Home Forums Gear Knives and Blades Let me tell you how much fun I had making my first stick tang knife!

I got this bar of nickel silver from a friend and sawed a slice off. I tried about 10 drill bits before I found one that could punch a hole in it. I ground down a file so it would only cut on one flat and one edge and opened up the slot. That took a while. I never thought it would be that hard to work with. I left the "stick" part at a good 3/4" so it would be sturdy. I found that after drilling a hole into the handle, my file also took a long time to open up the wood for the "stick." What a pain in the %$#. Oh well. I remembered the ABS class I attended where was told it was simply unforgivable to make a stick tang knife without pinning the stick. You can glue the tang in with epoxy, but to be proper, you have to pin it. I ground out a notch and put the tubing for a lanyard through it. I took a nice look and realized that this knife was going to have to have a big darn handle to fit over the tang. Well, it's got a big darn choil so why not. Making them one at a time without a pattern turns up some interesting creatures. As to the tang though, that's probably why they make them so thin! I've seen them as thin as a coat hanger. Not much strength but thread the end, twist a nut on, and grind the end off and done! Well, I paid $10 for the D2, and got the walnut and silver for nada, but boy what a lot of work. I'm going to have to learn how it's done from someone who knows before I do another stick tang. What a pain!

looks great

Good job.

Rob, don't know why but your avatar cracks me up.

It(your avatar) cracks me up too.

Nice knife. I am looking to start messing with making some soon too...I found a buddy close to home that has some experience, and is willing to let me learn from him(and use his equipment)

The first one is for me...:D

Larry

It's a long way, but I've been thinking of going to Bark River in Michigan for their "workshop." I talked to the owner and he said they do things a bit different and I could learn a lot in a couple days. He was telling me they use heat treated blanks and they grind out the blades in one shot. I figure it would take the temper out, but they do it fast enough as not to heat up the steel. I grind, heat treat, and then have to clean up the blades. Basically, you're grinding twice and then you have to polish. I've got 10+ hours into each knife and sheath and I've got a lot of people who want one. I just don't have the time. I think eventually, I'd like to get good enough to put my name on them and sell them. I think I'd like the affirmation that what I'm doing is good enough that people besides family and friends are willing to hand over coin for them.

a number of makers I know grind after HT. (including me) I've never had an issue with HT and or temper. Proper techniques in grinding will prevent you from having any issues with grinding a Heat Treated Blade and you will have a much lower incident of warpage with your blades.

Nothing wrong with grinding before HT and I know several makers who grind soft, but I prefer to do it after Heat Treat and I feel my results are more consistent.

Candy-gram for Mongo.

Excellent work Rob !

Rob P:

The secret, if there are any secrets in knife making, is to not let the steel get too hot and discolor.

This applies both to before heat treating and after heat treating.

If Bark River grinds the blades out with a high speed grinder, they probably have a coolant of some type spraying on the steel at all times.

I remember the guy asked me if I ground blades with my bare hands. I said I did. He asked if I thought I could still hang on to the blade and get it hot enough to lose it's temper. I had to pause a while. I never thought of it that way. I'm going to have to try heat treating a couple pieces and see how hard they are to grind.

This is what I'm used to seeing for stick tangs. They look puny don't they?

The No. 95 looks to be the strongest at the blade-tang junction.

I have ground a few heat treated blades. I have a square wheel, and with a new, 60 grit ceramic belt, I cannot tell much difference between heat treated and non heat treated.

Naturally, heat treated blades would wear out a new belt faster, or put another way, you probably couldn't grind as many heat treated blades as non heat treated, using the same belt.

I don't know about other steels, but you can get 154 CM up to about 750-800F without taking out the temper. You could not hold this in your bare hand.

But, be carefull when you grind near the edge. It is thinner and will heat up faster, and this is one place you do not want to lose the temper.

I don't think you can get this hot with D2.

Even before heat treating, I don't think it is a good idea to get the annealed steel very hot, especially near the cutting edge. DO NOT let the steel get hot enough to discolor.