if your going for your first knife just take your time and work the angle you want with a hand file.....
...its harder than you think to keep it straight...lol
It is indeed. I made my first knife a couple of months ago and I made a couple of mistakes that I shall share in the hope that you don't make the same ones.
Unlike you I was using a file as material. First mistake, I didn't anneal it properly and destroyed the drill bit cutting holes for pins to hold the scales.
2'ed mistake.
I didn't take my time with the file, hence the flats of the bevel were not flat. Others suggest making and using a jig.
3'ed mistake.
I then heat treated it, which made it a real b&*ger to hand grind them flat. Eventually I annealed it again so that I could get them flat.
4th "mistake"
Rather than heat treat the bulk then temper it back I attempted to just harden the edge by quenching that. I suspect I have a very brittle edge and will temper next time.
Finally when fitting the scales I didn't mock up a handle out of something soft to get a comfortable thickness. I should have done so because once the pins are fitted it's difficult to reduce the thickness as you need a file/sander that copes well with wood and brass.
I'm proud of my work, but there is a reason that I don't post photos of it on forums like this. Perhaps my next will be good enough to show off.
