this son:

3/8/2011 10:06:08 PM

what do you do with all of your knives?

3/8/2011 10:06:56 PM

to me it looks like a paring knife to me

3/8/2011 10:07:20 PM

^^ I cut things.

3/8/2011 10:09:13 PM

Which of the following categories would you place this knife in?

-Orange Peeling Knife
-Knife Sharpening Knife
-Hooker Stabbing Knife
-Yuppie Robbing Knife
-Steak Knife
-Skinning Knife
-Picture Taking Knife
-Butter Knife
-Other Type of Knife

3/8/2011 10:09:18 PM

There are two knives son.

Oddly enough, they are quite useful for all of the purposes you've listed.

3/8/2011 10:10:08 PM

Noted.

Is there a process guide document available on the subject of purchasing a fine blade much like the ones pictured above?

3/8/2011 10:12:00 PM

Yeah, I can make you one but you'll need to wait at least a few months because I have to acquire more specialized equipment in order to get these results again. Right now Bryan and I only have the most basic of equipment and it sucks for making knives.

I was able to make these because I had access to a variable speed Bader BIII grinder (And some good critiquing of my technique) over the weekend. These are CPM-S35VN steel too, so they'd be a bit pricey (At least in a lot of people's minds).

[Edited on March 8, 2011 at 10:15 PM. Reason : t]

3/8/2011 10:13:53 PM

super cool C-Clamp, bro son

3/8/2011 10:14:17 PM

It did what it needed to. It says "china" on one side btw.

3/8/2011 10:15:32 PM

I can wait. I understand that good things take time.

I trust that you'll be able to guide me in selecting the proper knife?

What types of raw materials would I need to purchase for you to make me a knife?

3/8/2011 10:16:03 PM

You would be buying absolutely nothing beforehand. If I make a knife for someone there will be no deposit, I'd simply make it the way you want it (Within reason, as I don't have a ton of experience with some of the materials out there). The steel will more likely be A2 or 440C, at least initially. Those are both great steels though.

If you want G-10 (Blue one) or Micarta (Green one) for the handles then I should be able to do that. G-10 and Micarta come in many different colors too. Also, you can't live in NYC. You don't live in NYC do you? That place has become anti-knife to the extreme. Nobody ships there anymore. We can find a way around that if needed son, ship it elsewhere and you pick it up or something.

I'll let y'all know when I am ready to sell knives. I want to make sure my skills are very good and that I have the right equipment first. Now I know what I can do with the right equipment though, so I just need to obtain said equipment.

[Edited on March 8, 2011 at 10:22 PM. Reason : t]

3/8/2011 10:20:46 PM

Nah, I moved from NY. I'm in Maryland now.

3/8/2011 10:21:58 PM

Oh, good. It will be no problem then.

[Edited on March 8, 2011 at 10:22 PM. Reason : t]

3/8/2011 10:22:43 PM

Those look really good man!

3/8/2011 10:27:14 PM

Thanks dude. Now we just need to obtain the variable speed setup. Need a few different attachments as well, as I made use of at least 3 different attachments (Platen, 10" wheel, small diameter wheels).

3/8/2011 10:29:53 PM

Those look pretty nice son.

3/8/2011 10:59:25 PM

3/8/2011 11:07:10 PM

DO WANT

3/8/2011 11:23:11 PM

Here are some pics of the shop I was working in and some bits and pieces of the process involved in making these. This doesn't come close to catching each step, but I didn't have a lot of time to be taking pictures. I was working pretty much every waking moment for 4 days straight, very little time to stop between each step and take pictures or video. Still, you get the idea. These knives were made from large sheets of metal and handle material. First, they were roughly cut out on a bandsaw, then profiled, ground, etc on the variable speed KMG horizontal and variable speed Bader BIII grinders. You can see the original pattern I used to make the knives in some of the photos too. Because they were ground "freeform" there are some slight variations between the two and neither is exactly like the pattern because we decided to modify the middle area of the pattern (Made it wider). I also located the handles differently on both knives to see what it would look like. Honestly, I like both knives, lol. It really just depends on what you want, they both work really well.


Note: Look at the 3rd picture below. There is one of my knives in rough bandsaw cut form sitting on the workrest to the far right of the horizontal grinder next to the contact wheel. That should give you an idea of how much hand work was involved just to get them to their overall profile.


































[Edited on March 8, 2011 at 11:36 PM. Reason : t]

3/8/2011 11:30:38 PM

pretty cool

3/8/2011 11:36:16 PM

I'm impressed mang

3/8/2011 11:38:24 PM

Thanks everybody, I really appreciate the positive comments.

3/8/2011 11:38:47 PM

you call that a knife? pssshhh

3/8/2011 11:55:05 PM

let me get this straight

you put all this time and effort to make a fucking knife?

...

