Thread: First 8/8 custom blades...

The journey has been long and I have been seeing my skill with the grinder grow every time I get in front of it. I'm working harder then ever, I'm working my full time job and playing with razors whenever I get the chance...

I'm finally not using buffers to do the clean up of the slop I make with the grinder which is saving me a ton of time, also it's not blending in my grind lines. Really have been pushing to learn how to get the grind in the shoulder so it fits in the scales easy and I used up all of "error" blades to learn how to get it in there cleanly (needs more work still) I have also been having a bunch of trouble and I know a lot of knife makers have this issue where 2" in on the grind they get the faset in there... I'm learning that if I continue to grind in that area eventually I'll get in there and remove the mark from the belt digging in.

On these blades I brought them from 60 120 ceramics then to 220 AO Jflex (which I'm not sure I really like for final grinding) I then go to the trizacts on the face of the blade and use the cork belts on the flats of the blades giving it that high luster I love...

I have also started to round the shanks of these blades, which is a look in really leaning toward especially with the jimping on it! Man do I love the look of it! I really am in need of a new checkering file the one I have I think I messed up jimping out a razor after being laser cut and the hardened outside layer tough times lol... If I buy a new one I want to get a lower LPI but all I find are 20's... I thought about filing my jimping but I really suck at being consistent...

The bevels on these blades are super thin, even and clean... I usually look for the blade to be flexing under my nail then I know I'm getting there... typically my edges are down to about .020... I know I seen Bruno doing his final grinding with the edge down till he gets the wire edge which I tried and failed miserably hahaha really I kept bumping the flat in the spine, I know with more practice I'll get it but I'll wait till I ruin some more blades before I try again...

Anyway... I've never really posted a entire breakdown of my process and thoughts on things, I hope I didn't blabber too much! I hope you all have an amazing f weekend and as always PLEASE feel free to pick apart my work. Criticism is always constructive for me so my feelings won't get hurt...

Thanks
Fonz.

I am not a maker, I am however pretty picky.
I really like the shape at the heel for the most part. The near square transition from the bottom of the tang to the verticals at the back of the heel looks good. The heel itself needs work. You are missing a facet on the lower tang that allows the blade to sit lower in the scales. It is the little triangle at the front, bottom of the tang. With out it the blade won't sit right in traditional scales. I like the taper on the tang down to the tail. The tails look like they are the right size for the blade. I have no idea what happened to the nose on those blades. They all looks not quite right and I can't put my finger on it. This is mostly completely subjective comments though. Most of what I have said is about design aesthetics and will vary from person to person. I was just scrolling back and forth and the one with the Spanish point may have the triangle facets. It does not show in the other group shot though. It is a seriously technical skill set to learn. It looks like your grinding is getting closer.

Originally Posted by RezDog

I am not a maker, I am however pretty picky.
I really like the shape at the heel for the most part. The near square transition from the bottom of the tang to the verticals at the back of the heel looks good. The heel itself needs work. You are missing a facet on the lower tang that allows the blade to sit lower in the scales. It is the little triangle at the front, bottom of the tang. With out it the blade won't sit right in traditional scales. I like the taper on the tang down to the tail. The tails look like they are the right size for the blade. I have no idea what happened to the nose on those blades. They all looks not quite right and I can't put my finger on it. This is mostly completely subjective comments though. Most of what I have said is about design aesthetics and will vary from person to person. I was just scrolling back and forth and the one with the Spanish point may have the triangle facets. It does not show in the other group shot though. It is a seriously technical skill set to learn. It looks like your grinding is getting closer.

Yeah the triangle is what I was talking about at first about grinding in the shoulder... I'm learning how to do it ... when ur talking about the nose are u referring to what I know as the point? I was thinking about messaging u so can send some more pictures to u and u can tell me what u see...

Thanks, for ur opinion brother... means a lot!

I just seen I have one of my knives in the pictures lmao

The knife is fine in there. It is a good example of other things.
PM me anytime and I will send you my email address. By nose I was referring to the top of the point. Where the spine meet the the front vertical edge. I cannot decide exactly what is off in the design, but there is something amiss.

They look very nice, love the spike point and agree with Rez, heel is very nice.

I especially like the more hollow ground razor - looks to me that it may be a stellar shave.

Love the wedges as well, nice job.....

Originally Posted by Phrank

They look very nice, love the spike point and agree with Rez, heel is very nice.

I especially like the more hollow ground razor - looks to me that it may be a stellar shave.

Love the wedges as well, nice job.....

yeah im actually learning how to do hollower grinds... i just did my first blade with a 6" wheel last night... pretty awesome having more of an audiable feedback when shaving... i just need to figure out the steps on the hollow grind... matter of fact maybe i should post a thread if there isnt one already

Originally Posted by Dafonz6987

yeah im actually learning how to do hollower grinds... i just did my first blade with a 6" wheel last night... pretty awesome having more of an audiable feedback when shaving... i just need to figure out the steps on the hollow grind... matter of fact maybe i should post a thread if there isnt one already

The one in your gloved hand, with the more hollow grind looked good - made me want to get out the stones and hone it up.

Have you put edges on any of your razors yet?

To me the shape of the tang is off. Tapering down like that tells me it will not be very comfortable flipping while stropping and also honing.
The grinds look even and consistent and the bevels look pretty narrow.
Could you post measurement of the bevel widths at the toe, middle and heel of one of the blades?

I think Rezdog addressed it, but when I took them to the stones I would round the heal of all the blades. How long are the blades? I'm thinking in my head that they are a bit long, but could be the angle of the pictures. Overall, I say nice work. Pictures show a lot of detail, but in the hand tells a whole other story. If you want an evaluation on one or more of them, just drop me a pm when you are done.