I built a few kit folders but just got into making sheath fixed blades. Here are my first and fourth made from files. The black wrap is the first. A small handy knife for skinning small Game. The orange wrapped one is my latest and proved itself dressing an 8 pointer. Be honest what do you guys think?
http://i1376.photobucket.com/albums/ah26/richardreiser2000/022_zpsov0vhgwi.jpg
http://i1376.photobucket.com/albums/ah26/richardreiser2000/b3d6c628-9445-4b36-b71e-40ce344c69b8_zpst58ppsns.jpg
http://i1376.photobucket.com/albums/ah26/richardreiser2000/051_zpslv1s0zev.jpg?t=1448253836
I think you are on the right track!
They look nice.
Todd
Pretty satisfying getting to use your own knife on a critter, huh? Good job.
Jeremy
Yes it is satisfying. Pretty cool when your hunting buddy says where did you get that knife. I know i need improvement. Any criticism or pointers guys. Thanks for the replies so far.
It may help to add a little about your tooling and process. Are you annealing the files and heat treating them yourselves after shaping and grinding? Do you have a belt grinder or are you using hand tools only?
It's a bit hard to tell everything from the pictures, but it looks like you don't have any plunge lines. Which is totally okay, by the way. What's the geometry of the blade? What I mean is, do you have a gradual taper from the spine down to the edge? Is the edge ground or filed in just a short distance up the blade from the edge? As you progress, you'll find different design aspects can effect the cutting ability (how thick/thin is the blade) and your process and techniques employed will open different construction options to you.
There are some folks out there that do some amazingly cool looking handle wraps. I've never done one myself, but many people like them. There's quite a bit (I imagine) to those wraps and hiding all of the ends. It's only an aesthetic thing, so please disregard this comment if you're satisfied with it-no offense meant.
I think some of the best advice I ever got was try to make every knife the best you've ever made. Whether that's the blade finish and getting all of the scratches smoothed out and looking nice or focusing on a given handle or guard or whatever. Each time I try another knife, it's identifying the little details that could be better and doing everything I can to get it as good as my skills will allow. Unfortunately, that's not always satisfactory to me.... :banghead:
What do you see in these knives that you like? What do you see that you'd like to be better on the next one? Sometimes I see what I don't like on my knife, but I'm not certain how to make it better. Thankfully, that's when I can bark up the tree of those much smarter than me ;) . Sorry for all the rambling.
Jeremy
The first one (black) was heated in an oven at 425 for 2 hours twice cut to shape with a dremel then flat ground about 3/4 up the blade with a file and sharpend with a diamond stone.
The second one was annealed by heating to non-magnetic in a home made char coal forge the cooling in ash. i the shaped it with files and a hack saw. a flat grind was done about half way up the blade withe a 3" wide handheld belt sander with the blade secured in a vice. I then rough sharpened with a file. After that I heated to non-magnetic and quenched in canola then tempered in the oven at 425 for 2 hours. I then polished with sand paper and green scrub pads and sharpened with a diamond stone. I left file teeth on because I like that look. The wrap is for simplicity and because I like the para cord.
My tools I now have are files, hacksaw, char coal forge, 3" wide hand held belt sander, sand paper, and a good vice. Thanks for the input. Did I answer your questions?
Sounds like you've got a good start. Having that forge is really nice to help in doing your own heat treating and maybe some forging down the road, which is all kinds of fun. Keep at it, have fun, and look for those ways to improve on each one and I'm sure you'll reach your goals.
Jeremy
They look very functional. I would suggest perhaps a little shaping of the handle to provide a "stop" for your hand. Right now there is nothing short of friction to keep your hand from sliding forward onto the edge. Had some fat and blood and it could get dangerous.
Bladepeek, Thank you. You will see more shape in my next one. You will also see a different handle material. Hope to finish tonight.