an air die grinder. After I got it how I thought I wanted it I heated it up with the torch again and dunked it is some used hydraulic oil and then baked it in the oven (I don't remember the temp/ time now. Something I found in a google search I'm sure.)

I ordered some micarta for the handle scales and then mounted and shaped them best I could with a dremel and sandpaper. I then sharpened the knife and took a wild stab at a kydex sheath with some scrap I had left over from a past failed gun holster attempt.

The bevel of the knife has the blade geometry of a baseball bat. It is also pretty uneven. It actually seems as though it obtained some degree of hardness, but it doesn't hold an edge any better than those $5 knives from the flea market. I was ashamed of this knife at first, but now I'm kind of proud of it. I still have yet to finish any more. I'm trying to wait til I have a few so I can save on shipping when I send them out for heat treat. I have learned a great deal, and I have high hopes that with enough practice and knowledge I can begin to turn out some acceptable knives.

Here are some pics of the knife and sheath, and yes...those are zip ties.

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[Ray Rogers]

If that's your first knife and made under the conditions you specified then you don't have anything to be ashamed of. In fact, looks to me like you have a future as a knife maker. My first knife was torched out of a leaf spring and ground on a bench grinder. Never put a handle on it, never used it for anything except to prove to myself that, yes, I could do this. It was years later before I started buying kit knives and really trying to make a real knife. What you have there at least looks like a real knife and i know you've improved a lot since then ...

[cbsmith111]

I do appreciate the encouragement. I do feel that I have some potential. It's been a little frustrating because I haven't had much free time lately. I feel like I've gained so much knowledge through research, yet I've had such little opportunity to get out to the workshop and develope the hands on skill. I'm also a very harsh self critic. When something isn't perfect I tend to want to either put it aside and move on, or I just keep messing with it until it is completely ruined. I have two blades I have taken to pre-heat treat stage Mostly using files for shaping. I think they show potential, and I think I can do better on the two I am getting ready to start on.

[Doug Lester]

That doesn't look half bad. It looks great, really. You didn't mention any heat treatment other than doing a rough normalization to soften the steel for grinding. That could be your problem with it not holding an edge. Don't put your efforts down. There are people out there that consider it a point of pride that they make knives with only hand tools.

Doug

[Eli Jensen]

It looks quite dapper actually. Better than my first.

[Bowman]

Originally Posted by cbsmith111

I do appreciate the encouragement. I do feel that I have some potential. It's been a little frustrating because I haven't had much free time lately. I feel like I've gained so much knowledge through research, yet I've had such little opportunity to get out to the workshop and develope the hands on skill. I'm also a very harsh self critic. When something isn't perfect I tend to want to either put it aside and move on, or I just keep messing with it until it is completely ruined. I have two blades I have taken to pre-heat treat stage Mostly using files for shaping. I think they show potential, and I think I can do better on the two I am getting ready to start on.

I am in the same boat; some knowledge through research and little opportunity in the shop. It's a good thing I have patience. You have completed a knife that looks great and you've already learned from it. I'd be proud too. Well done!

PS. Thanks for the post too...it has been a little slow here lately. I'd bet it's due to hunting season.

[Crex]

Bradley, pretty nice for the first go at it. Looks like you have the eye for shape, fit and finish......all major stumbling blocks for many new guys. Thermal cycling the steel is not hard to learn and relatively easily done at home with certain blade steels. A lot of excellent knives are made from files, also a lot of poor ones.....all files are not created equal.
Suggest you get some good 1084 steel from a known source like the New Jersey Steel Baron, to work with and learn the steps to good thermal cycling that will produce a good blade. You will find this much easier than you might think and you can do a decent job at home with mimimal tools.

Good work, keep it up and keep it fun.
By the way, Rush, KY is located in a very "knifemaker heavy" area. There are several excellent makers around your neck of the woods. Do a little research and find one close for a visit. Worth the travel time. Use to be a maker/locater thread here on KNF, but haven't seen it in awhile.

[cbsmith111]

After this knife I started buying actual blade steel. I've been using precision ground A2 that I ordered. I thought about going the home heat treat route, but I figured I would stick with learning to shape and finish blades for now since my funds and space are limited and just farm out the heat treat. I'd still like to do my own someday if I keep advancing.

I kind of figured this general area of the country might have a lot of knifemakers. People are very outdoors and especially hunting oriented. Unfortunately, though, it seems my generation and younger are tending to stay inside more in this beautiful area. Case knives are EXTREMELY popular here especially with the older generations. I'm not sure why, but it seems if anyone over 40 is carrying a knife it's a Case. I will try to locate a stock removal maker who is willing to show me some things. I would really like that a lot.

There is another problem I've encountered. For the last couple of years I've had a lot of problems with my hands and fingers. I really think I'm developing arthritis. All this filing has really brought it out at it's worst. This weekend I spent about 8 hours filing on a couple of blades. My fingers are in terrible pain and they get stiff and almost unusable. I'm going to try not to let it stop me, but if it keeps up I may have to rethink some of my methods. I may just have to start saving for a grinder and kind of put things on hold for a while.

Thanks again for all the help and advice. I hope to continue enjoying and advancing in this hobby. I will keep you guys posted on my progress as time goes on.

[cbsmith111]

I was looking through the inventory in our computer at work (I work for an industrial supply company) and found a sales history for a Klamazoo 2FS72 grinder less motor. We can buy here for 5% over replacement cost which was $325 on this item. Assuming that price is anywhere near current that means I could probably buy the grinder and have less than $400 in it and the motor. Any opinions on this? Would this be worthwhile considering the price or would you recommend something different in this price range?

[Ray Rogers]

For that price a new 2x72" Kalamazoo should be a very good deal ...