# First Knife Build Along #1 - O1 Steel



## Danny0663 (Mar 15, 2011)

I've been getting into knives lately, (all thanks to *Hrawk, E~shot, Jskeen, NC and ZDP*......







)
and decided i should have ago on making my own, i couldn't wait to try it.
I purchased some High Quality Bohler O1 steel and started grinding.
The O1 steel is 25 X 3 X 500 MM which is perfect for my use of a bush craft utility knife.

This current knife is 210MM long, and the overal blade is 100MM (4") which is perfectly suitable for bush craft.
The design is quite a classic, nothing complicated, and nothing dramatic.
However, instead of a steady drop-point, i added a acute angle on the spine. Sorta like a reverse tanto swedge?
The balance of the blade is front heavy, however i believe after some scales and rivets, it should be balanced at the middle.

I plan to heat treat this knife professionally to 60HRC and add a high convex grind for wood carving purposes.

I still don't know what scales i am going to make, so suggestions and critisim of design is most welcome.









Details of steel specification.


















Flat ground




























Updates to follow!









MMMM.... should be fun.


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## pop shot (Sep 29, 2011)

That's gonna look killer with Koa scales!


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## newconvert (Dec 12, 2011)

good luck Danny, if anyone can do it you can! the blank is cool to begin with are you going to alter the design give it the Danny treatment? convex or v grind? who's going to do your heat treat's? i am excited about this one.


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## e~shot (Jun 3, 2010)

Danny0663 said:


> I've been getting into knives lately, (all thanks to *Hrawk, E~shot, Jskeen, NC and ZDP*......
> 
> 
> 
> ...


I don't know about knives







, I only know bit of sharpening thanks to *Newconvert, Hrawk & ZDP*, I learned it from these great guys.

BTW, I book makred this post and can't wait to see the progress


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## Danny0663 (Mar 15, 2011)

> good luck Danny, if anyone can do it you can! the blank is cool to begin with are you going to alter the design give it the Danny treatment? convex or v grind? who's going to do your heat treat's? i am excited about this one.


I actually got the steel blank from Kyley Harris, i visited him today and we talked a little.
Really great guy, he's gonna do the heat treatment with his O1 batch soon








Just planning to make it a full convex edge, easier to do with hand tools compared to other grinds.



> BTW, I book makred this post and can't wait to see the progress


Thanks Irfan.


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## Bob Fionda (Apr 6, 2011)

You're talented mate, can't wait to see the work in progress....Bob


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## Hrawk (Oct 25, 2010)

Very nice Danny.

I can show you a very simple jig to make if you want to go flat grind.


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## jskeen (Feb 7, 2011)

Nice! So I was not sure, did you already cut the bar to length and then grind the blank to your outline? With what? Or did you have that done elsewhere on a waterjet cutter or somesuch?

You planning to do the bevel grind with hand tools or borrow some time on a belt grinder somewhere? If you don't already plan to borrow them from someone else, let me know and i'll see if I can find my old plans for a couple of very handy little gadgets that you can easily knock together from scraps, that will make the grinding much easier for ya. A clamp on parallel that you use to set where you want the back of the bevel grind to go (so you get a nice square transition shoulder) and a scribe that you use to mark the centerline of what will be the cutting edge (so you can keep the grind even on both sides)

Good luck with it


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## newconvert (Dec 12, 2011)

Danny0663 said:


> > good luck Danny, if anyone can do it you can! the blank is cool to begin with are you going to alter the design give it the Danny treatment? convex or v grind? who's going to do your heat treat's? i am excited about this one.
> 
> 
> I actually got the steel blank from Kyley Harris, i visited him today and we talked a little.
> ...


well kilie will defiantly get you going, getting a heat treat with him will also be great, your getting going with a master, good for you Danny! like the Irfman i keeping track of this one too.


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## Danny0663 (Mar 15, 2011)

Thanks for that Hrawk & Jskeen, I used a rotating sander for the bevel. It worked quite well i think? I used my verniers and marked the center line.

A lil' update.
I think i've finished the grind, i may take it leaner.
I will need to purchase some drill bits then it will be off to the heat treatment.


