knives I made

[Rifleman1776]

I wasn't sure whick forum to put these in. Since the words "craftsman" and "traditional" are hard to define, I believe these are appropriate here. I made these knives when I was about eight years old. Today they are not far from being antiques. I found a couple old blades and filed and ground them to a shape that seemed OK to me. We were staying in a cottage in the woods in Michigan, I probably found the antler in the woods. Don't recall. Enneyhow, I just sorta gouged out holes in the antler and forced the blades into those holes fastening with hot hide glue (my father did woodworking and had a hot pot). To this day those blades are very secure and couldn't be removed with an act of Congress. I made a third knife that has gotten lost with the years. I ground the blade from a file using my father's grinder. The wheel was down to almost nothing by the time I was finished. When my father saw that I was almost finished. :shocked2: Considering I made these about 1946 and still have them, that is the amazing part. I put them here because they are no-talent items, probably no different than someone would have made out of necessity using old tool steel and antler for handles on the frontier 'back then'.

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[50cal.cliff]

The story behind them makes them priceless! :thumbsup:

 

[Randall Slemp]

I agree with 50cal.Cliff. A great story and knives that you and your family can treasure. :thumbsup:

 

[Rifleman1776]

I agree with 50cal.Cliff. A great story and knives that you and your family can treasure. :thumbsup:

Thanks guys.
I plan to make shadow boxes for them and include two small tomahawks my sons used when they were small. My grandsons are fraternal twins and will get them.

 

[MSW]

well, i disagree with your assessment as "no talent.' i think they have an understated elegance and grace which often comes (surprisingly enough) with the hands of a little kid.

they look great to me, and the story makes them all the better!

nice work then, and nice work now.

 

[Curtis Makamson]

Even though they are knives, they are also memory machines. Indeed, they are nice.

 

[paulvallandigham]

everyone starts some place, when it comes to " making knives".

My first knife was a bit more ambitious, but I was 13 years old, and wanted a " Bowie Knife".

We heated up a piece of 1937 vintage car leaf spring, using a tall stack of limbs cut from our trees, to anneal the steel blades. With the "smokestack" shape of the pile, and the blade stuck in the top, it got white hot. We let it stay in the coals until even they burned out.

I drew out the shape of a Bowie Knife, and began cutting off the excess with a hack saw. It took days, and then I spent more days healing the blisters.
Lesson learned.

Then I began grinding the blade to shape. Lots of sparks burned my writs.
Lesson learned.

I was not expecting their to be flaws in the steel, so when I got the cutting edge bevel almost to shape, there appeared a void. I filed, and filed it out, but managed to make the blade curve where it should be straight.
Lesson learned.

I filed and filed for a month, shaping the blade, trying to remove anything that didn't look like a Bowie knife. The blade was too thick, and I ended up draw filing a lot of metal off the sides of the blade to taper the blade from tang to point. I didn't succeed too well, but I learned how to draw file, and how to properly USE a draw file.
Lesson learned.

More mistakes were made with the hilt(guard) and the tang, and the walnut slab handles I pinned on. No one knew the difference between hardening and tempering, and mistakes were made there. I finished the knife when I was 14, having the blade hardened in Shop Class in High School. It was not tempered. The brass hilt was made from too thin a piece of brass, and easily bent when the knife was dropped. I finally replaced the walnut panels with leather disks, narrowing the tang, and then putting a steel endcap on the back of the handle to help balance the heavy knife, and lengthen the handle for my much larger hand.I shortened the hilt, and silver soldered it to the blade.
Lessons Learned. :shocked2:

I still have the knife. It is a HUGE Memory Board, and worth more to me for all the mistakes it reminds me I made, than whatever someone else might pay me to buy it from me.

I made better knives after that one, so there is HOPE! :grin: :bow: :v :thumbsup: