# My first diy knife



## fresnohunter (Jul 6, 2010)

Very Nice


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## bust'em1 (May 2, 2009)

very nice alot better than my first


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## driller86 (Dec 13, 2008)

bust'em1 said:


> very nice alot better than my first


 I agree !!!


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## BigDog117 (Dec 15, 2009)

that is a sweet nice, great work!


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## The Warrior (Jan 2, 2011)

Wow, that's incredibly good work. Very nice indeed.


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## PArcheryhunter (Feb 1, 2010)

Nice work.


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## Mapes3 (Aug 13, 2009)

beautiful knife. you have a great talent my friend! You got a new hobby?!


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## sb220 (Jul 20, 2009)

Thanks all, Im quite tickled over how it turned out and yeah Mapes....my huntin buddys are gonna have to have one Im sure.


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## mcharles (Nov 11, 2009)

Can I be one of your huntin' buddies?

Beautiful work


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## sb220 (Jul 20, 2009)

mcharles said:


> Can I be one of your huntin' buddies?
> 
> Beautiful work


Har! Perhaps.....Ya got an aerial map of your land in VA that I can look at? :wink:


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## JeffreySlayR (Mar 1, 2006)

Holy cow...looks like you have been making knives for years...that is a thing of beauty right there!


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## loghopper (Mar 3, 2009)

Beautiful! Nice work.


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## phantom1 (Dec 14, 2004)

That is beautiful! A great combination of steel, wood and leather. What tools did you use to do all that?


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## Madmann (May 5, 2010)

very nice looking knife good job


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## matjok (Oct 11, 2008)

Very nice looking! I love the handle. Great for a first knife.


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## sb220 (Jul 20, 2009)

phantom1 said:


> That is beautiful! A great combination of steel, wood and leather. What tools did you use to do all that?


For the majority of work, a few files and enough sand paper to move a shoreline in a few feet in order to replace it all


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## markdeerhunter (Jul 10, 2003)

That is very very nice. Did you do the heat treat also?


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## bardman (Oct 18, 2006)

Really nice work. Really like that handle. Very different


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## sb220 (Jul 20, 2009)

markdeerhunter said:


> That is very very nice. Did you do the heat treat also?


yeah, built me a mini forge with a temp guage and then asked Squawsach alot of questions. I was worried cause I had read alot about warping and cracking, but Squaw set me at ease.


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## Papa_J (Jan 24, 2010)

Nice skinner you got there. Think I'm going to have to look into that hobby some day.


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## talon1961 (Mar 13, 2008)

I've always been fascinated with knife making. You have a talent for sure. Great looking knife.


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## Squawsach (Apr 26, 2008)

The knife looks great. Your metal and wood finish are first rate. The amboyna burl was a nice choice of handle material. Did you use hidden pins?


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## Big DnTN (Mar 9, 2009)

Very Nice work!!!!!! It is a fun hobby - enjoy it.


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## dawg11 (Aug 14, 2010)

How did you get it tapered so evenly along the blade ? I started a knife 17 yrs ago got as far as the general shape then didn't know how to get the taper along the blade . Still have it in a box in the dresser . would love to finish it . 
Started with a blade out of the planer at a lumber mill so its already tempered .


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## rand_98201 (Sep 24, 2008)

I think it loos awesome,nice work on your first knife


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## oldschoolcj5 (Jun 8, 2009)

this is your first?!?! WOW, what a great job!


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## quick94stang (Aug 16, 2009)

that looks way better than my first...!!!


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## sb220 (Jul 20, 2009)

Squawsach said:


> The knife looks great. Your metal and wood finish are first rate. The amboyna burl was a nice choice of handle material. Did you use hidden pins?


Thanks again all....No Squaw I didnt use any hidden pins.....when picturing the finished knife in my head I didnt think I would want a bunch of pins adding another contrast to the wood. I didnt even think about making them hidden and now that I think about it it wouldnt have been too difficult an alternative.

Ah well....I did however drill a bunch of holes in the tang and dimpled up the inside of my scales like you said. Also Im thinking the wrap around file work will add some extra holding strength.

Still more beauty than brawn I suppose, but my intentions for the knife have always been to keep it packed away and use it for a trophy buck down the road, then retire it to the mantle. Gives me an excuse to make another one :wink:


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## sb220 (Jul 20, 2009)

dawg11 said:


> How did you get it tapered so evenly along the blade ? I started a knife 17 yrs ago got as far as the general shape then didn't know how to get the taper along the blade . Still have it in a box in the dresser . would love to finish it .
> Started with a blade out of the planer at a lumber mill so its already tempered .


The two critical things are a good scribe line marking the center of your cutting edge like Squawsach shows here... 











Then you need some kind of plunge guide. I used a couple small plates from some u-bolts and bolted them straight to the profiled knife to guide my plunge cut....










You also need to take a flat file to a grinder and grind the teeth off of one of the side edges, so you can run it right up against your guide without cutting into it.


After that its just finding an angle you like and start filing. You really just have to rely on muscle memory to hold the file on the same angle while you work down the blade. Stop often to eyeball your scribe line and make sure you are taking it down evenly.
With a good eye you will be able to file where needed until you get things all evened up.

Im sure if you mapped out my blade on some kind of computer-microscope it wouldnt seem as pretty, but it is what it is. 
After your filing is done, Im sure a good job on the flat sanding does help to even things out a bit too


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## BowmanJay (Jan 1, 2007)

Wow I would be proud to own that, great job!


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## sneakysnake (Feb 17, 2010)

If that is your first knife you done a awesome job. Keep up the nice work.


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## Misfire (Jun 12, 2004)

Fantastic! That is a beautiful knife! 



Squawsach is great guy and great mentor. 

.


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## Babooze (Jan 5, 2008)

Absolutely Awesome! Great job!


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## sb220 (Jul 20, 2009)

Thank you!

Got some leather in the mail a few days ago and just got my sheath done. I have done one of those leather kits from Tandy's before though.... Where ya make a wallet and a couple key chains.

I wanted to try a Mexican loop sheath. I think theyre neat lookin.


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## Deer Eliminator (Jan 21, 2010)

Great great job!

Hutch


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## BUSHfire (Jan 6, 2010)

very very nice, maybe a new hobby for me when i retire in ohhh lets say 40 years.. haa great job!!!!!!!!!!


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## westcacherednec (Feb 1, 2011)

Man that is a sweet piece of work.Squasach will be at my house tommorrow [pig huntin contest] Ill make sure he sees it ,if he hasnt already.Very nice lacing and weave.


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## dustoffer (Jan 24, 2009)

I don't show my first attempt--ukey:


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## patterstdeer (Feb 28, 2006)

That is a beautifal knife great job !!!!!!


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## phantom1 (Dec 14, 2004)

Truly a work of art!


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## #1 Hogger (Aug 17, 2005)

Thats a realy great piece of work for your first try Like I wrote you before when and if you decide to sell some let me be the first:thumbs_up:rock::set1_applaud:


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