Exonautic
.308 Win
I agree with the others, the orange is really nice with the colors in the handle material.
Making my first knife
- Thread starter NirvanaFan
- Start date
The liners will not detract from the beauty of wood scales, they will accent it.
In particular it appears orange liners would set off the lightly colored patch nicely.
@NirvanaFan, what would the actual liner material be?
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G10 (a fiberglass and resin material)
G10 Liner Hunter Orange - Knife Handle Material
The green really contrasts with the wood, almost too much. The orange definitely accents the wood. I may order a few colors and see what they actually look like.
I'm really looking forward to seeing the finnished knife.
I had a chance to work on it for like 15 minutes tonight. I realized I bought the wrong size arbor grinding and cut off wheels 
Ahh well. I need to make a trip back to harbor freight.
I have an old disk on the grinder and made use of it. It took a little bit to get used to grinding (I've only done it a little bit), but it started to get easier toward the end. I will do a little more with the grinder, then I will switch over to the belt grinder with ceramic belts.
Here are a couple pictures of my crappy grinding job. I have a feeling this is going to take me a while. I was hoping that I would finish this before hunting season ended so I could use it. It probably won't happen though. Ahhh well.
Ahh well. I need to make a trip back to harbor freight. I have an old disk on the grinder and made use of it. It took a little bit to get used to grinding (I've only done it a little bit), but it started to get easier toward the end. I will do a little more with the grinder, then I will switch over to the belt grinder with ceramic belts.
Here are a couple pictures of my crappy grinding job. I have a feeling this is going to take me a while. I was hoping that I would finish this before hunting season ended so I could use it. It probably won't happen though. Ahhh well.
Robin
.475 A&M Magnum
01 cuts real easy before the heat treat, you can hack saw most of that excess real fast and fine tune with your grinder and belt. Cut in perpendicular to your contour lines at the high points, low points and as many in-between as needed, then start hacking from point to point, angle in if you have to. It goes fast.
Robin
Robin
Prudii
.357 mag
It's really nice to see how it's coming together.
Got a chance to grind and file a bit more last night. I think I'm going to go with the orange liners. They should look nice.
I still have some hand filing and sanding to do over the next few days.
I still have some hand filing and sanding to do over the next few days.
Saltwater60
.950 JDJ
Looks like a knife. Starting to look good.
Cleck
.308 Win
I had a chance to work on it for like 15 minutes tonight. I realized I bought the wrong size arbor grinding and cut off wheels
I have an old disk on the grinder and made use of it. It took a little bit to get used to grinding (I've only done it a little bit), but it started to get easier toward the end. I will do a little more with the grinder, then I will switch over to the belt grinder with ceramic belts.
Here are a couple pictures of my crappy grinding job. I have a feeling this is going to take me a while. I was hoping that I would finish this before hunting season ended so I could use it. It probably won't happen though. Ahhh well.
Kinda like that video I showed you last night, and like said above, just make a bunch of little cuts and then cut off those little bits to get closer to your line, that way you're not grinding as much. I see you're down to your lines now, so maybe with the next one we can do that, or if I come over to do mine. That way you're only grinding the little bumps left over from the bits you cut off, instead of grinding whole lengths.
Good catch. Right now, it isn't too bad. If this were finished, I would be happy. The center of gravity is right near where my index finger is. However, once the scales are added, it would be too handle-heavy. The plan is to drill a bunch of holes in the tang to reduce the weight in order to achieve a better balance. I have no idea how many, or where they will be, but I'll try to figure that out on the fly
I finally got a little time to work on the knife this morning before work. Drilling the holes definitely helps move the center of gravity. I think the balance will be good once I drill some more holes and the scales are added. I should have some time to finish the holes tonight and finish profiling it with some files. Then it will be time to start grinding the bevels, drill the scales and tang for the pins, then do a heat treat. Maybe I will find the time to finish it this year
masterswimmer
.450/400 Nitro Ex
Looking good Billy Ray!
Well, I screwed it up a little. I was grinding the bevels and got too far up. I had to change the grind from a standard to a full flat grind. Not a huge deal, but it wasn't what I was planning. I think I was using a belt that was a little too coarse. I should have slowed down a bit and used a higher grit belt. I think it looks a little funny now. Oh well, live and learn. Maybe it will look better once I attach the wood scales.
