Main Discussion Area > HowTo's and Build-a-longs
Guthook build-a-long
Ottomic:
I'm not sure what we were looking up, but my girlfriend stumbled onto the wiki page around the 15th. :-P Guess that front page worked, eh? I loved the idea, so I saved the page so I could look at it after I got back from our house there.
Three weeks later I sifted through the pile of my grandfather's old sawblades. I went for one of the cheapers with no carbide teeth. I figure I might use those later as actual sawblades, go figure. ::) I traced out my pattern and got to cutting with my little dremel tool. I actually found that the thicker reinforced blades seemed to take longer and more effort from the tool. Also, munching through three of the light duty blades (the third was because I forgot to support the falling knife blank and it pinched) is by far cheaper than the wearing out the heavy duty cutter. :-P
So, I cleaned it up and found that without a suitable large diameter grinder... I just had to do all the clean up by file. I tried a 'hollow grind' for one side of the blade and after I noticed that my little wheel would just cut in and not give a nice edge, the file was the way to go. I used the MAPP torch here and softened up the handle enough to drill pin holes and then went for hardening and tempering it. Non-magnetic came reeeeeally quick. Much quicker than I thought it would. I also had no used motor oil anywhere. Hopefully the veggie stuff worked. A felt wheel and jeweler's rouge will still not take any scratches out, so it must still be decently hard. :-P
The wiki should probably be edited to add in a note to test it with a file for hardness before tempering. Sounds like a good way to make sure you're not getting it hot and then tossing it in the oven. :-P
After all of that, I ran it through with the orbital and some hand sanding to get it to the shine that I wanted it at. Cut some scales out of the 1/4"x4"x48" red oak I'm using for a doorway transition (lintel?) and shaped those up. Snipped a few lengths of 1/8" steel rod for pins. Got the scales positioned and sanded up. I didn't want to epoxy it (didn't have any anyways!) so I looked up peening methods. I should have done both sides the same, but wanted to try different methods to see what I like. :-) I ground one side to a taper and the other I dimpled with a punch (not pictured).
What do you think? I'm getting into wood carving and needed a good knife. The very edge is still flat, but it slices through the pine shims I used as buffers when peening. Not sure if I finish the scales or let them get finished with skin oil. :-P
Ottomic:
Good thing I forgot to attach the picture, keeps crashing everytime I try...
[attachment deleted by admin]
madcrow:
Looks like you arte on the right track. I was getting ready to ask for a pic when you posted it. I have seen some carving / whittling knives with single and double bevels. When it gets dull, if you have not knicked the blade, you should be able to use some rough on a leather strop to hone the edge. Thinner blades will slice through the wood easier. Also, you want it as sharp as you can possibly get it. Dull knives and chisels on hard wood will get you atrip to the emergency room for stitches. If you are using softer woods, you really want it sharp because a dull blade will bust through instaed of slice. You made a nice lloking nad very handy knife. Before you know it, you will have a set of them.
Ottomic:
Yeah, the bevel looks so shinie, I figured it would be a pity to bring out a stone and scratch it up. :-P So, I cut out a 1" rough circle from a belt no longer being used and turned it into a dremel sized stropping wheel. :-P It is doing much better than the felt wheels I have already.
oldgun:
I've done a little knife building as a result of this thread (thankyou) and am enjoying it. One ? I have is how do you stop the surface rust? I get it to a nice shine but after a week or three I get a small amount of rust appearing on my blade. Is there something you use to prevent this????
Thanks.
Navigation
[0] Message Index
[#] Next page
[*] Previous page
Go to full version