A couple of my latest knives. Looking forward to any constructive criticisms.

I don't know anything about puukko knives but they look cool to me. The second pic looks like you got some stray scratches on the blade near the edge.

Luka,

I am just getting familiar with the Scandinavian knife designs, especially the Seax and Puuko. I really like the aesthetics of the sleek designs. That first one is a very good example of what I like in a small working Puukko.

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I don't know anything about puukko knives but they look cool to me. The second pic looks like you got some stray scratches on the blade near the edge.

Thank you for your comment! It does look like a scratch, but it's actually light cast on it. I need to learn how to take better knife pictures.

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Luka,

I am just getting familiar with the Scandinavian knife designs, especially the Seax and Puuko. I really like the aesthetics of the sleek designs. That first one is a very good example of what I like in a small working Puukko.

I agree. Puukkos are such a simple design, but incredible aesthetically pleasing to me.

well, this is my most recently finished blade its made from 15N20 as i had no other non-salvage steel I can use at this time. I forgot to measure the blade however the handle is white ash with two coats of boiled linseed oil and was finished with treewax paste clear applied with steel wool. the pins are 3/16 copper that were filled into a board out hole one-bit size up that did not go completely threw the scales. the tang is to thick because i forgot to grind off some more after I quenched it. the cut out came about because it cracked when I had a butter finger moment and I did not have time to make a new one, so I tried to cut into it using my belt sander to see if I could get the crack out and it worked. I am that glad i clay quenched it as that's likely why I did not have to pieces of a blade.

Here's the knife I just finished. I'm not supper proud of the knife itself, it was a customer's design. But this is my first attempt at taking better pictures. I still have a ways to go. I apparently didn't get my white balance correct on the middle picture. But I am kind of proud the shadows I added in Photoshop really help to anchor the knives to the background.

Looks pretty dang good Jesse. It'll be interesting to see your work a year from now. Good job!

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Looks pretty dang good Jesse. It'll be interesting to see your work a year from now. Good job!

Thank you, Sir!

Hello, I am a new member here and wanted to put a few photos up to show my work. I do a mixture of forged blades and stock removal. I have thick skin, so feel free to rip them apart. Any comments will be seen as constructive criticism. I look forward to learning more from this group. Thanks

I have been making knives part-time for about 7 years now. Smithing for 4. Most of my blades are now forged, except when a user specifically wants stainless. I changed my logo from a symbol about 2 years ago to be something that wouldn't be cryptic.

This is a WIP to finish collage of my first self forged low layer damascus skinner. It is 22 layers of 1095 and 15N20 with the handle being cherry, buffalo horn and copper. It is not as nice as many on here but I wanted to get some work posted on here. Feel free to critique, I have a thick skin and I know there are a lot of areas I need to work on. I think the pic fits in the size requirements, if not let me know. Thanks, Dave

This is a little different so I thought I would put it here as well. It is an Ulu I made for my father shortly after I got my forge set up. It is lawnmower blade (I know not great steel, but it does skate a file after hardening) and warthog tusk.

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This is a WIP to finish collage of my first self forged low layer damascus skinner. It is 22 layers of 1095 and 15N20 with the handle being cherry, buffalo horn and copper. It is not as nice as many on here but I wanted to get some work posted on here. Feel free to critique, I have a thick skin and I know there are a lot of areas I need to work on. I think the pic fits in the size requirements, if not let me know. Thanks, Dave

wow much nicer than my first few Damascus knives and the sheath is very nice!

A few areas I see that you should work on as you asked.

First thing that pops out is getting a better finish/grind before etching, Damascus hides somethings but brings out others in the etch, I can see chatter marks and some course grind mark that were not totally sanded out. I take lover layer stuff to at least 400 grit consistent finish and make sure all my surfaces are as flat and true as possible before etching.

I don't know how thick the spine is but in general I find a taller grind is better, especially for a skinner. Please disregard if the spine is well under 1/8"

I like the handle scale pattern and looks like you did a great job keeping every thing lined up , but the pins are burned out and there is some tear out on the copper liner, copper is a pain it is gummy and heats up FAST. I have found the best way to deal with it is brand new belts run them SLOW, get the handle shaped close with saws and such then glue up I do the all the work around pins with a file and hand work if the rest of the handle is shaped it takes very little time and it will be nice and flush with no burn out. the tear out along the copper liner is probably from a dull belt heating the copper and imbedding the bur into the softened epoxy and the grain of the wood, I try to sandwich copper (or nickel silver for that matter,) with G10 I fine it is easier to get a clean finish. in situations like this , you can leave the surface a bit proud then file below the bur. then hand working to clean it up. it sounds like all that hand work will take more time but I find it is faster than struggling on the grinder and does a far better job.

Always remember the last 10% of the work is what everyone sees , it is what they will judge the value of the work on. The last 10% for the those of us that make a living doing this is at least 75% of what we can sell the knife for so it is worth slowing down and making sure everything is "right " in the finishing.

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wow much nicer than my first few Damascus knives and the sheath is very nice!

A few areas I see that you should work on as you asked.

First thing that pops out is getting a better finish/grind before etching, Damascus hides somethings but brings out others in the etch, I can see chatter marks and some course grind mark that were not totally sanded out. I take lover layer stuff to at least 400 grit consistent finish and make sure all my surfaces are as flat and true as possible before etching.

I don't know how thick the spine is but in general I find a taller grind is better, especially for a skinner. Please disregard if the spine is well under 1/8"

I like the handle scale pattern and looks like you did a great job keeping every thing lined up , but the pins are burned out and there is some tear out on the copper liner, copper is a pain it is gummy and heats up FAST. I have found the best way to deal with it is brand new belts run them SLOW, get the handle shaped close with saws and such then glue up I do the all the work around pins with a file and hand work if the rest of the handle is shaped it takes very little time and it will be nice and flush with no burn out. the tear out along the copper liner is probably from a dull belt heating the copper and imbedding the bur into the softened epoxy and the grain of the wood, I try to sandwich copper (or nickel silver for that matter,) with G10 I fine it is easier to get a clean finish. in situations like this , you can leave the surface a bit proud then file below the bur. then hand working to clean it up. it sounds like all that hand work will take more time but I find it is faster than struggling on the grinder and does a far better job.

Always remember the last 10% of the work is what everyone sees , it is what they will judge the value of the work on. The last 10% for the those of us that make a living doing this is at least 75% of what we can sell the knife for so it is worth slowing down and making sure everything is "right " in the finishing.

Thank you! I will work on those things. The spine is slightly less than 1/8, but i agree I still should have taken the bevel higher.