Hello all,
I am in the process of building a knife for a fellow Tradgang member for part of a trade (KOM jacket). I thought I would show it here. Please keep in mind this is not a how-to, just a series of photos to show the knife being built.
This is the design we came up with after a few rounds of back and forth.
(http://i12.photobucket.com/albums/a222/JPStangs/KOM%20WIP/1_Drawing.jpg)
I make photocopies of the drawing. One goes up on the board for reference during the build and other get cut out and glued to 1/4" hardboard.
(http://i12.photobucket.com/albums/a222/JPStangs/KOM%20WIP/2_DrawinggluedtoMDF.jpg)
The hard board is cut and ground to make pattern.
(http://i12.photobucket.com/albums/a222/JPStangs/KOM%20WIP/3_Pattern.jpg)
Bar stock is cut to lenght and dyed. In this case CPM 154 that is 3/16" thick.
(http://i12.photobucket.com/albums/a222/JPStangs/KOM%20WIP/4_Barandpattern.jpg)
The pattern is used to scribe the knife on the bar stock.
(http://i12.photobucket.com/albums/a222/JPStangs/KOM%20WIP/5_Patternscribedonbar.jpg)
The knife is cut out of the bar stock using a portable metal band saw.
(http://i12.photobucket.com/albums/a222/JPStangs/KOM%20WIP/6_BandsawingBlade.jpg)
This is the knife before grinding the profile.
(http://i12.photobucket.com/albums/a222/JPStangs/KOM%20WIP/7_Afterbandsawing.jpg)
Next I grind to the scribe line using the grinder set-up with a 8" contact wheel and work rest.
(http://i12.photobucket.com/albums/a222/JPStangs/KOM%20WIP/8_Profilingongrinder.jpg)
Here I am cleaning up the inside radius using a drum sander mounted in the drill press.
(http://i12.photobucket.com/albums/a222/JPStangs/KOM%20WIP/9_Profilinginsideradiiwithdrumsander.jpg)
Handle pin and lightening pattern layout.
(http://i12.photobucket.com/albums/a222/JPStangs/KOM%20WIP/10_Layoutholeandlighteningpattern.jpg)
Milling the pockets and drilling the pin holes.
(http://i12.photobucket.com/albums/a222/JPStangs/KOM%20WIP/11_Millingholeandlighteningpattern.jpg)
Holes and weight reduction pattern completed.
(http://i12.photobucket.com/albums/a222/JPStangs/KOM%20WIP/12_profiledlightenedanddrilled.jpg)
Milling the guard slot in the blade.
(http://i12.photobucket.com/albums/a222/JPStangs/KOM%20WIP/13_millingguardslot.jpg)
Checking blade thickness.
(http://i12.photobucket.com/albums/a222/JPStangs/KOM%20WIP/14_Checkthinkness.jpg)
Marking the blade center and grind to lines.
(http://i12.photobucket.com/albums/a222/JPStangs/KOM%20WIP/15_Markingcenterline.jpg)
(http://i12.photobucket.com/albums/a222/JPStangs/KOM%20WIP/16_centerline.jpg)
Layout of grind lines and mount the blade in a carbide file guide. I will grind in the bevels from here.
(http://i12.photobucket.com/albums/a222/JPStangs/KOM%20WIP/17_layingoutgrindlines.jpg)
I took some time to perpare the guard material before moving the work to the grinding room.
Band saw off a piece of 416 SST.
(http://i12.photobucket.com/albums/a222/JPStangs/KOM%20WIP/18_bandsawingguardmaterial.jpg)
Flattening and sqauring the guard in the milling machine.
(http://i12.photobucket.com/albums/a222/JPStangs/KOM%20WIP/19_Millingguardtoproperthinkness.jpg)
Checking the guard for proper thinkness to get a perfect fit with the slot milled in the blade.
(http://i12.photobucket.com/albums/a222/JPStangs/KOM%20WIP/20_Measureingguard.jpg)
Guard and the Sambar Stag scales.
(http://i12.photobucket.com/albums/a222/JPStangs/KOM%20WIP/21_StagandGuard.jpg)
More to come as this project progresses.
That will be very nice,can't wait to see more!!!!!
O BOY!
looks good
That's a work of art.
Very enjoyable! Thanks for all the time you've put into this.
Karl is absolutely right! Thanks alot for taking us along for the ride. Can't wait to see the rest.
Very nice, it is always cool to see other peoples processes.
Well I got some free time from a busy work scedule and was able to make some progress on this knife.
