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100% Custom knives by me....an ongoing endeavour.

For about 3 years now I have been drawing up & cutting out my own fixed blade knife designs. I have yet to complete even one of them. That is terrible, I know, but I am easily distracted by a Paying job and family. This Blog will help me to keep track of the projects. Please offer up ideas and advice freely, I welcome all of it.

I will list these projects as I started them:

1/2011

.125 x 1.5" 1095 steel knives. I started with a simple modified Tanto design with 3" blade. I had originally cut out 4 blades, all were spoken for, 2 for me, 1 for a co-worker & 1 for a friend at the Knife Gallery. After 6 months I gave my Knife Gallery friend his, as he has an oven to heat treat. The other 3 are still with me, they are crudely sharpened with an industrial 1500RPM Kalamazoo belt grinders. For the most part they are ready for re-hardening and temper. After which I would handle them with some kind of wood I have in my Big Box-o-Wood.

Pictured are the 3 I have left, the top one is for my co-worker, the other 2 are mine after changing the blades to a Modified drop point/recurve type design. The one the middle is called the Model Z Whizbang, named after a comment in another thread.

5/2012

These are the knives I started to make for my Sister her husband and my 2 nieces. It initially was to be 1 hunting knife for my niece that snowballed in one for each of them. What is a big brother to do, say no to the only female that has idolized and adored me her whole life. I'm a sucker.

You all have seen these before, (L-R) 2 S30V Drop point Hunters for the nieces, 440C Wharncliffe for my sister and a D2 Bowie hunter for my Bro-n-law. These have the highest priority since they are needed by next Bow hunting season in Colorado.

I hope to have these 4 off to Jeff Mutz for edge grinding and Heat treat by the middle of May.

5/16/2013

Finally got the the top swedges ground off the top of the 2 1/4" blades today.

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Comment by Brad T. on December 14, 2013 at 12:58: That was going to be Jeff Mutz's shop at Tru-Grit, but I need to call to confirm with his Boss' there first.

Comment by Brad T. on December 14, 2013 at 12:47: Finally getting back to these items. I had some time this morning to revisit these project knives. I changed the blade shape a little on the 2 S30V knives. You can see below I changed the 2 bottom blades from a drop-point style shown in the pictures above to a sleeker trailing-point style. The top blade was originally a Drop-point/guthook style before I ground the guthook off and this is what I ended up with, I am pleased with that result. Now if I can stop trying to tweak these a little a time and just send them off for grinding and heat treat, I can call this blog finished. Yeah, right.

Comment by Ron Cooper on May 16, 2013 at 17:36: Thanks, Brad!

I was just trying to help you alleviate any sense of guilt you might be feeling for not finishing them sooner. I'm sure that they will one day soon become the great and useful knives that you had originally envisioned them to be.

I also want you to know that I heard what you were saying about work and family taking a priority in your life. Fortunately for me both of those obligations are now merely fading images in my rear view mirror. Being retired and the father of children who now complain about how old they are certainly provides certain advantages in life. One of those is a whole lot of free time!

Cheers, mate!

Featured Comment by Craig Henry on May 16, 2013 at 17:30: Looking good!!

Comment by Brad T. on May 16, 2013 at 17:25: Thanks Ron, but these have to be finished and shipped to my sister before September. I am determined to make that happen. All other projects are on hold as long as I need to perform work on these. Once I send them to Jeff Mutz for Hollow grind and Heat treat I will do something with the latest Buck project, but when they come back I have to attach handle scales.

Comment by Jan Carter on May 16, 2013 at 16:42: Those blades are coming to life very well. The swedges make all the difference in the profile on those

Comment by Ron Cooper on May 16, 2013 at 14:08: Brad,

Even if these blades never become knives they have served their purpose for the lessons you have learned. These blanks are the stepping stones that will ultimately take you to your destination as a knife maker. Perhaps that's all they were ever intended to be -- stepping stones?

Onward and upward, my broster!

Comment by Jan Carter on April 20, 2013 at 21:44: LOL, OK so do something with them Brad and you will feel even better. So will I because I love to watch them come to life!

Yes! The group would like to see these also I am sure

http://www.iknifecollector.com/group/knife-beginners?

Comment by Brad T. on April 20, 2013 at 20:00: I feel kinda bad about the first knives I cut out, not giving them any priority that is. Okay, I said it, but now I don't feel so bad.

In Memoriam Comment by Robert Burris on April 20, 2013 at 15:28: Great Brad. I hope to get back to my knife making attemps soon. We have a group on here for knife making beginners. We need to check in over there, also.