Just a rough design I was toying with on my lunch break today. I doubt I'll be attempting anything this large anytime soon, but I though I would share.

My blades haven't come back from heat treat yet, and I'm still waiting on my new steel to arrive. Since I couldn't get much done on actual knives this weekend, I did a little preperation and experimentation. I did recieve one of my supply orders from a Pop's knife supplies. This place doesn't have much but they did have the best price I could find on epoxy and micarta sheets. This is enough epoxy to last me quite a while and enough 1/4" thick black canvas micarta to make handle scales for at least six full tang knives.

I also just drew out some new designs I want to try. These are my version of what is inspired by the more traditional Scandinavian blades. The bottom two with the straight spine are similar in shape to the Puukko. Notice that that these use a stick tang instead of being full tang like the ones I've done so far. The paper templates are what I have been using so far, but they quickly degrade as you handle them and trace around them.

I've desided to start cutting my templates out of some thin mild steel. It's more work initially, but it should last much longer and give me a crisper, more accurate line when I trace the profile onto my blade steel. I intend to make one of these for every new design/size from here on out.

 

 



While I had this mild steel laying around, I figured I would test my intended method for mounting the stick tang blades. There are a few ways to do it, and the one I really want to use invlolves the tang not protruding through the butt of the handle. I have had a couple of people suggest that this might not be strong enough on it's own, so I want to test it out before I make the actual knives. The blade below is just a crash test dummy from mild steel, so please don't pay any attention to the way the grind looks. I also put some gouges into the tang for the epoxy to grab onto. This is probably shorter than the real tang will be. I cut a rough slot into a scrap piece of wood, filled it with epoxy, and clamped the blade in.

This is obviously done in a very rushed and sloppy fashion with very poor materials. So if this can stand up to some torture testing then there shouldn't be any question about the real deal holding up. I will post the results soon.

I have finished the rough shaping of my first batch of knives I think are good enough to send off for heat treating. It's good to leave them a little oversized and remove the rest after they are heat treated. This is the overall final shape, but the lines will move around some (hopefully a little neater in the end) and they will be taken to a finer finish.

This is one of three knives of this design I am currently waiting to get back from the heat treat facility. They are made from 3/16" precision ground A2 tool steel.

 

 

 

I also have one from my old design coming back. I don't expect it to turn out as well, but I figured I might as well send it with the others and see what I could do with it. Unless something extreme happens finishing them up, I do expect to offer a couple of these for sale. I will have to wait and see exactly how good they turn out before I set a price. The blades are about 4 1/4" long, and they will most likely have black canvas micarta handles and black kydex sheaths. As my skill level, and in turn the quality of my work, improves (hopefully) the prices will get higher. So if these turn out it could be a chance to get a very good price on a completely functional hand made knife due to some minor cosmetic flaws. I hope to have them finished and some pictures posted within the next couple of weeks.

What you see above is the first knife I have ever made. It was made on a spur of the moment urge without any proper knowledge or equipment whatsoever. Although it may actually look fairly decent, it was a complete disaster as far as functionality goes. From that moment on I have been completely consumed by the entire concept of making my own knives. I research and learn new things every day. It has been slow going, and I certainly have a long way to go with my skills, but I now have an alright start into making knives.

This page will allow you to follow along with me on my knife making journey. I will try as best I can to keep it updated with my thoughts, new knowledge and techniques, successes and failures. It may also be used some time in the future to offer knives I've made for sale when I reach that point.

I would also be happy to assist anyone else who is interested in this hobby. Keep in mind I am still very much a novice, but I have put in a lot of hours to gain some of the very basic knowledge that I can share.