I tried my hand at knifemaking

[Gdpolk]

A while back I had Mark Hill make me a custom hunter/skinner to my design and preferences and I loved it dearly.  Well I got the itch to try my hand at knife making so I decided naturally that my first design (my small game hunting knife) would be my first.  Here's my small game hunter in 0.10" Elmax, maroon linen micarta over white G10 liners, and mosaic pins.  This wouldn't have been possible without access to tooling at my friend's shop but I am fairly happy to have this one completed and am looking forward to taking it out to the field soon.  I've been helping with individual steps in knife making for a bit to learn the process, but this is my first knife that I've actually made through start to finish.  The flats were hand sanded to 600 grit, then given a tumbled finish in order to make it brighter and improve corrosion resistance.  The flat grind was taken down to 0.010" thick behind the secondary bevel edge and is left at a 220 grit that's been burnished with a scotchbrite pad; I did this to hopefully hide some of the wear and tear on the surface of the blade from use.  The handle was given beveled fronts to help with pinch grips and then taken to 1000 grit and then buffed slowly with white rouge.  The etch was my first etch to boot.  This is going to be a really fun hobby for me.  The picture is crummy but its the best I can swing.  
   

[South MS Bowhunter]

Good looker, GD!

[Matty]

You "tried your hand at knife making"
I gotta tell you. If most people tried their hand at knife making. It wouldn't look like that       that there is a gorgeous knife sir.  And yes. Apparently it's quite the addiction.
Ps. This should move to the knife making re will be lots of lookers there...

Wow! You got real good, real fast!

Great work!

Bisch

P.S. - How is deer season going for you this season? I did not get to make a hunt in Ark this year.

[ChuckC]

Dang sir !

Looks great and very appealing to my taste. Good job, keep on going with that hobby.  Have you crafted a sheath for it yet ?
ChuckC

[Sam McMichael]

You did a really good job. Congratulations.

[Gdpolk]

Originally posted by Bisch:
Wow! You got real good, real fast!

Great work!

Bisch

P.S. - How is deer season going for you this season? I did not get to make a hunt in Ark this year.

I've been blessed with three deer thus far: two younger does and a very pretty ~150lb-170lb 8pt.  The 8pt was nothing special in terms of size but it had the most symmetrical rack of any deer I've shot to date.  It came off some family land and was a special hunt with my father in law due to a few pieces of good and bad news from the family that occurred that weekend so he is getting Euro mounted to remember the weekend in God's country with loved ones.

I've also been able to harvest a ton of squirrels this year on the days that weather wasn't the best for deer hunting.

   
   

[Gdpolk]

Originally posted by ChuckC:
Dang sir !

Looks great and very appealing to my taste. Good job, keep on going with that hobby.  Have you crafted a sheath for it yet ?
ChuckC

I've made it a rather basic, bland kydex sheath.  It was my first kydex project and it came out excellent in fit and execution but I'm just not a fan of kydex.  I plan to only use the kydex sheath when small game hunting as I like to clean them as I go and put them in a backpack filled with an ice water bladder.  Kydex is easier to clean blood out of than leather.  However, I'll be making it a proper leather sheath too for the rest of the time when I'm not specifically going out for squirrel or rabbits.  I've done leather work as a hobby for a while now and am decent with it.

That's a great buck, Garrett!

Congrats,

Bisch

[Gdpolk]

Originally posted by Bisch:
That's a great buck, Garrett!

Congrats,

Bisch

Thanks a ton.  Let me know when you come in for an AR hunt next and maybe we can meet up and share some field time together.  Chasing fish and critters is my favorite hobby/passion/entertainment.  I can never get too much of it.

[Caughtandhobble]

Great knife and great deer!!!

I've made a few but nothing that nice. Keep up the good work.  

[akaboomer]

Very nice. You did great.  There are some outstanding knifemakers from Arkansas. You should post this in the Knives forum here.

Chris

[Gdpolk]

Here's my second that I just finished up just today.  This one goes to my father for Christmas.  It's 1/10" Elmax at 61HRC, scandinavian ground, thuya burl over 1/8" ivory G10 liners, mosaic pins, and stainless lanyard tube.  It'll get a two toned sheath in a medium brown with a black shadow line, black welt, and tooled border.  Dad said he would like a general outdoors design in my first batch, so I figured a woodlore would be as ideal as possible.  He doesn't know any details of the knife build yet or that it's coming for Christmas; he only knows that I promised him a knife.

   

[YORNOC]

Phenomenal. Absolutely GREAT work.  

[threeundr]

Those are some awesome looking knives for a so called beginner. I think that you might have missed your calling! Great looking deer as well.    

[Beto]

super nice looking!

[Gdpolk]

Thanks to all for the words of encouragement.

[A.S.]

Beautiful work!

[Longbow917]

Gorgeous knife!  Love those burl scales and the ivory liners, that is a sweet combination!

[Gdpolk]

Originally posted by Longbow917:
Gorgeous knife!  Love those burl scales and the ivory liners, that is a sweet combination!

Dad's knife looks prettier than mine any day.  The burl over ivory looks great in person and the contours of the handle are just much more visually appealing than my rather plain looking hunter/skinner.  But, my hunting knife I wanted something subtle in appearance.  The micarta will feel warm to the touch in cold weather unlike wood or other materials which will be a big plus on late fall - early winter hunts and the maroon color shouldn't stain or darken with blood over the years.  So, I think I made a good choice on the skinner given it's intended purpose.  Dad's knife is just a going to be a general use blade and given that he's sharpening challenged and doesn't hunt I thought a scandi grind was the way to go for him.