then to now

[theunluckyhunter]

me and chigger were talking about making progress in skill in knife making. so i thought i would start this thread


i dont have a picture of it but the first knife i made was from a file, i threw it on the bbq pit until it got hot then put it in water to soften it. yeah i had NO CLUE as to what i was doing. then i shaped it with a 4x24 belt sander with 80 grit belts, no bevels just kind of a curved face on it. then cut some pecan and glued it on there, no pins just gorilla glue. again shaping the handle with the 80 grit paper.

needless to say it was pretty ugly and wouldnt hold an edge.
then i founsd this site and started learning from some of you guys and progressively got better, i figured we could all post one of our first knives and the last knife you have finished. i encourage everybody to play


the one on the left is a gift i just finished, blade is 0-1 with bocote and a low scandi grind. the other is my personal toy made on a buddy of mine's kmg, this one is 0-1 with california buckeye burl pins are stainless corby fasteners.

   


sorry for the HORRIBLE pictures, i dont exactly have a camera at the moment so this one was taken with my phone  

[chiger]

As Lucky said, we thought it might be a good thing to post the first and last knife we've made.  If you've got a pic of it. We aren't worried about pic quality or any of that stuff.  Heck I didn't even clean these knives.

First knife:

The one on the left is from 1979.  It is my first knife.  I made it from a 14" file from the 40's that came from my grandfathers shop after he passed on.  Needless to say it's old school virgin W1. Not heat treat...at all. Just a right angle grinder, hours and hours with sand paper.  Steel wool and flitz to put the mirror finish on.  Took at least a month the way I remember it. Cow bone guard and found walnut handle finish it off. Oh, the bone oval was inlaid with exacto knives.  Carved my initials, which you can't see, in with filed down jewelers screw drivers.  

It's also the knife I still carry into the woods every time I go.  It's showing all 30 years of use.  Can't tell you the critters that thing has seen! ;~)

Last Knife:

I make a lot of more contemporary designs now, but I thought it would be neat to show one that's the same basic design from 30 years ago only with a twist.  That's what's on the right.  

This one isn't done yet, but it's close and it's one I'm working on right now.  It's 1084.  Quench and double tempered to about 56-58 Rc.  Saw back and a small gut hook.  The handle is a K/D through tang, with brass bolster and hilt.  It's Gaboon ebony and Osage Orange.  Both woods I really like.  It only takes me a few days if I really get after it to get to this point nowadays.  

     

Like Lucky said, this is the inspiration for new makers post.  

Oh, and try to keep the size to something us backwood dialup guys can stand please.  ;~)

Let's see those knives guys.

[Jeremy]

Why not, I'll play.

My first knife
 

And my (second to) last knife.
 

I've made a bunch of different knife styles, but keep coming back to that one.  Love the lines of it, how it works in the field and how it feels in the hand.  Hidden tang 1095 blades that are ~3.75"... balance just behind the guard on both of 'em

I think my favorite knife, the one that combines nearly everything I've learned over the past few years, is this one:
 

[d. ward]

Very nice work guy's.Jeremy I really like the middle one nice looking blade..bowdoc

[drewsbow]

sweet  

[Bodork]

As most of you know, I'm not really a knife maker but a knife builder. I have been using helle blades and other pre-made blades and am currently doing my first stock removal. Anyway, I picked out some pictures that show how some of my knives have evolved.
 These are the first three helle blade knives I made. Looking back, the handles look kinda funny, but I sure was proud of them.
 
 This is one of my all time favorites, It is a k-bar blade that I re-built the handle for. Ebony,brass and bighorn sheep. I love the shape of the blade and handle.
 
 This damascus blade has ebony inlaid with rosewood dymondwood and some of my first homemade mosaic pins.
 
 This is the latest knife I built. Curley maple handle that I dyed using india ink and dark wood stain, three-piece brass fingerguard with black phenolic spacers and homemade mosaic pins.
 

[OconeeDan]

Well, here is my first knife and I still have it.  Made around 1996 using a little 6" bench grinder and an old file, brazillian cherry wood, and linotype.  Sheath was made using a rawhide dog chewtoy.  Knife still works fine.
 
This fairly recent knife has damascus steel, elk antler handle, and timber rattlesnake in the sheath.
 

[sticshooter]

Great thread. And I'll play. I started wanting to make knives soon after I got on here. seen Ferret and Dano and our knife maker here Doug Campbell. Then Jeremy who I might say really helped me a lot as did tippit and doug. And a whole lot more people. I needed a lot of HELP.I started with Broadhead knives first and then i went to CheatR knives. They were made from Butcher knives and butter knives. Butter knives idea I stole( I mean borrowed) from Robtattoo LOL. Now i make knives from Old big sawmill blades. And all Resurrected materials.. Here's a couple of pics. sorry for being long winded.<><
CheatyR knife froma large butcher knife. 5756180051876912TjLyCa]  [/URL]
   
CheatR knife from Butter knives.  
And now sawmill blade.
   
   

[theunluckyhunter]

i KNOW we have more makers here than this.


looking good guys