Thread: various knives and sheaths

this is a quick compilation of some of the knives and sheaths I have made since I started knife making a little under a year ago at first i made knives from some mild steel found at the school workshops scrap bin but then I quickly moved onto some old hand saws from the local dump wich worked just fine for a while when i was making a set of fish filleting knives feom wich I kept one and gave one away I then found that the thin steel was inconvenante when using other knives for bushcraft or the like when they would bow and bend causing the handle scales to pop off I then moved onto using some old concrete cutting saw blades again aquired from the local dump and the results from that once heat treated in a fire with a blow dryer were very good I have three more knives planned out and will start work on them tommrow as for the leatherwork i saw it online and thought it looked cool and decided to give it a go i bought some cheap tools on trade me and havent looked back t first i bough leather in scrap bags from the shoe shop on the raglan warf but then went into the local sadlery and was given a bag for free i learn to hand stick and have made numerous sheaths both for knives i have made or have bought without sheath or occasanally for a mate. I am very beginner at knife making and leatherwork but am keen to learn so if you have any advice or tips or constructive criticism please feel free to leave a comment or send me a message
cheers
Christian
https://photos.app.goo.gl/piSnsaPzKoUatXza7

Looks like fun mate, there are some knife makers on here so you have come to the right place for sure.

Originally Posted by christian_churton

this is a quick compilation of some of the knives and sheaths I have made since I started knife making a little under a year ago at first i made knives from some mild steel found at the school workshops scrap bin but then I quickly moved onto some old hand saws from the local dump wich worked just fine for a while when i was making a set of fish filleting knives feom wich I kept one and gave one away I then found that the thin steel was inconvenante when using other knives for bushcraft or the like when they would bow and bend causing the handle scales to pop off I then moved onto using some old concrete cutting saw blades again aquired from the local dump and the results from that once heat treated in a fire with a blow dryer were very good I have three more knives planned out and will start work on them tommrow as for the leatherwork i saw it online and thought it looked cool and decided to give it a go i bought some cheap tools on trade me and havent looked back t first i bough leather in scrap bags from the shoe shop on the raglan warf but then went into the local sadlery and was given a bag for free i learn to hand stick and have made numerous sheaths both for knives i have made or have bought without sheath or occasanally for a mate. I am very beginner at knife making and leatherwork but am keen to learn so if you have any advice or tips or constructive criticism please feel free to leave a comment or send me a message
cheers
Christian
https://photos.app.goo.gl/piSnsaPzKoUatXza7

Look pretty. Good mate, definately moving in the right direction. Biggest thing that jumps out to me is fit and finish. Still file and sanding marks. There's no shortcut it just takes a shit load of time climbing the grits in sandpaper until the previous grit scratches are gone.

What are you using to grind your bevels? What grit sandpaper are you finishing the blade with? 400 grit satin is a great looking finish that doesn't take to long.

Design wise a bit more definition in the butt of the handle would improve the overall look. Check Von Gruff thread, he has a similar style handle that is very well executed

thanks a lot, they are a bit rough working on that but there's always some improvement. i am freehanding the bevels with dads old angle grinder and some 50 grit sanding disks then moving up to some old worn-out 120s, then a little bit of hand sanding. then I heat treat and temper. then finish the bevels at 120 with power tools then take too around 350 grit with some wet and dry. I found an old polishing wheel that I'm trying to get set up so that might help. as for the handles I bought a bulk of old 1/2 inch wide 40 grit belts so just cut that into strips to contour the handles with after using an angle grinder with a 50 grit disk and a Dremel then hand sand through the grits from 80 - 120 -150 -220 -350 then finish with a beeswax stain. finally, just use a cheap $2 sharpening whetstone to put an edge on them and finish on a DIY strop with some polishing compound that came with the Dremel. if I'm lucky they will shave the hair on my arm if not they are pretty close plenty sharp for what I need them to do I agree I need to spend a bit more time sanding them just trying to build up the patience. but am slowly getting there. i have been admiring von gruffs work for a while now he is a true craftsman as for the but of the handle suggestion i am trying somthing like that in one of my next knives as well as trying so mosaic pins that i made with some aluminum pipe and some dyed resin with other pins suspended in the middle.
thanks for the suggestions they are very valid and i am working to improve.
cheers christian

Thats a good start mate, a couple of those blades look very useful. If you keep at it and learn as much as you can off youtube etc., you will be producing top quality stuff soon enough. When I was learning there was no youtube, so I imported a bunch of books and figured it out from there. Now there is so much info on knifemaking out there that you couldn't watch it all if you wanted to.

Biggest thing for me when I was trying to improve my work was to never settle for "good enough". You have to push yourself to be a bit of perfectionist, but dont beat yourself up when you dont achieve it, and dont let perfection get in the way of progress. This advice seems to counter itself, but as soon as you are happy with what you are producing is the point that you stop improving, but the only way to improve is to keep making knives and trying things.

Im interested to see more of your work, so keep posting your journey here. There are a bunch of clever guys on this forum who can give good advice.

Originally Posted by SixtyTen

Thats a good start mate, a couple of those blades look very useful. If you keep at it and learn as much as you can off youtube etc., you will be producing top quality stuff soon enough. When I was learning there was no youtube, so I imported a bunch of books and figured it out from there. Now there is so much info on knifemaking out there that you couldn't watch it all if you wanted to.

Biggest thing for me when I was trying to improve my work was to never settle for "good enough". You have to push yourself to be a bit of perfectionist, but dont beat yourself up when you dont achieve it, and dont let perfection get in the way of progress. This advice seems to counter itself, but as soon as you are happy with what you are producing is the point that you stop improving, but the only way to improve is to keep making knives and trying things.

Im interested to see more of your work, so keep posting your journey here. There are a bunch of clever guys on this forum who can give good advice.

thanks, a lot mate is a bit of fun that keeps me out of trouble i started on another batch of three knives today and have them cut and shaped ready for bevels and holes for the handle pins will update with some photos soon
cheers christian

You have made a great start.
YouTube has a lot of great information in the videos.
Keep an eye on the Gear and equipment section of the forum and within that " show us your knives ". It has various makers posting their work, feel free to ask questions and enjoy the journey, there's always more to learn and improve on.

yeah i will do looking forward to new learning and developing new skills.

Any pictures of the sheaths you make?im looking for a basic but nice one for my knife.

@The bomb sure thing send me a pm and we can get to talking.
cheers christian

Here’s the one I’m looking to have a sheath made for.

Originally Posted by The bomb

Attachment 193149
Here’s the one I’m looking to have a sheath made for.

should not be a problem looks like a nice knife what kind of sheath are you looking for send me a few photos of the style and i can whip you up a template
cheers christian