Next step will be to heat treat the blade and make the handle.
Next step will be to heat treat the blade and make the handle.
Full flat grind is better anyway.
Got the scales and liners all laid out. Next step is to heat treat the blade and start contouring the scales, especially the front.
minderasr
6.5 Creedmoor
Looking forward to seeing the finished product. Great thread!
Saltwater60
.950 JDJ
I think it looks great. Keep us posted. I'm next.
Bananabandit
.338 Win Mag
For first knife...looking great. Cant wait to aee finished product.
Contoured the scales a bit this morning. It's starting to look like an actual knife!
Lots to update here. I finally got around to working on the knife a bit. Once I sanded the scales down a bit to closer match the profile of the steel, I had to heat treat the steel. I stacked up a couple paver bricks into a little oven and used a mapp gas torch to heat the steel.
Unfortunately, by the time one part got hot enough, the other part would cool. I ended up getting a second mapp gas torch and having my wife help. The two torches worked very well and got everything up to a glowing orange. I quenched in canola oil. After the steel cooled down, a file skated right across the steel, indicating that it has been hardened. Then, the steel was tempered in the kitchen oven twice at 400°F for two hours each.
Onto the sanding! The quenching forms a very hard scale on the surface. I'm not sure if you're supposed to sand that off before tempering, but I did it after. You can see how half the knife is black here with the scale.
I used the belt sander with 120, 220, and I think maybe 400. I can't remember exactly. Now it's time to hand sand. I'm not sure exactly what grit this is sanded to. It may be when I was sanding with 220 or 400. I'll eventually take it to 1000.
I'm getting close to being done. I can see the light at the end of the tunnel. I need to finish sanding, shaping the front part of the scales, epoxy and peen the pins to attach the scales on, then finish sanding the handle. I'm guessing it will be about 3 more hours worth of work.
Ohh, and it's already sharp. I cut my index finger when I was sanding the blade.
Unfortunately, by the time one part got hot enough, the other part would cool. I ended up getting a second mapp gas torch and having my wife help. The two torches worked very well and got everything up to a glowing orange. I quenched in canola oil. After the steel cooled down, a file skated right across the steel, indicating that it has been hardened. Then, the steel was tempered in the kitchen oven twice at 400°F for two hours each.
Onto the sanding! The quenching forms a very hard scale on the surface. I'm not sure if you're supposed to sand that off before tempering, but I did it after. You can see how half the knife is black here with the scale.
I used the belt sander with 120, 220, and I think maybe 400. I can't remember exactly. Now it's time to hand sand. I'm not sure exactly what grit this is sanded to. It may be when I was sanding with 220 or 400. I'll eventually take it to 1000.
I'm getting close to being done. I can see the light at the end of the tunnel. I need to finish sanding, shaping the front part of the scales, epoxy and peen the pins to attach the scales on, then finish sanding the handle. I'm guessing it will be about 3 more hours worth of work.
Ohh, and it's already sharp. I cut my index finger when I was sanding the blade.
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Looking real good boss! That is going to be a beautiful knife when you are done.
masterswimmer
.450/400 Nitro Ex
Impressive...... now get those scales done son!
minderasr
6.5 Creedmoor
Magnus
6.5 Creedmoor
The blade is looking awesome. Now I want to make one.
Robin
.475 A&M Magnum
Did your heat treat go okay? Cant wait to see the finished product!!!!
Robin
Robin
masterswimmer
.450/400 Nitro Ex
Uzi
.308 Win
That all depends on what knife you're making and what you plan on using it for. You want as much integrity on the spine of the blade as possible for outdoor knives and there is usually no need to have a bevel that reaches that far up. A chef's knife for an example with a full grind would result in an edge that's narrower along with the secondary beveled edge and the result is a knife that will slice easier, but with less reinforcement on the spine. There is no need for them to have thick spines because they're not subject to the same tasks like stabbing, chiseling and chopping wood etc. Free hand grinding takes practice and if you go too far up, you might be able to flatten out the walls underneath the spine again to get rid of the grind marks just a few thousands enough to start back at the plunge line and try it again.