Attempts at Knifemaking..!

[astronomy.domaine]

Dear IFGians,
Hope everyone is doing great and have their blades gleaming and sharp.>!
I have been a weapons collector, edged or otherwise, for quite some time now, however, could never realize my intrest in actually working on blades and creating something from inception to completion. Fortunately in the last few months I have been able to scrape out the time and motivation to work on a few pieces and would like to share the results with you all.

My attempts are amaturish at best and I would be really grateful to the seasoned experts to share tips, feedbacks, their own designs and experiences in knife making... sharing their knowledge for everyones benefit.

Few Details:

Steel - Tool grade carbon steel blanks (8' x3' x0.5mm)
Soft (SS/MS) steel with .5 to .8 mm thickness
Tools - Hand held power tools, Angle Grinder/cutter, Circular saw, belt sander and bench grinder.
Grit 60 till 400 at various stages of finishing
Red, white and green polishing compounds.
Handles - wood and epoxy
Grind: Straight and convex

[astronomy.domaine]

a few more blades...

[astronomy.domaine]

And these......

[brihacharan]

Hello astronomy.domain,
> Wow splendid effort
> The shapes are out of the ordinary & bear some character.
> Pl. pay a little more attention to the 'grinding' - especially hollow grinding the cutting edges.
> The wood handles are nicely made(some checkering would be nice) - suggest provide a little more 'heft' for a firmer grip - also try 'Micarta'
> Am eagerly waiting responses from Moin / Lanceman / Slingshot / Marthandan et.al....
Briha

[choombak]

That is some lovely work, especially considering the fact that you are mostly working with regular setup (and not a knife making uber cool shop with latest CNC grinding machines). I liked the shape and file work - I always plan to do some file work on my blades, but lack the tools and time. Good going. You can also try using files as blanks, as these are typically heat treated (I have seen some nice ones from JK Handtools that have an edge almost sharpened).

[najad]

nice work, me too thinking of making a knife

[essdee1972]

Wowie man! Lovely knives....... and lovely Zippo

[astronomy.domaine]

Thanks for the words of encouragement guys!... glad you liked it.
@briha sir.. totally agree with you on the grinding part. Thats one area that does need to improve. I use the bench/belt grinder for initial shaping, but usually finish the edge with angled hand grinder using 60/80 grit disc. Probably that makes the grind more rounded and "organic" instead of sharply differentiated .
@choombak... I have used files as blanks and they give excellent results for straight linear blades, however, due to their hardness (and brittleness) its difficult to work in curves and finer details using just hand tools. Partially tempered tool grade steel in chisles works well here

[astronomy.domaine]

A few larger ones...

[kalashnikovcult]

Super duper like !!! my favorite is the machete ..rambo iv by any chance are you based in India ?

[brihacharan]

Thanks for the words of encouragement guys!... glad you liked it.
@briha sir.. totally agree with you on the grinding part. That's one area that does need to improve. I use the bench/belt grinder for initial shaping, but usually finish the edge with angled hand grinder using 60/80 grit disc. Probably that makes the grind more rounded and "organic" instead of sharply differentiated

Hi ad,
> Your design & profiling of the blades are truly excellent.
> You have the necessary grinding equipment - All you need is to perfect your grinding skills
> For initial metal removal try using "Aloxite" grinding wheels in your angle grinder - Grindwell Norton makes them.
> For finishing 80/100 grit should do fine.
Good Luck.
Briha

[Lanceman]

Great blades, rooted in history, like the Zulu spear specially. Maybe your handles deserve more attention, using exotic woods, making micarta, or using the belly skin of a sting ray!! All have their allure. What metal do you use for the long blades? Very interesting.

[astronomy.domaine]

Great blades, rooted in history, like the Zulu spear specially. Maybe your handles deserve more attention, using exotic woods, making micarta, or using the belly skin of a sting ray!! All have their allure. What metal do you use for the long blades? Very interesting.

Thanks Lanceman...handles do need more work. trying to procure some hard dark woods for a few knives under construction. micarta is something I would like to explore... really intrigued by the "Sting Ray Belly"!!! wherever on earth do u get that??!

[TC]

astronomy.domaine,

You are a truly talented guy .... The blades, especially the longer ones, are very interesting. Wood work is excellent. Keep up the good work

TC

[astronomy.domaine]

a few new ones...