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Workshop35
01-15-2011, 05:52 PM
Overall it was a great experience, made plenty of mistakes, but I learned a lot from the whole thing. Reading the posts here gave me a good base of knowledge to start with. It's made from O-1 steel, 3/16" thick, 1 1/2" wide, and about 9 inches long. The handle is a piece of oak that was laying around.

6260
O-1 blank

6262
Turning down old brass bolts for pins

6261
Blade roughed out, and pins made. The pins recess into the handle and are pressed together.

6259
Hardening

6263
What it looks like now, need to finish sand/polish and form the handle once I figure out what I want it to look like.

Any and all criticism is highly encouraged. I'm not satisfied with how it turned out but I guess you can't expect much for a first try. I'm planning on rounding the handle quite a bit until its comfortable and finishing the wood with Tru Oil or similar.

Winter
01-15-2011, 06:01 PM
The best critic for your first knife is you.

Looks much like my first one.

Camp10
01-15-2011, 06:07 PM
A very solid first knife! I doubt you will get much criticism here but if you have questions, just ask. What have you learned that you might try different? Be sure to round the handle out as much as you can , it will help with comfort.

Oh, and before 2D beats me to it...why not cut your way to the introduction section and rough out a nice intro for us? Thanks!

crashdive123
01-15-2011, 06:24 PM
Looks much better than my first knife. Well done. Make sure that you let us see it when you finish up the handle.

crashdive123
01-15-2011, 06:24 PM
Oh, and before 2D beats me to it...why not cut your way to the introduction section and rough out a nice intro for us? Thanks!

****snort, chuckle****

Ted
01-16-2011, 12:29 AM
Looks great! First try, you should be quite happy with that! It'll look even better after you round out the handle edges. You did temper it didn't you.

Workshop35
01-16-2011, 03:04 PM
thanks for the encouragement. I'll make my over to the intro section in a bit.

Yeah I did temper it, but I didn't take any pics of that part. It should be about 58-60 rockwell according to the tempering chart I followed.

I definitely learned that ALL of the finish sanding should probably be done prior to hardening. I spent quite a bit of time hand sanding after the fact. That and I made the handle too wide, but I guess that just means more wood had to come off. I still have 9" of the O-1 so I'll be making another shortly.

Pocomoonskyeyes3
01-16-2011, 03:12 PM
Cool!! Looking forward to that project. Great first knife too. And I'll just go ahead and welcome you here.... Welcome to the Camp!

Rick
01-16-2011, 05:02 PM
Nice job. Ka Bar had a first knife. (Ka, funny name for a guy). Thanks for sharing with us.

mccaw69
01-17-2011, 02:58 PM
Looks great!You should be proud to carry it!As you continue to make more,you'll get better,learning from your mistakes n such,soon you'll have it down to an art. You'll see.I still carry my first self made,it's been a great knife,thinking about making a necker next.

JPGreco
01-17-2011, 05:48 PM
Nicely done.

I have my first steel en route as I type this (I decided to order some known stock for my first real attempt instead of guessing at to what scrap I have around). The nice thing is its long enough that I can several blades out of it so I have a lot to work with incase of mistakes.

Reverend Greg
01-17-2011, 09:16 PM
Valiant first try!!I like it when some one says to hell with it all and just starts making what they see in their Head...Keep this one and use it well,In 5 years post a picture of the first one you made and the one you made the most recent and enjoy the feeling.BTW...nice looking Lathe ,what kind is it?
(G)

panch0
01-18-2011, 01:02 AM
Nice job sir and welcome!

p moore
01-18-2011, 10:10 AM
I feel pretty sure this will not be your last knife. Once the bug has bitten...... One thing, Keep this knife, what ever you do. Years, and many knives down the road you can pull it back out and see where you came from. You will be suprised at the way things change over time as you make more and more.

Great first knife. Now get out there and put it to the test.

Paul

Workshop35
01-18-2011, 08:32 PM
Valiant first try!!I like it when some one says to hell with it all and just starts making what they see in their Head...Keep this one and use it well,In 5 years post a picture of the first one you made and the one you made the most recent and enjoy the feeling.BTW...nice looking Lathe ,what kind is it?
(G)

It's my old man's Enco, think it has a 36" table but I don't remember for sure. He was a machinist for over 30 years, and he likes it so it must not be too bad.

Workshop35
01-18-2011, 08:33 PM
I feel pretty sure this will not be your last knife. Once the bug has bitten...... One thing, Keep this knife, what ever you do. Years, and many knives down the road you can pull it back out and see where you came from. You will be suprised at the way things change over time as you make more and more.

Great first knife. Now get out there and put it to the test.

Paul

Trying it out will be the best part. I'm hoping to use it on a spring turkey this year.

p moore
01-18-2011, 11:15 PM
Be sure to bring back some pics.

Paul

Workshop35
01-19-2011, 08:52 PM
6296

Here's what it ended up as. I put 3 coats of Tru Oil on it and it turned out pretty nice. Also put a 19 degree edge on with the sharpening tool its in. Now on to the next one...

crashdive123
01-19-2011, 08:54 PM
It turned out nice. Well done.

Rick
01-19-2011, 09:33 PM
That is a nice knife. You guys make handles too big for my dainty hands. I need a knife that can allow my pinky to extend too. But it's a nice one for sure.