almost to the quench... need advice

[Scott Roush]

I've been working pretty slowly through this grind.. I've done almost all of it now with my mill file... and no beveling jig (I just saw one that somebody else posted on another site!).  But it's the same knife I posted before.  I'm pretty sure I'm to the point of quenching (after some sanding and fine tuning) but I was hoping to get input on what I've done so far... and if there is anything else that I should address before I quench.

The hardest thing has been keeping my plunge lines symmetrical with each other and that has caused them to go further down the blade than I wanted. Another thing that's happened is that I've worked that area more than other parts of the blade and you can see where that area is more narrow than above it. You can only notice it when looking at it from the spine towards the edge. I've tried leveling it out... but I don't want to remove any more knife. It's amazing how you can grind a knife away into the void.

And also... I really wanted a flat grind. And I still don't think I got it.  I suppose that will just come with practice.

After being inspired by one of Tippit's knives posted recently, I decided to leave the plunge line intact to the back.

 

 

So the two big questions I need answered are:

Other than some more sanding, and drilling the tang holes, and maybe some file work on the spine (I want to hide that narrow area above the ricasso!)... what else would you recommend that I do to it to improve this?

Also.. my spine has pretty sharp edges right now. Is it better to treat those now before I heat treat?

And more importantly.... How do I harden?  This is 52" saw mill steel that Rooster gave me. He thought it might be L6. But a lot of people say that most saw mill blades these days use 8670M. So... what is the best course of action? Just bring it to non-magnetic and quench it in oil... and then test it's hardness the best I can (I bought some brass rod to try that test after my heat treatment)?

I know some folks on this forum don't like working with these kinds of unknowns... but I'm mostly using this to learn to grind. If I get a quality knife out of it.... I will be tickled.

Anyway folks... There is a lot in this post! I've been working hard on learning here so I would love some honest feedback on my progress so far. You can't hurt my feelings!

[tippit]

Scott,

If that was my first blade and I did it all with a file, I'd be mighty proud!  I wouldn't even worry about hiding the cut plunge on the spine.  Getting grinds just right takes grinding a lot of knives.  I'll bet even Lin has thrown a few away.  Enjoy the progression and be proud of each step...tippit

[LC]

Some honest feedback, you've done dang good! Knife making like most everything else is a constant learning process. I wish my FIRST knife looked as good as yours however I will say I loved and still love my first knife! It gutted, skinned and quarted lots of animals. Now that I look at I can't imagine I was satisfied or thought it looked good at the time. I will say your first knife looks dang good way better than my first. I'd say heat it up to nonmagnetic dip the edge in warm olive oil and see if a good file skates across it! If it does temper in a oven for a hour at 350 and check again. If the file still skates go to 400 and try again! Then if necessary increase the temp and try again. I'm betting you'll learn alot and END UP WITH A VERY SERVICALBLE KNIFE!! I'd say you've done good.

[Scott Roush]

That gives me a warm glow fellas. Thanks a lot. I've been agonizing over this blade!  I guess that is the only plan LC.... and that is what I will do.

Tippit... I appreciate it. You make the kind of knife that got me into making these things in the first place.... and the reason I want to forge instead of remove stuff.

As to the file... To be fair, I did start with an angle grinder, screwed things up mercilessly with my upside-down 4" belt sander... then got it to where it is now with many draw file strokes. I will feel better about it when that plunge and ricasso area is fixed up. I just ordered some stones, so hopefully that will be the ticket.

[kuch]

scott, the liner material went out yesterday so you should get just in time to put it on that sucker! quit agonizing,that blade will come out fine.quenching and tempering don't HAVE to be magic or quantum physics.like nike says ,just do it.learn and improve on the next one .this knife will be  exceptional for serial #1.

[Scott Roush]

thanks... looking forward to getting that stuff.  I might have found some seasoned burl wood on my property today too.... I will post pics if it looks good..

[kuch]

be careful with the burl...that's partly why for the stabilizing...burl may be weak.the blade looks awesome...i know how much time you have invested because i too have used the same tools as you and mine look much rougher!! I get sick of filing and sanding...i like to beat on stuff with a hammer!

[Scott Roush]

yeah... If that stuff looks good, I won't put it on a knife until I let it sit a bit. It is very well seasoned.... but still. I've been doing a lot of research into stabilizing my own burl wood.  I live in good country for finding the stuff...

Thanks again for the compliments!

[Steve Nuckels]

Scott, IMHO the blade looks great, and I'm sure you will look at it with a critical eye, but that's how we improve!  

I'm sure you will be proud of the finished knife and bask in the feeling of accomplishment!

Steve
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Potomac Forge
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IN GOD WE TRUST

[kuch]

scott, don't take this the wrong way...'cause again every knifemaker with an eye has been there. hold the the blank or look at the blank at length.Does the shape flow?is it proportional blade vs. handle ?does it "feel" good?it was either goddard's or fowler's book that made a statement in effect "i've changed the angle/shape of the handle slightly over the years to get to the final geometry/shape" obviously paraphrasing. i notice this with my knives. sometimes it takes a lot of fiddling to get a knife to "flow" and feel good in the hand. patience and a critical eye.so much involved in knifemaking that the layperson does not grasp. and above all enjoy it.

[Scott Roush]

Thanks Steve!

kuch... honestly... so far I've been so focused on how clean the grinding is going, I haven't really thought much about the overall shape.  I guess I should start thinking about it. Looking at my picture above, I'm starting to wonder about the width of the lower part of the handle. Looks a little fat to me relative to the shape of the blade.  That just reminds me of how much steel I've taken off.  The overall shape was kind of roughed out when I started working on this and things were a little more balanced then...

anyway... thanks for pointing this out...

[kuch]

you got it.it is actually very  close to my style/preference.keep the progressive pics coming.

[Kevin Evans]

Looks nice ,like the guys say go ahead and quench.If you want to know more on quenching,look back on some of the other threads theres lots of them about quenching.Or do like I said and it will come out pretty good .
Its kinda hard to get everything right on your first knife and I know you got plenty of steel,just try and correct some of the things you don't like on the next knife.

[terencepinder]

drill your holes before heat treat,i always forget to.

[Scott Roush]

I'm on it! Just punched em today. Just need to get it to a press.