Still under the weather, worked on knives a little but screwed up two blanks before I called it a day. Today I felt like grinding still, but didnt want to screw anything up. So I found a piece of scrap mild steel, and attempted my first hollow grind. Double bevel to boot. Ended up with an unintentional pattern that I really liked a lot. So I did two blanks in carbon steel.
@Mudman Please let me know if you want to part with one of those Double Bevel knives And feel better soon we need more photos
Felt a little better today, so I tried to fix one of the eggroll patterns I've been working on. Ended up making it worse.. haha So I stuck to something simpler. Epoxying handles. Thanks brother. Feeling better, but not 100% I'll keep you in mind, I'm thinking I'll do something with a Japanese inspired handle, via cord wrap. And one with standard handles. We'll see. I'm working on a lot of individual knives at this point. I learned not long ago, if I push too hard on something particular, I get burned out. Hence why you guys see me jumping back and forth on things.
I'm on a roll, screwed up a forth knife blank today. Think I'll make it a routine to warm up on mild steel at this point. Which I also boogered up, but a small loss compared to carbon steels. On an interesting note, apart from 2 big screw ups total today, I managed to fiddle with the practice knife from the other day. You guys think it looks better with, or without the fuller?
@Mudman purely based on the looks I would vote for without looks better. That said if there was a actual use for the “Fuller” thing it doesn’t look bad enough that I wouldn’t add it if that makes sense.
What if I literally did a knife that was exactly like this? two different knives in one lol. This isn't so much anything about function, as it is- me fiddling around while I screw up actual knives. Takes a lot of concentration on my part, even with a workrest as my guide.
@Mudman I would def go for either of those designs. I read a little bit about the “fuller” and the concept seems pretty cool . (It lightens the blade for those who don’t look it up) I could see the grooves one with a stacked leather handle and the non grooves with a nice brown Micarta handles
I ain't trying to make a ka-bar! lol Decided to take a break tomorrow from knives, had another screw up today. So I think it's time for a breather, and regroup. I've got so many knives to work on, that while I'm working on one- I'm actually thinking about the other. This could be assisting in my frequent hiccups. Brown micarta... if there's any single material I have a ton of, it's that. I have enough to easily do a minimum of 100 knives, maybe that'll become my signature color material.
@Mudman it’s actually a little funny because I was looking up the “Fuller”. The Kbar kept coming up over and over . Just google Japanese knife with stacked handles. There are a bunch of examples. Some below “Japanese” style others mostly “hunter” style. I am just biased because I always thought they were cool. That said I do thing the brown Micarta is the more practical option. Unknown Unknown Case 1965 small hunter model 364 Unknown Pre WW2 fighting knife Marbles brand 1950ish Olamic Cutlery Custom
I don't like stacked leather that much. Stacked birch on the other hand, like a puuko- oooweee sign me up. BUT it's something I should at least try someday. I had plans to do that a few years ago, a leather guy sent me a ton of scraps for it. One day a jug of water leaked on to the box, I didn't notice. 3 months go by, and the entire lot turned into a big lump of mold. Fullers on a knife, is sort of synonymous with Ka-Bar though, so I'm not surprised. Either way, options are endless.
Couldnt get much done today, but managed to try out a different countersink. I was always plagued by chatter while doing this, no matter how much I changed the speeds on my drill press, along with varying pressures. A friend recommend a "hole through" style countersink vs the normal fluted countersinks. The results are infinitely better, and with little to no pressure to boot! Makes a big difference, when you have to countersink more than 300 holes. To the left is the chatter left by a fluted countersink. Right side being the hole through style countersink. It's a small thing, but bugged the living heck out of me. Next step was stamping. These will never be seen after handles are on, but helps me keep track during the process, since I tend to work on the same pattern in different steels at the same time. For example, this batch will be dominantly O1 tool steel. With maybe 6 or 7 in AEB-L.
Welp, got sick again. Been laying low about a week now. Didnt get out of bed until 3pm, having felt like I wasted the day, I finally finished a dormant project that's been on the to do list for about 6 or more years. A simple spark shield for the grinder. Anyone that uses a 2x72 or similar, is familiar with having sparks flying into your face during heavy stock removal. 3 times times I've had tiny metal flakes from the belt, get thrown into my eye, passed my glasses. So this should be very handy. I used 1/4x1 stock and 3/8" x 6" plate, could have gone thinner, but I just used what was on hand.
Sketch for possible t-shirts in the future. Gotta find a tattoo artist/ illustrator though. Something seems off with the tiger, but concept of what I pictured in my head is there.
Finally got into the shop for a little bit today before work. Sorry for the lack of updates guys, I've been really tied up helping my mom with things ever since my dad passed. Along with general family things, it's been very time consuming. This is for a super patient person. Leather is next.
