Making my first knife

[Robin]

Yes MS, but did it end up with the characteristics needed for a good blade?
Robin

 

[NirvanaFan]

Yes MS, but did it end up with the characteristics needed for a good blade?
Robin

I have no way to tell exactly how hard it is. It was plenty hard before tempering, and I did a pretty standard temper for the steel. I'm guessing it is somewhere around 60-62 RC, but that's just a guess. I messed around and cut some cardboard even though it wasn't totally sharp yet. It easily cut it and I didn't notice any dulling of the blade. I'll try to put it through some testing once I'm done with it.

 

[masterswimmer]

Yes MS, but did it end up with the characteristics needed for a good blade?
Robin

.....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

Maybe I'm reading more into this than I should?

 

[ArmedCorgi]

Looking good!

 

[Podmonkey]

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.

Well the Scandi grind is good for all that and bushcraft usage in general but @NirvanaFan says he don't like that grind.

 

[minderasr]

Time for a log chop to test strength, followed by a fish slice to test edge retention/sharpness.