Here I start the bevels by starting the grind with the contact wheel and an old belt. I grind to the layout lines.
(http://i12.photobucket.com/albums/a222/JPStangs/KOM%20WIP/22_Bevelstarted.jpg)
Then I rough in the bevels with a 60 grit belt on the flat platten.
(http://i12.photobucket.com/albums/a222/JPStangs/KOM%20WIP/23_Bevelroughgrind.jpg)
Because this is not the traditional full hieght flat grind I normally do, I made sure the bevels were flat by draw filing them.
(http://i12.photobucket.com/albums/a222/JPStangs/KOM%20WIP/24_drawfiling.jpg)
After draw filing I hit them on the disc sander to remove the file marks.
(http://i12.photobucket.com/albums/a222/JPStangs/KOM%20WIP/25_Flateningondisc.jpg)
Now that the bevels are flat I refine them on the grinder using 120 and 220 grit belts.
(http://i12.photobucket.com/albums/a222/JPStangs/KOM%20WIP/26_Refiningbevelwith120grit.jpg)
With the main bevels done, I grind in the false edge using a work rest to keep the angle consistent on both sides.
(http://i12.photobucket.com/albums/a222/JPStangs/KOM%20WIP/27_Grindingfalseedge.jpg)
(http://i12.photobucket.com/albums/a222/JPStangs/KOM%20WIP/29_Fasleedgeroughground.jpg)
Then the flats are sanded to 220 grit.
(http://i12.photobucket.com/albums/a222/JPStangs/KOM%20WIP/28_Grindingflatsto220grit.jpg)
Here is the blade with the rough grinding completed. I still need to refine the plunge lines later.
(http://i12.photobucket.com/albums/a222/JPStangs/KOM%20WIP/30_roughGrindingfinished.jpg)
(http://i12.photobucket.com/albums/a222/JPStangs/KOM%20WIP/31_Roughgroundblade.jpg)
Next I start the traction grooves on the thumb rest. I do this by using my file guide and a flat file to start the groove and finish them off with a round needle file.
(http://i12.photobucket.com/albums/a222/JPStangs/KOM%20WIP/32_Startingthumbtraction.jpg)
(http://i12.photobucket.com/albums/a222/JPStangs/KOM%20WIP/33_Tractiongroovesfinished.jpg)
Here you can see the layout and finished arrow head file work.
(http://i12.photobucket.com/albums/a222/JPStangs/KOM%20WIP/34_Layoutoffilework.jpg)
(http://i12.photobucket.com/albums/a222/JPStangs/KOM%20WIP/35_Fileworkdone.jpg)
Thanks for looking,
James
James, this is looking fantastic! Five arrowheads...lucky number! I cant wait.
James a question sir, and it only because i'm curious to the different ways knives are shown being made on the forum. With your method everything seems to be a cut and grind process (at least so far) instead of the hammer and anvil is there a name or different theory to your approach? Fascinating to see how these works of art are crafted :notworthy:
And i did go to your photo bucket page and you craft a beautiful Knife!
Hurry up, already! :D
Looking good so far. :thumbsup:
John,
This knife is being build using the stock removal method. I rough forge my high carbon knives and stock remove my stainless and tool steel knives. Most stainless are not forging friendly.
James
What the pro and cons of the two James?
Great knives can be made from both methods. Forging give you some more freedom and you are not constrained to the bar stock dimension. The most important this is to understand the steel being used and working it properly (HT).
:campfire:
wow, looks awesome. love the high grind on the blade also the arrowheads in the file work
Hello Everyone,
First I must thank 4dogs for his patients and apologize for the slow progress of this build. Life (work/family) has been very demanding this summer. My shop time has been very limited.
Now let continue!!
I now set the carbide faced file guide exactly where I want the plunge line to be.
(http://i12.photobucket.com/albums/a222/JPStangs/KOM%20WIP/36_CarbideFileguide.jpg)
Then I grind in the plunges on my home made platen. This makes the plunges exactly the same on both sides of the blade (angle, radius, and starting point). The platen has a machined radius and the file guide controls the starting point and angle. I lay the bevel flat on the platen and push in until the carbide touches the 120 grit j-flex belt.
(http://i12.photobucket.com/albums/a222/JPStangs/KOM%20WIP/37_grindingplunge.jpg)
(http://i12.photobucket.com/albums/a222/JPStangs/KOM%20WIP/38_grindingplunge.jpg)
Perfect plunge lines, just don't sand them away.
