I thought I had posted this before, but I haven't been able to locate it through the search tool or with Google Site Search.

So Here it is. This is a very basic way to start designing a knife from scratch.

First I decide on what type of knife it will be. For this one, I will do a smallish Bird & Trout/EDC knife.

In the first step, I draw a cross on a piece of plain paper. This represents the Center line of the handle and the front face of the guard.

Now I make two lines perpendicular to the center line to denote where the end of the blade and grip areas are.

Then I decide on the width of the blade and draw parallel lines to create a design box. This B&T will have a 3/4" wide blade so the lines are 3/8" either side of center.

Take a French curve (or just draw the curve) and put in the edge. Decide what type of point (in this case I decided to drop the point a little) and define the ricasso if you have one, and the guard thickness.

Add the Choil, the guard length and the spacer (again, if you have one)

Start sketching the handle profile freehand using the box as a guide.(don't be afraid to think a little outside the box)

Make a bunch of erasures, change it a little here and a little there until it looks like it might just work.

Then I place the drawing on the floor and walk around it to get multiple perspectives. I will make more subtle changes to this drawing as I go. Once I have the profile set, I start adding more details in the form of notes along the side of the drawing. Handle materials, furniture material, pins, handle type (frame, solid, etc.) any embellishments (file work, multiple spacers in a package, etc.) Then I'll add a top and bottom view sketch and a cross section of the heel and the guard. Then I make photo copies and add the tang inside the handle/spacer and prepare templates for the blade and handle from the copies. Then I am ready to start forging the blade.