Recent discussion about neck knives got me thinking.....What would make a good neck knife.....light weight, sharp, small overall size would be the top 3 items on a wish list for sure.

The three knives I have been trying to finish the past month have become a pain in the a$$, no matter what I tried I can not get the edge even or the grind lines lined up or the polish even, so I put them away for now and started thinking about the neck knife discussion as a challenge, I needed something different to work on. I had some 0.093" 1095 on hand so I figured that would meet the 3 requirements I mentioned above. Come Saturday morning I setup the equipment and start making sparks, 1095 puts on a good show with a screaming 36 grit belt : )

Then all hell breaks loose....maybe I was to excited to make one or was pushing too hard or who knows what but experiment 1, 2 and 3 were total bust...

The top and middle ones had good shape but in the process of grinding the bevels I ruined them, got too thin at the edge, so I started a third and it ended almost as badly. When dealing with 0.093" thick steel one wrong move and it is toast, edge got too thin as well, no turning back after that : (

Decided to call it a day after drawing, cutting and grinding for 5 hours and spent the rest of the afternoon washing all the family cars. But the crash and burn on the experiment ate at me all Saturday night so first thing Sunday I was back in the shop trying to get a decent one made. While not perfect, I think the overall design and looks are pretty good......

They still need heat treating, tempering, final sanding and sharpening but I learned a few things and was in a much better state of mind Sunday afternoon than Saturday.

Gunner

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https://www.instagram.com/41gunner/
41 Mags rule, Baers rock!

I commend you for having the humility and honesty to show your mistakes as well as your successes. I sincerely admire that quality in a person. I wish you great success in the future.

the big ones used to factory grind crankshafts and the like, with xyz micrometer adjustment [old school obsolete, now] allowed the tiniest of increments. don't know if anything like that is doeable for blade grinding, but...while I was merely 'production passable' some of those old boys could have shaved a gnat's whiskers with em, in 3-D. just an idea.

I always thought a coffin handle is needed on a neck knife to stop you from slipping forward. Just my .02