# first knife



## Stanimal (Mar 2, 2014)

Hi guys, this is my first knife. Its a 7 inch western deba/butcher knife made of 1080 carbon steel. I made using with files, sand paper, a drill press and cut out the shape with an angle grinder. the bolster is brass, peened on and the handle is micarta with brass/stainless loveless bolts. It was fun to make but it took sooo long! its really thick (.187" thick) and heavy( almost 1 lb!)
I've been using it at work for a couple weeks and its working pretty well. It dose make my hand get a little tired from being so heavy. it takes a really sharp edge but dosnt hold especially long, the edge comes right back with a ceramic steel though.

-Stan


----------



## icanhaschzbrgr (Mar 2, 2014)

Pretty impressive job for a first try!

Have you considered filling all the empty space with epoxy on the handle, to prevent food contamination?


----------



## Stanimal (Mar 2, 2014)

I was a little worried about that at first but its been pretty easy to clean plus i like the way it looks. the scales are epoxied on so water can't get under and food particles can't get down too deep. I do think it would look cool with black epoxy in-between. is there a way to dye epoxy? i guess you could just mix in some black powder.. i mixed some of the micarta dust with epoxy to fill in some gaps and it worked really well.


----------



## mkriggen (Mar 2, 2014)

Impressive work bro!

Most of the knife making supply vendors sell epoxy dye. You can also use fabric dyes (go light, a little goes a long way).

Be well,
Mikey


----------



## Sabaki (Mar 12, 2014)

It looks awesome, great filing work:thumbsup:


----------



## NO ChoP! (Mar 12, 2014)

Is there any finish on the micarta?


----------



## CPD (Mar 12, 2014)

mkriggen said:


> Impressive work bro!
> 
> Most of the knife making supply vendors sell epoxy dye. You can also use fabric dyes (go light, a little goes a long way).



Transtint dyes are another option that work great for epoxy. You can find them at lots of woodworking shops or online. They will dye most wood finishes if you want to create a toner, and they get the job done beautifully for epoxy.

Nice work on the knife


----------



## Stanimal (Mar 12, 2014)

Thanks guys! There's no finish on the micarta, just hand sanded to about 320. Do people usually finish with some sort of lacquer or something? I like how grippy the micarta is even when wet/greasy so I don't know if I would want lacquer over it. I do think Im going to put some black dyed epoxy on my next filed knife.

Another note: Who do I contact about getting the hobbyist/craftsman tag??


----------



## cadberry (Mar 13, 2014)

I like the color of the blade, how did you achieve that?


----------



## berko (Mar 14, 2014)

great work.


----------



## knyfeknerd (Mar 14, 2014)

Stanimal said:


> Another note: Who do I contact about getting the hobbyist/craftsman tag??


Here you go. http://www.kitchenknifeforums.com/showthread.php/12660-Information-amp-Guidelines-for-Posting
Contact Austin, but please read the guidelines as well.


----------

