small utility knife

[parsha]

Hello ,

 

Been working on a small utility knife made from a old rusty double cut file. I was inspired to make the blade profile similar to a small broken back seax by looking at all the beautiful work here.

 

The tip of the knife is forged to shape and then finished with files rest of the blade is stock removal.The pictures were taken after two quenching cycles in water followed by tempering on coals.

 

Dimensions-

blade 4.5 inches

Handle(full tang) 4 inches

thickness 6 mm at the spine

 

thinking of doing a simple cordwrap over leather scale handle

 

 

[GEzell]

Nice blade man...

I am a bit worried the point may have been over-tempered...

[MorganCD]

Ditto 'bout the temper. the point will be all bendy. When I temper over coals I use a chunky piece of steel to hang the spine out from but keep the edge cool(ish). then I quench when the colors are running to the edge and do this process a couple times to make it more or less uniform.

looks like a nice user.

-Morgan

[parsha]

Thanks for your inputs George and Morgan. I was afraid i had overtempered the tip looking at the colors and wanted a second opinion.Now i have a second opinion and third confirmation

 

I will do the hardening and tempering again

 

This time i will use the method suggested by you Morgan instead of trying to temper directly on coals.

 

Cheers!!

[GEzell]

If possible use a temperature controlled oven (a standard electric kitchen oven or toaster oven works fine, but the temperature controls are usually off a bit and an oven thermometer is a good idea), it is much easier to get a good even temperature with... afterwards you can draw the temper of the spine/tang back if you wish.

[parsha]

Hmm..i am not sure if i can get hold of a kitchen oven for tempering. I am done with the re-hardening or shall i say hardening today. Will do the tempering tomorrow. Found a nice piece of scrap steel lying around about 2x1x5 inches.seeems to be mild steel. I am planning to put the blade edge down in an aluminium tub with around 5mm width of the edge under water and then heat the scrap steel to orange and hold it on the spine with tongs.i have got it all planned in my head , just hope it works out that way

Tempering the tang is relatively easier as i will simply wrap the blade in a wet cloth and slowly heat the tang till it turns dull grey

[MorganCD]

GEzell is quite right.

It's difficult to get an even temper over coals. This is why repetition is quite important. The more times the better if you don't overheat.

 

I heard/read (possibly here) of a method much like the one you intend to try except that the smith made a pair of tongs with wide flat jaws. the jaws are heated (make them with the rivet well back from jaws) and used to grip the spine. watch the colors and quench when ready.

[parsha]

Finally got some time to work on this. Could not get any photos after re-tempering as in my hurry to finish this i immediately started polishing and then realised i had not clicked any photos of the temper colors. but i managed to get a shiny purple on the spine and a light straw on the edge.

 

Handle is made from hardened leather slabs covered by flat cotton cord soaked in epoxy. Double wrapped the cord over itself near the blade-handle transition just because i love my fingers

 

The last two wraps of the cord go through a hole at the end of the tang to stop the cord from slipping over the end of the tang.

 

Final polishing and sharpening is not done yet.

 

 

 

 

 

 

I want to take a poll on this. i was thinking of filing a small choil or should i keep it as it is ?

something like this

 

[Doug Lester]

I would avoid the choil. I don't think that it would add to the appearance of that blade and it will give an irregular area that will hook on fibers and the like. Basically all a choil will do is cut away the part of the blade by the handle or plunge line that is difficult to sharpen on a stone.

 

Doug

[parsha]

Point accepted Doug. But after looking at the finished blade i felt there was something wrong with its appearence at the handle-blade transition ..cant explain it but feels like something is missing there, something dosent look right . does anybody else feel the same or is it ok just the way it is? any inputs appreciated.

Edited May 31, 2012 by parsha

[parsha]

no suggestions fellow bladesmiths?

[Doug Lester]

I don't quite know what you mean about something seeming to be missing. Maybe a ricasso but it's too late to add that design element now. You might try it on your next knife but I think that it would look better without the file teeth showing. What you produced is just a simple everyday work knife, something nice to carry on your belt if the local laws allow.

 

Going back to your original post. The blue patina that you had on the tip of the blade could have been produced when you did your finished grind after heat treatment. With a thin point like that you need to be just a little extra careful grinding. A little too much pressure on the work for just a little too long and you'll generate enough heat to over temper that area. When I was starting out I even got red in the point and edge trying to overdo it.

 

Doug

Edited June 2, 2012 by Doug Lester

[MorganCD]

I agree- make another one. make another five. Heck don't stop there. I usually work on a few different projects in a day. This way I'm forced to 'begin again' on each project every time I turn to the next project. that makes me visualize it again and again so that I see new possibilities- like the one you see in this knife- before the project has 'run its course' so to speak.

 

-Morgan