Thought I'd try my hand at it...

[letinsh]

My best friend got married on Friday and I got the crazy idea that I should make him a knife as my gift to him. Put some ideas down on paper, drawing extensively from my Yarborough, John Horrigan's Fighter (www.eliteknives.com), and the sheath that Aaron Gough makes for his knives (www.goughcustom.com).

After some consideration, I decided to go with O-1 tool steel. I sketched my idea out on paper, then traced it to 1/8" plexiglass and cut it out to get a feel for form and fit. I made some changes to the handle then transferred the pattern to the steel. I started with 3/16"x2"x36" bar stock.

Using a hacksaw, I rough cut the profile from the bar, then cleaned it up with a bench grinder.
I then built a little jig to bevel the blade, by hand, with a file
After getting the bevels cut, I took the blade down to 220grit.
I then cut the thumb grip with a dremel.
Using West Systems 105 epoxy, I coated alternating black and green strips of canvas, then compressed them and let them dry.

[letinsh]

I took the blade over to John Horrigan's to get some wisdom from the master, and he differentially heat treated the knife for me
After tempering the blade, I sanded it down to 600grit.
I then rough cut my handle scales from the "micarta" I had made, drilled the pin holes, and finished the front of each scale, since you can't get at it once it's glued on the blade.
I then acid etched the blade for corrosion resistance (plus, it looks pretty tight).
I cut the pins and lanyard tube from stainless steel and glued everything together.
Next, it was time to contour the handle.

[letinsh]

I took the handle down to 400grit, shined up the pins, and touched up the acid etch.
For size, next to the Yarborough.
On to the sheath.
Scored some Kydex. Took inspiration from Aaron's sheathes and off to the races.
Using a Lansky sharpening system, I gave it the best edge I've ever given a knife.

And there you go.
It was a lot more fun than I anticipated...might turn into a little side gig!

By hand, this thing took about 20hrs, start to finish.

[Sohei]

Are you sure that was your first time to make a knife? If so, I can only imagine what your follow-on knives would look like.

That is an awesome present that will last a lifetime and will always be appreciated for the time, thought, and effort that was put into possibly even more than its usefulness.

Outstanding job!

[Javadrinker]

Outstanding job, and a great present.

[mugwump]

Nice job.