Thread: ben.mid inspired file knife

Wanting to try out my new grinder stand and after seeing ben.mid's file neck knife I decided to give it a try with a Nicholson Handy File that I bought some time ago at a garage sale with a knife in mind. I kept the origional handle with paint and Nicholson logo on the side. As you can see in my wonderful pictures , I left the original file on the upper sides of the blade and the spine. It sharpened up wonderfully and I am going to leave it as is to see how it wears. One piece of advice I would give anyone trying this is not to be to cheap with your belts. I should have started with a new one right off and not wasted the first half hour! All in all a fun project for this evening.

Tim

Tim

I see that your putting that grinder to good use! Nice hollow grinding.

The most correct rule regarding grinding belts is: Treat them as if they are free. I.e., use a new one as soon as you think of it.

When I worked in an 1870's era demonstration blacksmith shop so many years ago, making file knives was a quick and easy show for folks. It was traditional for a smith to leave some of the file cuts on the blade to "prove" to the customer that the steel was of good quality.

I think you'll find that one in your hand a lot.

I absolutely love the original handle and marks. I would even be tempted to coat the handle in a epoxy to preserve the look.
If that were around my house it would be used daily, great job.

I made a sheath for this one tonight and i goofed. I folded it the "wrong" way. It turned out "left handed". I took this as a sign and gave it to my third born, who happens to be left handed.

Gotta go with the flow!

Tim