Posted: 8/25/2016 12:04:06 AM EDT
|
After dreaming of making my own knives for years I finally got started! I met a talented local knife maker and he took me under his wing and is showing me the ropes! I ground this blade from 1/4" A2 tool steel on a 15" wheel. I profiled the shape and ground the bevels all free hand. The plunge cuts are a little uneven which drive me nuts looking at them but the top on the grinds on both sides are very close to being symmetrical! You can see when I lost my steady hand and bumped the grinder and it put some nasty scratches on the blade near the top, rear grind lines and near the plunge cuts. I will perfect this as I get better but overall I'm very happy with how it came out for my very first blade! Not sure what style I was trying for...guess a skinner or small cleaver style? The edge was left thick so is doesn't warp in heat treat. Then I'll decide what handle to attach and do the final sharpening and add a small sharpening choil I think. Blade goes off to Peters Heat Treat soon. I'm investing is a Northridge Pro Grinder next week and really looking forward to it! I'll post follow pictures as I finish her up!
So to the experienced knife makers: What can I do better on or focus on improving to make future blades better? Thanks for any input! 
|
|
A2 is an air hardening tool steel. It should not warp in heat treat if done by a reputable company. You need to grind that edge to 90% or you will be cursing yourself later. That is the nice thing about air hardening steel. I have ground to finish then sent off for HT. All came out perfect. Just had to final sand and out on the handle. Took a whole 2 or 3 hours.
Good luck and have fun. |
|
Quoted:
A2 is an air hardening tool steel. It should not warp in heat treat if done by a reputable company. You need to grind that edge to 90% or you will be cursing yourself later. That is the nice thing about air hardening steel. I have ground to finish then sent off for HT. All came out perfect. Just had to final sand and out on the handle. Took a whole 2 or 3 hours. Good luck and have fun. Thanks for the tip! So re-scribe my edge lines and grind a bit deeper? |
|
Quoted:
Thanks for the tip! So re-scribe my edge lines and grind a bit deeper? Quoted:
Quoted:
A2 is an air hardening tool steel. It should not warp in heat treat if done by a reputable company. You need to grind that edge to 90% or you will be cursing yourself later. That is the nice thing about air hardening steel. I have ground to finish then sent off for HT. All came out perfect. Just had to final sand and out on the handle. Took a whole 2 or 3 hours. Good luck and have fun. Thanks for the tip! So re-scribe my edge lines and grind a bit deeper? Yes!. I would go no thicker than a dime, and that is on the thick side. I have ground to .015 with no ill effects. It looks like you are using a grinding wheel. The problem getting both sides even is the wheel needs to be dressed very carefully. Both sides of the wheel need to be identical. |
|
Quoted:
Yes!. I would go no thicker than a dime, and that is on the thick side. I have ground to .015 with no ill effects. It looks like you are using a grinding wheel. The problem getting both sides even is the wheel needs to be dressed very carefully. Both sides of the wheel need to be identical. Quoted:
Quoted:
Quoted:
A2 is an air hardening tool steel. It should not warp in heat treat if done by a reputable company. You need to grind that edge to 90% or you will be cursing yourself later. That is the nice thing about air hardening steel. I have ground to finish then sent off for HT. All came out perfect. Just had to final sand and out on the handle. Took a whole 2 or 3 hours. Good luck and have fun. Thanks for the tip! So re-scribe my edge lines and grind a bit deeper? Yes!. I would go no thicker than a dime, and that is on the thick side. I have ground to .015 with no ill effects. It looks like you are using a grinding wheel. The problem getting both sides even is the wheel needs to be dressed very carefully. Both sides of the wheel need to be identical. What do you mean by dressed? It was a 15" wheel on a custom built grinder. |
|
Is it a stone wheel or belt? If it is stone then it needs to be made flat with a dressing tool, wheel or diamond, making the corners exact. If you are using a belt then you will need to finish the bevels by hand using files or stones. That is probably the most difficult thing to get perfect. Esp on a hollow grind.
Eta, Bruce Bump makes a really nice grinding jig that helps immensely. It is not cheap though, $125. Carbide face and surface ground. Very nice if you intend to do more than an occasional blade. |
|
Quoted:
Is it a stone wheel or belt? If it is stone then it needs to be made flat with a dressing tool, wheel or diamond, making the corners exact. If you are using a belt then you will need to finish the bevels by hand using files or stones. That is probably the most difficult thing to get perfect. Esp on a hollow grind. Eta, Bruce Bump makes a really nice grinding jig that helps immensely. It is not cheap though, $125. Carbide face and surface ground. Very nice if you intend to do more than an occasional blade. It was a belt. Thanks for the tips! What kind of file would I use to clean up the plunge cuts? Also to add a small choil? |
|
yea, defiantly get closer on your blade profile. sucks if you have to take off a lot after it is hardened
I started making knives this winter, I like forging better then just stock removal. takes longer but is more satisfying 
made a straight stock removal fillet knife for my dad for his birthday a few weeks ago. 
biggest tip is to never ever ever ever ever rush 
|
| You did great for a first knife! That blade shape looks extremely useful. Unfortunately at 1/4" thick that knife is going to be too heavy for edc use and poorly balanced as well. You can drill out the handle to drop some weight, or if you're feeling adventurousyou could try distally tapering the handle. |
|
Quoted:
It was a belt. Thanks for the tips! What kind of file would I use to clean up the plunge cuts? Also to add a small choil? Quoted:
Quoted:
Is it a stone wheel or belt? If it is stone then it needs to be made flat with a dressing tool, wheel or diamond, making the corners exact. If you are using a belt then you will need to finish the bevels by hand using files or stones. That is probably the most difficult thing to get perfect. Esp on a hollow grind. Eta, Bruce Bump makes a really nice grinding jig that helps immensely. It is not cheap though, $125. Carbide face and surface ground. Very nice if you intend to do more than an occasional blade. It was a belt. Thanks for the tips! What kind of file would I use to clean up the plunge cuts? Also to add a small choil? I use a round edge bastard file by Simonds. But since you hollow ground the blade you might look into edm stones. Easier to follow a profile . If you are close I would not worry too much about it. Esp if you are not intending to sell it. |