(http://i12.photobucket.com/albums/a222/JPStangs/KOM%20WIP/39_Evenplunges.jpg)
Next I hand sand the blade to 600 grit. I normally do not need this step, but because this blade will be mirror finished, I want to remove any large grind mark while the steel is still soft.
(http://i12.photobucket.com/albums/a222/JPStangs/KOM%20WIP/40_handsandingpreht.jpg)
Now I clean the blade with dish soap and hot water. After that it is wiped down with denatured alcohol. It is then placed in a stainless steel foil (tool wrap) envelope to protect it from scaling during heat treat. I heat treat CPM 154 by placing the blade in my heat treating kiln and bring it up to 1400 degrees, I hold this temperature for 15 minutes then increase the temperature to 1950. I hold it at 1950 degrees for 30 minutes, then plate quench between two 1" think aluminum plates until I can handle the blade with bare hands. Then the blade is sub-zero treated (-100 degrees) in a bath of acetone and dry ice for 8 hours. The blade then gets tempered at 450 degrees for two cycles of two hours.
(http://i12.photobucket.com/albums/a222/JPStangs/KOM%20WIP/41_HeatOven.jpg)
(http://i12.photobucket.com/albums/a222/JPStangs/KOM%20WIP/42_SoakTemperature.jpg)
(http://i12.photobucket.com/albums/a222/JPStangs/KOM%20WIP/43_AfterHT.jpg)
Next I will be hand sanding the blade to 2500 grit, then buffing to a mirror finish.
Excellent build along James! Don't want to interupt your build along so when you have a minute or two could you post more pics of your plunge grinding jig? I think that would be helpful to a lot of makers who have a hard time getting the plunge lines to match.
Very nice James!
Here is the blade sanded to a dirty 1000 grit.
(http://i12.photobucket.com/albums/a222/JPStangs/KOM%20WIP/44_HandSandedtodirty1000grit.jpg)
I like to etch the blade now at the 1000 grit. When I finish sand the blade to 2500 grit it will clean up the etch and give nice crisp lines.
(http://i12.photobucket.com/albums/a222/JPStangs/KOM%20WIP/45_Makersmarkstencil.jpg)
This is my homemade etching unit.
(http://i12.photobucket.com/albums/a222/JPStangs/KOM%20WIP/46_etchingmakersmark.jpg)
Here is the etch before clean-up
(http://i12.photobucket.com/albums/a222/JPStangs/KOM%20WIP/47_makersmark.jpg)
This is a pic of the blade before buffing. It is finish sanded to 2500 grit.
(http://i12.photobucket.com/albums/a222/JPStangs/KOM%20WIP/48_2500gritandrubbed.jpg)
Gettin closer! Lookin GREAT James.
Continue!!
Blade is taped to protect it from scratches. I meassure the area where the guard will go with micrometers. You can see in this photo the collet and end end I will use, along with the travel in both directions. Th guard slot is milled to the same thickness as the blade.
(http://i12.photobucket.com/albums/a222/JPStangs/KOM%20WIP/49_SlottingGuardA_zps028cc137.jpg)
(http://i12.photobucket.com/albums/a222/JPStangs/KOM%20WIP/50_SlottingGuardB_zps37125a15.jpg)
I mount the guard and drill the pin hole.
(http://i12.photobucket.com/albums/a222/JPStangs/KOM%20WIP/51_DrillingGuard_zpsf3386c96.jpg)
Here you can see my half template of the guard, it indexs to the blade to make the guard shape symetrical.
(http://i12.photobucket.com/albums/a222/JPStangs/KOM%20WIP/52_GuardLayoutTemplate_zpse0a9d397.jpg)
(http://i12.photobucket.com/albums/a222/JPStangs/KOM%20WIP/53_GuardLayout_zps4cc26e93.jpg)
The guard is shaped using a combination of the band saw, grinder, files, and dremel tool.
(http://i12.photobucket.com/albums/a222/JPStangs/KOM%20WIP/54_GuardProfiled_zps3bb6d6f7.jpg)
(http://i12.photobucket.com/albums/a222/JPStangs/KOM%20WIP/55_GuardShaping_zpsf6530f5a.jpg)
Next the guard pin hole is tapered from both side with my homemade reamer. The pin is cut to size and ground with points on both side. Then it is peened to permently attach the guard.
