I found an old broken and rusty Solingen chef knife in my backyard a few years ago, too battered and chipped to be worth much, and decided to try my hand at making it into an old school type fighting knife on a whim inspired by my little brother. I've been sharpening knives for years and have ground a few things before, so I figured I'd give it a go on my grandfather's belt sander and grinder. I had a wonderful time and I was really happy with the results, I'd never done anything like this before. I ground the chipped blade down at the tip and bottom, then ground in some sweep and a clip point, and ground in a sharpening choil.
And then a basic edge that I spent an hour or so "perfecting" on the belt sander, which was also new to me but worked great and was ridiculously fun. Took it home from the shop, and finished up the edge and went to work scrubbing away some of the corrosion. Now it's somewhat clean and has an edge that will slice newsprint and grocery receipt tape. It's also great on wood and cardboard, I'm exciting to use my new creation here!
Now I just need to find a way to refurbish the handles, maybe even make my own from leather or antler. Throw in a leather sheath and I'll have to carry this guy every now and then!
And then a basic edge that I spent an hour or so "perfecting" on the belt sander, which was also new to me but worked great and was ridiculously fun. Took it home from the shop, and finished up the edge and went to work scrubbing away some of the corrosion. Now it's somewhat clean and has an edge that will slice newsprint and grocery receipt tape. It's also great on wood and cardboard, I'm exciting to use my new creation here!
Now I just need to find a way to refurbish the handles, maybe even make my own from leather or antler. Throw in a leather sheath and I'll have to carry this guy every now and then!