I never understand why you anyone would put effort into something that's just going to make you look like a psycho weirdo.

and it's so fucking... dumb

you are just sharpening a piece of fucking metal

I mean, if you took a knife and like carved a duck, that would at least be something

but this is nothing

it's just creepy

3/9/2011 12:38:07 AM

What, exactly, are people looking for in a custom-made knife?

Like are these stronger or resist fire better compared to “normal” knife? Are they weighted better or something?

3/9/2011 12:48:20 AM

Nice. I want the green one.

3/9/2011 1:05:00 AM

Quote :

"What, exactly, are people looking for in a custom-made knife?"

Much better fit and finish.

The fact that it's handmade (At least for folks like me who appreciate handmade items).

More choices where materials and build are concerned, usually you can get the highest end materials around. You can select what type of grind to use, what type of steel to use, what type of edge you want, what handle materials and colors you want, etc. Not to mention the part where you have many makers to choose from. Usually you will find a few who really do things the way you like and will gravitate towards their designs. Then you can further refine it from there to a specific knife or knives they offer.

The artistic value (Never underestimate this in today's custom knife market).


When making your own knives you can make a knife that suits your particular style and method of usage better. Surprisingly enough, most cheap knives suck ass if you actually compare them to a true custom. I guarantee you will notice a MASSIVE difference between one of my knives and a production fixed blade. They just feel much, much better in hand. They work better, etc. My knives have a lot of room for improvement, but these two are already ahead of most production fixed blades in my opinion.

Quote :

"Nice. I want the green one."

Thanks dude. I'll keep y'all updated on when they become available, but it will be a while. Bryan and I have to get the shop properly set up first. Then I need to hone my designs and my technique to where I am comfortable selling my knives.

[Edited on March 9, 2011 at 1:20 AM. Reason : t]

3/9/2011 1:16:18 AM

depending on how much you're charging for those, i want to buy one.

you've got to get your shit together before the summer though son, before i leave raleigh.

3/9/2011 1:54:15 AM

That's nothing. I regularly get grinds like that on my lawnmower blades with an angle grinder.

3/9/2011 2:40:52 AM

I thought saabturbo was black, son. What is up with the white hand?

3/9/2011 3:52:11 AM

^^ I'm sure you do son. Hell, if you do it long enough you can get good grinds with a handheld grinder like that. I'd imagine it works just fine for the application of lawnmower blade sharpening. There are some knifemakers who use them, oddly enough. It seems like an odd way to do things, but if you're used to using an angle grinder and it works for the type of knives you're making then it may actually make sense.

An angle grinder not nearly as suitable for hogging hardened CPM-S35VN as a Bader BIII though and obviously you don't have lawnmower blades made of CPM-S35VN. These grinds were made with 36 grit ceramic belts, then 80 grit and finally 120 grit. Very few people stop there actually, but you can get away with it on S35VN (It wont rust like some steels will with a 120 grit finish) and it allows a "user grade" finish which will hide scratches better than a "presentation grade" 220 grit finish on the grind. Since I plan to use these and I like the heavy contrast of the 120 grit grind lines, I went with 120 grit. Note that going to 220 wouldn't have taken but a few more minutes. The only reason for stopping at 120 grit was to give the user grade finish.

The reason it's difficult to get grinds like these is because it requires so many passes, all of which must maintain the same angle and rotation as you move towards the tip. Any error will cause a line through the middle of the grind, which looks like ass, but will not hurt function provided it is minor.

Anybody can make a straight looking grind if they only make a few passes on the edge of some soft steel. Try making a hollow grind over many passes into 5/32" CPM-S30V without altering the angle and you may understand it better. Honestly, sharpening and grinding are VERY different things and lots of people who do lots of non-knife shit seem to think they know about making knives when they really don't. I must say, I don't even really know that much about making them in my opinion, but I can tell you right now that getting grinds to look like that is hardly easy. That zero chisel grind is no joke and the single sided hollow grind isn't much easier.

[Edited on March 9, 2011 at 4:34 AM. Reason : t]

3/9/2011 4:09:11 AM

How much would it cost to sharpen my pizza cutting blade?

3/9/2011 4:22:55 AM

There are sharpening services available at a number of local businesses. I don't plan on providing sharpening services at this time.

3/9/2011 4:26:27 AM

LOL, yeah I wasn't being serious.

I am pretty picky when I sharpen my lawnmower blades though (my gpa made me do it perfect when I was a kid) and I know exactly what you mean about messing up the angle and putting a line in the grind.

Nice knives for real though

3/9/2011 4:27:30 AM

Yeah, I put all kinds of nasty angle change lines in a number of knives, lol. I'm sure I'll do it again too man. These grinds definitely aren't perfect, but they're vastly improved over my previous attempts, particularly my first attempt, haha.

3/9/2011 4:30:36 AM

Son, do you think you would be able to reproduce something similar to the set below? Possibly with a nice wooden or ivory handle?

