Hello all,
Im new to this forum and Im looking for a little help from you experts. Ill give a little background on me. My name is Brendan and Ive been in the Navy for almost 18 years. Im currently running the navy sniper course in Indiana and Ive got just a couple years left until I retire, which Im really looking forward to.
I got into blacksmithing about a year ago, primarily for the reason of making knives (like so many do) and have been obsessed with it since. I havent made that many but Id like your thoughts from what you see here. I realize I cant show how its heat-treated but Ill do my best to explain.
The below knife is forged from 1095 (¼ in thick, 1.5 in wide) stock. I hammered it to this desired thickness, annealed in vermiculite, cut the Sudoku shape, cold hammered a bit, normalized twice and on the third heat quenched in peanut oil. Washed off the oil, tempered twice at 400F for 1:45 each time, then began to grind. I would have liked to get the grind farther up the blade but Im a perfectionist and need a straight line. If I reduce the angle too much on my 42 in belt grinder I loose my perfect line and one side will inevitably have a higher mark. (side note: anyone selling a 2x72?)
I only went down to 320 grit on the blade actually on the handle too. On that handle I used cocobolo and curly maple. After sanding I used a tung oil finish, 3 coats, buffed, before attaching with 5 min epoxy.
Ive watched months of videos and surfed many custom knife sites learning along the way. Ive taken If you would, please give me some feed back on every aspect of what you see. Shape, handle everything. Also, what kind of price would this knife command? Any info Ive omitted please ask Ill gladly give. Ive got many more questions but Ill start here.
Thank you all.
Im new to this forum and Im looking for a little help from you experts. Ill give a little background on me. My name is Brendan and Ive been in the Navy for almost 18 years. Im currently running the navy sniper course in Indiana and Ive got just a couple years left until I retire, which Im really looking forward to.
I got into blacksmithing about a year ago, primarily for the reason of making knives (like so many do) and have been obsessed with it since. I havent made that many but Id like your thoughts from what you see here. I realize I cant show how its heat-treated but Ill do my best to explain.
The below knife is forged from 1095 (¼ in thick, 1.5 in wide) stock. I hammered it to this desired thickness, annealed in vermiculite, cut the Sudoku shape, cold hammered a bit, normalized twice and on the third heat quenched in peanut oil. Washed off the oil, tempered twice at 400F for 1:45 each time, then began to grind. I would have liked to get the grind farther up the blade but Im a perfectionist and need a straight line. If I reduce the angle too much on my 42 in belt grinder I loose my perfect line and one side will inevitably have a higher mark. (side note: anyone selling a 2x72?)
I only went down to 320 grit on the blade actually on the handle too. On that handle I used cocobolo and curly maple. After sanding I used a tung oil finish, 3 coats, buffed, before attaching with 5 min epoxy.
Ive watched months of videos and surfed many custom knife sites learning along the way. Ive taken If you would, please give me some feed back on every aspect of what you see. Shape, handle everything. Also, what kind of price would this knife command? Any info Ive omitted please ask Ill gladly give. Ive got many more questions but Ill start here.
Thank you all.