(http://i12.photobucket.com/albums/a222/JPStangs/KOM%20WIP/56_GuardHoleTapering_zps5327f7dd.jpg)
(http://i12.photobucket.com/albums/a222/JPStangs/KOM%20WIP/57_GuardPinning_zpsa2f58c38.jpg)
(http://i12.photobucket.com/albums/a222/JPStangs/KOM%20WIP/58_GuardPinPeening_zps9fe1eae7.jpg)
I just the angle of the front of the stag scales to fit the handle shape. I then clamp the blade to the scale and use it as a template for drilling the handle pin holes. The 1/16" holes are done by hand, where as the larger 3/8" holes I use a fixture and the drill press.
(http://i12.photobucket.com/albums/a222/JPStangs/KOM%20WIP/59_HandlePinDrillingA_zps3dffbd25.jpg)
(http://i12.photobucket.com/albums/a222/JPStangs/KOM%20WIP/60_HandleDrilledA_zps0eb6ccfd.jpg)
(http://i12.photobucket.com/albums/a222/JPStangs/KOM%20WIP/61_HandleDrilling_zps7dbc2b73.jpg)
With the scales pin to the blade I draw the handle outline and trim using the bandsaw.
(http://i12.photobucket.com/albums/a222/JPStangs/KOM%20WIP/62_TrimmingHandle_zps2f030344.jpg)
(http://i12.photobucket.com/albums/a222/JPStangs/KOM%20WIP/63_HandleDrilledandTrimmed_zpsadae4596.jpg)
Thanks for sharing. Can't wait to see the finished product.
James,
I wish I had the talents you and other TradGang knife makers do, but some can make knives, while others are limited to making money to buy these beautiful knives. I love the one knife of yours I own. It is wonderfully created and frighteningly sharp! The one you are making in this thread is fun to watch as it comes together. Thanks for letting us see your handiwork.
Allan
Awesome work James!!!!!
that is a real work of art james :clapper:
Lets finish this up!!
Blade, pins, and stag all prepared for glue-up.
(http://i12.photobucket.com/albums/a222/JPStangs/KOM%20WIP/64_Prepforglueup.jpg)
After 24 hours of curing the epoxy I shape the handle. Sorry guy I got on a roll here and did not take many photos. I used a combiination of belt sander, files, dremel, and sand paper. Once shaped I sand thru the grits starting at 220 and finishing at 2500.
(http://i12.photobucket.com/albums/a222/JPStangs/KOM%20WIP/65_HandleshapingandsandingA.jpg)
(http://i12.photobucket.com/albums/a222/JPStangs/KOM%20WIP/66_HandleshapingandsandingB.jpg)
After buffing the whole knife first with green chrome compound and then finishing with pink compound this is what it looks like. Sorry for the crappy photo, I will take better photos in the light box when I complete the sheath.
(http://i12.photobucket.com/albums/a222/JPStangs/KOM%20WIP/67_CompleteOverall.jpg)
(http://i12.photobucket.com/albums/a222/JPStangs/KOM%20WIP/68_CompleteMirror.jpg)
(http://i12.photobucket.com/albums/a222/JPStangs/KOM%20WIP/69_CompleteSpine.jpg)
(http://i12.photobucket.com/albums/a222/JPStangs/KOM%20WIP/70_CompleteHandle.jpg)
thats a nice knife . lots of work involved i am sure of that. great job
WOW!
:thumbsup: :thumbsup: :notworthy: :notworthy: Very nice job!!
Well photobucket has really been giving me trouble lately, but I think it is working now. Here are the final photos of the completed knife and sheath.
(http://i12.photobucket.com/albums/a222/JPStangs/KOM%20WIP/Complete1.jpg)
(http://i12.photobucket.com/albums/a222/JPStangs/KOM%20WIP/Complete2.jpg)
(http://i12.photobucket.com/albums/a222/JPStangs/KOM%20WIP/Complete3.jpg)
The knife has been delivered to Mark, I hope he is happy with it.
James
That turned out beautiful.
James shipped this knife to me a week or so ago. The pics really dont do it justice. It is very very nice. Looks and function are top shelf. I cant give him enough props on this blade and sheath. I will carry and use it the rest of my days them my son will
Mark, I guess since you are a machinist yourself, the work done by James is even more impressive when you know how demanding it is. Congratulations on owning such a beautifully crafted knife. James, that is outstanding.
Allan
Thank you sir and yes I do appreciate every bit of work James did on this. Precision, looks, a very fine tool it is.
Thank you gentlemen, as always a happy owner of one of my knives puts a smile on my face.
That thing is great. Very well done.
I really like it.
CTT