WIP - First Knife

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Marko Tsourkan

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Well, this is going to be a long thread, as I am only at a first stage - finalizing testing for a heat treat. I need to ran one more test, and after that, I am going to attempt three knives in different length.

Steel - 52100, target hardness of the finished product - 62. Objective - a good balance between edge stability and abrasion resistance, and of course, a knife's ability to take a keen edge. Will keep you posted and post some pics.

All work is done in-house by me. :)

M
 
Well Dave's knife thread is already 30 pages long, so you got a ways to catch up!

Good luck Marko!
 
Maybe not that long. :)
I will start grinding mine on the weekend. I don't have high expectations, this is a learning experience, as far as I am concerned, to test the processes.

M
 
While i'm looking forward to seenig the results of your new venture, i really don't envy you. I would imagine it's an absolute nightmare trying to grind your own knife. Most people believe a kitchen knife is just a triangular lump of steel.

Good luck.
 
While i'm looking forward to seenig the results of your new venture, i really don't envy you. I would imagine it's an absolute nightmare trying to grind your own knife. Most people believe a kitchen knife is just a triangular lump of steel.

Good luck.

Actually, I am looking forward to it. I had a blast heat-treating and measuring hardness on Rockwell hardness tester (reminded me of B&W photography development and printing), and I am looking forward to a finished product, whatever quality it will be. I might get lucky, but this is mostly to get a hang of the process. Realistically, I think that the first dozen or two will be giveaways or throwaways - it takes a long time to get good at anything, so my expectations are VERY low.

M
 
Although I think it silly to wish you good luck as you've seemingly got enough natural talent to make incredible work as anyone I've ever seen....good luck. :thumbsup:
 
Although I think it silly to wish you good luck as you've seemingly got enough natural talent to make incredible work as anyone I've ever seen....good luck. :thumbsup:

Thanks Adam. I think I should keep a low profile, from now on, as I don't want expectations :)

M
 
Although I think it silly to wish you good luck as you've seemingly got enough natural talent to make incredible work as anyone I've ever seen....good luck. :thumbsup:

Definitely. Your attention to detail to your work speaks for itself.

Even if this first batch are giveaways, throwaways or seconds, I'm sure they'll be better than what other people are making.

Best of luck to you Marko!
 
I suggest you send JohnnyChance a knife. He makes some really nice reviews.
And you also know where I live :)
 
I am looking forward to see you knife Marko !! Long waiting is finely over :)
 
Actually, I am looking forward to it. I had a blast heat-treating and measuring hardness on Rockwell hardness tester (reminded me of B&W photography development and printing), and I am looking forward to a finished product, whatever quality it will be. I might get lucky, but this is mostly to get a hang of the process. Realistically, I think that the first dozen or two will be giveaways or throwaways - it takes a long time to get good at anything, so my expectations are VERY low.
Where's the sign up sheet?
 
Where's the sign up sheet?

No expectations, please. I am having a hard time handling stress already. I get there, when I get there. I took me almost two years to make a handle that I really liked. :(

M
 
Marko, you have a sound approach. Work in small steps, learn from each, try to understand what each phase is telling you. I have no doubt you will produce what your minds eye wants to see. Learn from set backs, keep moving forward, and most of all, HAVE FUN!! It can be a hoot, or a source of frustration. Its up to you which!
 
I suggest you send JohnnyChance a knife. He makes some really nice reviews.
And you also know where I live :)

While I would love to do some testing and a review, if I did it on the first batch of knives the feedback would go directly to Marko. Only once he is happy and has a finished product would I do an actual review.
 
While I would love to do some testing and a review, if I did it on the first batch of knives the feedback would go directly to Marko. Only once he is happy and has a finished product would I do an actual review.

Hey John,
I appreciate it and I will definitely take you up on your offer. This was a part of the plan, once I am comfortable with the process. We will be in touch over this (and other things, like the custom work I owe you :( )

M
 
I can't wait to check out your progress, Marko! I'd love to witness your growing pains, in addition to your finished products. I'll spare you my expectations and good luck to you.
 
Well, I am starting heat treating tonight. Will grind over the weekend.

M
 
Although I think it silly to wish you good luck as you've seemingly got enough natural talent to make incredible work as anyone I've ever seen....good luck. :thumbsup:

+1
You have a natural talent for this kind of thing and a very keen eye for details and aesthetics, and I am absolutely confident that you will grind out some very, very nice blades after a round of trial and error. Somehow I don't expect that period of trial and error to be very long as you seem to be very dedicated and a pretty fast learner :D Good luck anyways. I am looking forward to seeing the results.

DarKHOeK
 
OK, so I heat treated and ground my first knife. Still need to do some grinding, finishing, and putting an edge on it but the bulk of work is done. 180mm on the edge, 52100 oil quenched, 62RC.


dsc1700a.jpg


dsc1699w.jpg


It was a lot of work. Between heat treating and grinding, it took me over 12 hours of labor. Granted I picked thicker stock (5.65mm), and worked very slowly, but still. I tip my hat to those who trodden this path before me. :)

I followed Devin advise and ground this knife without any marking or layout - free hand, to get a feel of the process. It think it will take a number of blades to grind to get comfortable, but that's OK. I have plenty of friends who could use a good knife (albeit a second). :)

M

PS: I quenched a desire to make a knife, now back to custom work.
 
It looks absolutely flawless to me, but hey, I already knew that. You would never present something sub par your own quality mark, and we all know from your other work that mark is waaaay up there. Congrats on your first born, Marko. I am truly impressed by the result even though I expected nothing less from your able hands and perfectionist mind. Hopefully I will be able to afford one of these beautiful babies before you have to rocket your prices due to high demand and never ending back-logs :)

DarkHOeK
 
This is a practice knife, so I must of got lucky the first time. I am not done yet, so I still have a chance to mess it up. :)

I got a few hiccups while working on it, so will try to avoid them in the future. Learned some lessons too, but still a lot more to learn.

M
 
Looks great Marko!

Devin told me that the first would come out good...the second one you'd try to correct the mistakes made in the first and it would get messed up. He hit the nail on the head there. My second knife sucked.
 
Looks great Marko!

Devin told me that the first would come out good...the second one you'd try to correct the mistakes made in the first and it would get messed up. He hit the nail on the head there. My second knife sucked.

I'm still trying to figure out how to fix my second knife! I corrected what I didn't like about the handle, now to fix the blade!
 
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