First knife - at last

[Rhodri]

Hi all,

Damn thing's been 'in progress' for ages. I've already posted it up on BB, and thought I ought to give it an airing here too...

It's nothing clever; the idea was just to practice some techniques and make myself something that fitted my hand on the lowest budget possible.

Thought I'd go with a 'simple' stick tang for the first. Here it is:

Close up of bolster fit:

All 'standard' bits from Brisa (thanks Dennis). A 95mm Lauri carbon, a 'first quality' birch block and a ready made bolster. Cool thing is the total materials cost was a few pence over £7 :O

Didn't make any real mistakes. Drilling was fiddly and I would have liked the mechanical fit to have been a bit better, but I still had to tap the blade in with a mallet so it's not too bad. Though next time I think I'd want a more secure mechanical fit so it's time to try rivetting.

Feels great in the hand (a knife that fits me properly for once), and seems pretty strong - though that'll be more to do with modern epoxy technology (I used acraglass) than my skill with a drill...

It's not pretty, it's not traditional, but I'm fairly happy for my first attempt. The good news is I really enjoyed it Going to try a couple of full tangs next.

Any comments gratefully received...

Cheers,
Rod

 

[leon-1]

Nice one Rod

 

[Pignut]

nice one!

That looks V.Good to me!

you do realise you have now started something that is going to cost you a fortune!

 

[Rhodri]

you do realise you have now started something that is going to cost you a fortune!

Tell me about it. I somehow seem to have aquired another 6 blades of various types and a small forests worth of handle materials. Oops

 

[prp90]

have just ordered the exact same blade today to make my first knife seeing the first class job you have done on yours has filled me with even more enthusiasimto get going but as i dont really have a clue what i am doing any advice or handy tips you (or anyone) may have would be much apreciated

again first class knifr mate

Paul

 

[prp90]

that would be "first class 'Knife' mate"

Paul

 

[Rhodri]

have just ordered the exact same blade today to make my first knife seeing the first class job you have done on yours has filled me with even more enthusiasimto get going but as i dont really have a clue what i am doing any advice or handy tips you (or anyone) may have would be much apreciated

Paul

Hi Paul,

I'm not in much of a position to offer advice, as it's only my first knife. I did learn a lot though. I think it helped that I used only hand tools (apart from the drill). Working slowly helps you to think about what you're doing.

That's the best bit of advice I think I can offer another beginner - take your time. Pick the thing up and look at it/feel it often. When you finish one stage think about what could go wrong next and don't rush into the following stages.

Oh, and enjoy it. It's good fun.

Cheers,
Rod