Making a Knife, pt 2

Pros make a knife pretty quick...
I'm not a pro.
I'm slow.

Top will become a finished knife, bottom is the template that I will use for future knives.

My First Lie-Nielsen Plane

I've used (and love) Lie-Nielsen chisels, and floats. I've sold off the floats and mortise chisels. One thing I've never had is one of their planes. I love the quality of Lie-Nielsen tools. I could go on and on...

My standard plane needs are rather well satisfied. From scrub plane to smoother, I'm good. Don't need more, nor can I justify them. There's one specialty plane from LN, however, that I've been interested in, and finally picked one up: the Rabbet Block Plane.

Hello gorgeous! As soon as you hold this thing in your hand, you can feel the quality. It has weight, and the machining quality is apparent right away. It is also visually striking.

Making a Knife, pt 1

A good friend of mine planted the knife making seed a couple of years ago. Earlier this year I got a kiln and a belt grinder. It was time to try it out (or go broke trying...that gear isn't cheap). Lo and behold, I hit the road for a couple of months and put everything on hold.

The particular knife I'm working on is a paring knife. I haven't found one I like, so, I'll do it myself.

Now that I've got some time at home, it's time to pick this project back up and make something!

First up is to come up with the shape. Top is the paper sketch glued to a thin piece of plywood. I used this to get the shape I wanted then scribed it onto the tool steel blank. Today, we're using A2. We'll be doing some 440C steel as time goes on. That A2 blank will not be sharpened, I'm going to harden it and use it as a permanent template for future knives.

New Stuff On The Way

Once again I have been absent. I have basically spent the last four or five months on the road for work. While it is a good way to improve one's pocket book, it is not such a good way to accomplish things at home. When I've had the time, I've been trying to improve my work space so that I can get stuff done during fall and winter.

Rearranging and insulating the basement. Tool organization. Drinking beer. Cooking. And just trying to find a minute or two to relax before jumping in the car for another road trip. I also quit my shop and am in the process of moving all of my tools and bikes to my house.

New projects are on the way. Things that I've been planning for quite some time and putting on hold until I can get enough time at home to actually see them through.

It seems to me that my down time/busy time cycle is weirder than normal, but it is coming back down to a more sane level. If you still occasionally read here, I hope soon to have some new topics.

(hint...someone just went on a shopping spree at Lie-Nielsen and Lee Valley)