3/9/2011 8:20:56 AM

I have no problem making a knife for you, but honestly I don't plan on doing knives with gut hooks. I just don't like them and feel that if you want one you should have a gut hook in addition to your standard knife. I might be able to work something out though. I haven't ever ground a hatchet before, but it's probably just worth buying a production hatchet and gut hook and then getting me to make you a handmade knife. That should work well and it will leave you with a knife that is good for lots of different knife tasks. The thing to keep in mind is that if all your knife is doing is animal processing, then a boning knife is what you need. People process animals in insanely short periods of time with little more than a boning knife. Hunting knives are good because you don't hunt in your kitchen, you hunt in the field, sometimes far away from anyone else. This means that your knife is also a survival and utility tool in addition to being an animal processing tool. Hunting knives need to do a number of things well and having a gut hook on the blade causes some problems in that regard. My philosophy just doesn't include gut hooks on blades, although I'm sure they work well for some people.

Basically, once I get my setup going I will offer a number of models suitable to lots of different tasks. I'll have a "hunter" variant of some kind for sure. The handle shape on that knife you showed isn't too great. I have a feeling once you handle one of my knives (Or any good custom for that matter) you'll see what I mean. Those finger grooves are unnecessary when you design the handle properly and they probably make it less comfortable. Note that I'm sure that set will work fine, but once you handle a properly designed custom you'll see what I mean.

Anyway, a hunting knife can be done. Give me a couple months to obtain the grinder and keep in touch. When the time comes I will be posting on here and then you can work something out with me if interested. I really suggest not having a gut hook on your knife though. I hate them and I wouldn't really want one with my name on it, haha! You'll have to trust me a bit on the design of knives, but I promise you I can design and make one hell of a hunting knife. Handle selection shouldn't be an issue. I suggest canvas micarta for the handles (There are lots of color choices, I love natural canvas micarta) if you're actually going to use it for hunting because of the grip it provides when bloody and the fact that it doesn't feel cold in the winter. However, if wood is desired, it should not be a problem to obtain whatever wood you want (I'm a big fan of desert ironwood).

[Edited on March 11, 2011 at 12:46 PM. Reason : t]

3/11/2011 12:41:15 PM

I feel the need to remind you fools of this, simply because you love to hate knives.

4/24/2011 11:50:49 AM

let me get this straight

you put all this time and effort to make a fucking knife?

...

I never understand why you anyone would put effort into something that's just going to make you look like a psycho weirdo.

and it's so fucking... dumb

you are just sharpening a piece of fucking metal

I mean, if you took a knife and like carved a duck, that would at least be something

but this is nothing

it's just creepy

4/24/2011 11:56:04 AM

wiseau bringing the tuff ITT

oh that was nastoute

4/24/2011 11:57:16 AM

^^ I like how you went through the whole thread and found the only negative comment, which was actually just a trolling comment and then copied and pasted it. It actually takes more work to do what you did, rather than just coming up with your own sad insult. I really like that about you. You're a hard worker, clearly.

[Edited on April 24, 2011 at 11:57 AM. Reason : y]

4/24/2011 11:57:19 AM

how is it creepy if he's making them to sell, bro?



I think it's pretty cool the guy has taken the time to learn a skill and manufacture something.

4/24/2011 12:04:11 PM

This actually made me realize my work has the metal working equipment necessary to make a knife. I wouldn't be able to sharpen it very well but it would still be possible.

4/24/2011 12:06:21 PM

Quote :

"I think it's pretty cool the guy has taken the time to learn a skill and manufacture something."

4/24/2011 12:09:13 PM

Its no stranger of a hobby as comic book or stamp collecting. I didn't understand SabbTurbo - thought he was just a freak trying to look hardcore with his knives. Had no idea making knives was his hobby.

That being said - if anyone came on showing photos of themselves and their stamps, they would get the same level of hate.

Your hobby is not strange - the amount you allow it to become your identity is.

4/24/2011 12:09:37 PM

I'd take a custom knife when you're ready. I have only a few ckrt and sogs so nothing too fancy.

4/24/2011 12:31:47 PM

DUDE. Well done sir. I spoke with dustm not too long ago about this very thing.

when does the hot pink handle line come out

4/24/2011 12:54:46 PM

Now thats how I saw knives being sharpened back home..

Quote :

"A Delhi man uses his ingeniously rigged bicycle to sharpen knives from restaurant to restaurant. As hard as I looked, I didn't notice a way to unhook this rig. In other words, I think that stone grinder is always in the 'on' position. Knife grinder may likely turn into a 'meat' grinder if he's not careful in traffic. "

[Edited on April 24, 2011 at 1:07 PM. Reason : .]

4/24/2011 1:05:08 PM

as much as i dont like this user, and his pic bombing of knives, learning a new trade/hobby is pretty cool, and i always think its cool to take something you like doing and find a way to make money off of it, plus you gotta respect any artisan and their craft, even if you dont like them personally

but you still suck as a person

4/24/2011 1:13:14 PM