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## Danny0663 (Mar 15, 2011)

Bad News; Blew my grinders motor








Good News; I Will get a new belt sander by this week









I drilled some holes in the handle area, in total 4 holes that are 9.5mm .dia
It's currently blade heavy, however 2 pins and some micarta handles should balance everything out.


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## strikewzen (Jun 18, 2010)

isn't blade heavy a good thing? cuts flesh better no?


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## NightKnight (Dec 16, 2009)

No, you generally want the knife to balance on your index finger.


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## Danny0663 (Mar 15, 2011)

Just a quick update:
Got a call from my local knife maker and he's ready to heat treat his O1 batch along with couple of blanks i've made.

Should be interesting.


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## newconvert (Dec 12, 2011)

strikewzen said:


> isn't blade heavy a good thing? cuts flesh better no?


it is for me, i love a blade heavy knife, it adds to the force of a cut


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## newconvert (Dec 12, 2011)

Danny0663 said:


> Just a quick update:
> Got a call from my local knife maker and he's ready to heat treat his O1 batch along with couple of blanks i've made.
> 
> Should be interesting.


tell kilie hello for me


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## lightgeoduck (Apr 3, 2011)

glad I didn:t miss the finished product yet... Can:t wait to see your work Danny

Quack

LGD


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## mckee (Oct 28, 2010)

where we at on this danny? you nearly finished?


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## akmslingshots (Mar 2, 2012)

just noticed this thread... how goes the project?


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## norca (May 3, 2012)

want more


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## Danny0663 (Mar 15, 2011)

Phewww ... had some time over the weekend and finished two knives from the batch so far. I've got to say, hardened steel is a B8ch to work with.
I've got some good and bad news, two knives out of the batch are completely un-usable due to the steel crack/bending during heat treat. However the other blanks seem to be fine. All the knives have been heat treated and tempered to 59-60 HRC.

So far, the two knives have different handles, one is fitted with canvas micarta and the other one has been fitted with Padauk. Without a doubt i'm digg'n the Padauk much more.














































Theres a couple of things i will change for the next batch and i've learn't a lot during the making process. It's been fun.

Sorry for the late updates


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## e~shot (Jun 3, 2010)




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## newconvert (Dec 12, 2011)

they look very nice danny, i agree with the padauk, it really looks like a nice handle, its the first knife i have seen with padauk.


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## norca (May 3, 2012)

very nice like the canvas micarta me self


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## jskeen (Feb 7, 2011)

Both turned out very nice. Like the kydex too. So how many total were in the batch? You had two failures in heat treat, which for a first run using O1 rather than simple tool steel like 1075 is not a bad outcome in any case. Did you have some before and after pics of the ones that failed? Might be able to identify what contributed to it and help avoid it next time.

Nice job overall without a doubt.

James


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## Danny0663 (Mar 15, 2011)

I didn't take any before photo's, but i can post some after photos for sure. The initial "batch" was a total of 5 blanks, and 2 of the blanks had micro cracks that i did not notice untill use - i am not to sure on the other blanks, i will have to examine them properly...

The one with the canvas micarta handle showed serious cracks after some use, in which i just snapped it because it was useless.










I don't know it you can see in the pic, but there are some rust formation inside that actual crack - which means it happened after heat treatment.

Anyway, it's all good and fun.


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## e~shot (Jun 3, 2010)




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## norca (May 3, 2012)

real shame that love to see ya other blades


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## Danny0663 (Mar 15, 2011)

I grinded a knife from a old file i had laying around and i wanted to practice my grind lines, after some research. I've found out that this particular file was made from W2 which was a huge bonus








Just a simple design i made to cut up boxes and paper.

Went with a zero-grind saber/scandi grind - for you Mora fans.







It should work great for the outdoors and basic wood prep.


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## Hrawk (Oct 25, 2010)

Dude, over 9000 different flavours of awesome sauce right there !


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## NightKnight (Dec 16, 2009)

I agree! That is very nice work!


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## Danny0663 (Mar 15, 2011)

File knife for a good friend of mine








made from W2 file steel, which has been heat treated and tempered to 64 HRC ( really hard to sand ... )




























Thanks!


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## norca (May 3, 2012)

very nice job lucky freind id say


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## quarterinmynose (Jan 21, 2012)

man, that is sweet.


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## Mr.Teh (Feb 28, 2012)

Wow awesome work


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