OUCH!

[D.Ellis]

Sometimes things don't work out.
Was trying to clean up the plunges on this little drop point and ended up grinding into my mark.......
 

And here's the reason this oops hurts as much as it does........after a quick etch.......same blade  

Darcy

[Lin Rhea]

Yes sir! I understand completely.

[Ray Hammond]

I've got a bucket containing a fair share of that!

[2treks]

Kinda adds some "ying/yang" to the mark.
I have a Cull Bench. When a bow don't work out just right, under the bench it goes. Sometimes I finish em up for patato peelin' tho.
Happy New Year.
CTT

[akaboomer]

Ouch in deed. I have more than couple culls. I wish salvage steel paid more.lol

Chris

[Fallguy]

I understand the quest for perfection in your work. But there may be a 1 of a kind opportunity here. Do not  throw it to far or hard. Remember when handed lemons you make lemonade. The mark is not gone.

[gudspelr]

Yup, ouch...  I hate those moments in the shop when the realization hits that there's nothing to be done to fix what just happened. But thanks for sharing this-I think it gets easy to never share these moments. Either out of frustration, embarrassment, or whatever else. It's always nice to know that others who make some beautiful knives still occasionally have these moments. At least selfishly, it makes me feel a bit better about myself   .

Jeremy

[tomsm44]

That sucks.  Especially if you made the Damascus yourself.  How thick is this blade?  Just curious if you might could grind it thinner and remove the mark completely.  Thinner might not work well with this blade profile but maybe you could at least get something out of it.  My little cocobolo bird and trout/compact fighter from a month or so back was a cull blade that I was able to salvage into a smaller blade.  Ended up being one of my favorite ones yet.

Matt

[srtben]

I see a kitchen knife or a Bird and trout hiding under the mark.
I hate when I do that, it happens to all of us.
That's part of the reason I mostly etch my mark on nowadays.  

[D.Ellis]

Thanks guys. This blade is pretty small and the stamp was fairly deep. I would probably not be able to thin it enough to remove the mark completely.
This was(thankfully) just a bonus blade out of my 120 layer billet.......extra steel after forging out the bowie, so I forged it round, twisted it up and made a small blade out of it. It did fight me every step of the way though. Had to forge weld a flaw in the tang shut, goofed the stamp up........twice, and then I broke the tip off it and finally ended up with a decent 2 3/4" drop point. Thought I had it whupped, and then this happened. Sometimes you're the windshield, and sometimes you're the bug!      :D  
At least I have my trad gang support group to turn to.   :D  

Onward.
Darcy  

[2treks]

Now I think the stamp really does fit that blade.
Positive/negative or Negative/positive.

It's tuff when they don't go as we planned. It does look nice though.

[Izzy]

I run a shelter here in my home for rehabilitating abused and unwanted, cull knives. I have ways of making them feel special and desirable again. Just saying.  

[Bobby Urban]

I'm with Izzy - if you are too embarrassed to have it those out in the world punch CULL on the other side and ship it my way - I'll put a handle on it and let it gut a few whitetails  

[D.Ellis]

Thanks guys, I am going to try to fix it up as a kit blade for someone, it's not good enough to give away as it is...........call me fussy I suppose.
Darcy  

[akaboomer]

I wouldn't call you fussy at all. The blade does have your mark. That , unless it's ground off, will forever mark it as one of your creations. So if it's not what you want to carry your mark I don't blame you in the least. I wouldn't dare to put my work on the same level as yours or some of the others here but I have tossed more than a couple in the scrap bucket because I don't want one out there that has my mark on it that I am not pleased with for where I am in my knife making at the time. Lin told me to set a standard and stick to it, that has influenced what I consider my version of quality control. Just my thoughts on it.

Chris

[D.Ellis]

Thanks Chris. That's some darn good advice Lin gave you. Sure is awesome how some of the top tier guys in the craft are so willing to help guys who have not reached the same level of proficiency.
One of my goals for this year is to take my bladesmithing up a few notches, and I can't do that by getting sloppy with QC. So you summed it up perfectly. I appreciate your reply.
Darcy  

[gudspelr]

I couldn't agree more. I know there are many who would be more than happy to have a blade with some "issues", but Chris nailed it on the head. It has to meet the standard we've each set before we let something with our mark on it out the door. Good for you, Mr. Ellis, even when it hurts to do it   .

Jeremy

[Lamey]

easy... keep it.