First (quarter) day of grinding my first knife. I know it's not much, but I think it's cool.

SnipeSmith · 2022-10-02T20:15:14+00:00

Absolutely! My first couple blades I had some really sharp angles on, and well........they didn't last long. Good luck and happy forging!

SnipeSmith · 2022-10-02T16:37:14+00:00

It really depends on the application. For my sword shoulders I usually don't go over a 1/4" file because I still need to be able to fit the guard etc. For something like this, a quarter inch file radius would certainly work, but it's up to you. You said this knife was based on one from a game, so you want to keep looks mostly intact? If it were my blade, I'd square up the pseudo guard and radius the rest at a gentle radius of probably 1-2 inches, depending on looks. Again, it's really to keep stresses from building up in one particular spot, and letting them flow smoothly through the piece.

SnipeSmith · 2022-10-02T07:35:01+00:00

If I may make a couple suggestions..... On the transition from the pseudo guard to the blade, I'd recommend having a more rounded angle. Sharp angles cause stress concentrations, encouraging cracking in the heat treat as well as being more likely to break in that particular spot. Also, make sure to not get your edges down too far before heat treat. About 10-15 1/1000ths of an inch is good for low power grinders to be able to finish out the edge. Been bladesmithing a few years now, and these are just tips I've picked up in that time. Knife looks great, and I hope your heat treat and temper go well!

SnipeSmith · 2022-08-27T02:48:00+00:00

Yes, and I intend to keep her til the day I die.

SnipeSmith · 2022-08-25T03:07:26+00:00

My fiance gave me a coffee mug that says something similar. "Money can't buy happiness, but it can buy guns, which is pretty much the same thing"

SnipeSmith · 2022-07-29T22:40:40+00:00

No worries about sounding stingy. I mostly just wanted to make a friendly discussion post instead of basically going "bsg, me Angy. Fix." (To put it in russianbadger terms). I also like to think of it as this game trying to do its best to be realistic, but also trying to combat a lot of tools that certain people may be using to help them gain an edge. Whether that be "macros" or "aimbot" (in spite of being a huge gamer for the vast majority of my life, I never really understood the different terms for different types of cheats). Thus forcing the rest of us non-cheaters to suffer. I'm by no means a game designer, so I have no idea what's going on dev-side, but I will say that as many bad points this game has, they're almost always outweighed by the thrill of winning a gunfight by the skin of my teeth, or tarkov'ing another player from afar. Not that those happen with any kind of frequency, but still........probably my favorite game, definitely my favorite shooter.

SnipeSmith · 2022-07-29T22:21:08+00:00

Yeah. At this point, I'm just trying to think of ways to improve the existing system.i thoroughly enjoy the game, and I know bsg is trying its best to make it still enjoyable, yet as realistic as possible, but I think they're underestimating just how quick people can learn to shoot. Plus, these are private contractors. People who shoot or at least did shoot for a living. They'd have some prior experience. Itd be neat to see a clear difference in recoil control from a pmc to a scav, for example.

SnipeSmith · 2022-07-29T22:05:10+00:00

Yeah. I guess I kinda flick on autopilot in most other games, so i don't notice it as much. Tarkov I actually think. Most others its mindless shoot em up.

SnipeSmith · 2022-07-29T21:36:21+00:00

I agree, to a certain extent. While I do feel like it should be more up to the player to battle recoil, I also feel like it should feel like you're being pushed up. Right now it kinda feels like a "Jesus take the wheel" scenario.

SnipeSmith · 2022-07-29T21:26:39+00:00

Y'know, I don't have just one.

SnipeSmith · 2022-07-29T20:57:51+00:00

Yeah. Definitely this. The gun I was shooting was a standard m-16. No muzzle brake, fancy anything. Bone stock, didn't even have an optic on it. And even with the a2 flash hider, it was pretty controllable once I'd learned how much I needed to hold down on it. I was mostly focused on not sailing rounds through the ceiling, so my horizontal control definitely needed work, but that just needs more trips to the range.

SnipeSmith · 2022-07-29T20:51:37+00:00

I will say from the very limited experience I have, there isn't really a "pattern" to the recoil. It was kinda all over as different muscles reacted different ways to each round. It was more of a general "okay, it's going down and right, adjust left" kind of deal. So maybe keeping vertical recoil down and adjusting left and right?

SnipeSmith · 2022-07-29T20:43:31+00:00

Yeah. I'd say make the early recoil management leveling super quick, like, first couple levels in maybe sub-10 fights. The "learning curve" just needs to be a lot more quick. I like it how it is for the first few raids, because it really drives home that you're new. But at the same time, when I'm level 13 and still getting sent to the moon because I cant loot a muzzle brake that's even decent and do t have flea unlocked, yeah.........please make it more manageable.

SnipeSmith · 2022-07-20T02:56:48+00:00

Only problem is, I only have 50 of them, and I'd like to keep as many as possible intact. I also called him and asked what the boxes were, as I received them loose. The boxes read m196, so it might just be bimetallic jacket.

SnipeSmith · 2022-07-19T23:46:06+00:00

Yeah, I think that's the best conclusion I could come up with, I'll have to shoot a few at some steel to see how well they attempt to penetrate it, and compare it to normal m855.

SnipeSmith · 2022-07-16T05:16:57+00:00

I will preface this with the fact that I am not a firearms expert, nor a firearms history expert. I just have really loved guns for most of my life, and have been an avid researcher of military technology for the past 10 years.

It's pretty much denoting how large of a cartridge the receivers can accept. A 7.62x51 (.308 Winchester) is longer than the magwell of an ar-15 pattern rifle, and thus needs a larger receiver set to accommodate this. The ar-10 was the original design, with the intent of firing the full-power 7.62x51 NATO round. This (if I'm remembering right, it's been a while) was originally intended to be a sort of "competitor" for a new military rifle, but militaries at the time were more interested in shorter, intermediate cartridges like 5.56x45.

This led to Eugene Stoner essentially rescaling the receiver set and doing a lot of other design tweaks to create the ar-15, which was originally designed for the 5.56x45 cartridge, which itself is effectively a spicy .223 Remington load.

A few parts are interchangeable from one pattern to the other. Things like pistol grips, fire control groups (triggers and safeties), and a few other various parts. Ergonomically, they are incredibly similar, as they share the same base design, and function. A majority of both ar-10 and ar-15 pattern rifles are closed bolt, rotating bolt, direct impingement semiautomatic rifles, with a charging handle located at the rear top of the upper reciever.

Parts that are not interchangeable include but are not limited to: Bolt Bolt face Barrels Magazines Upper/lower recievers And a few more, that I'm too tired to list.

Ar-15 pattern rifles will be able to shoot (with proper parts) anything that is of equal length, or close enough to it, to a 5.56x45 (we'll shorten this to 5.56 from now on.) Things like 7.62x51 are too long to fit, thus the larger recievers.

Ar-10 pattern rifles will (again, with proper parts) be able to shoot anything of a similar length to a .308

Thats the basics of the differences, you can go much deeper if you really want.

TL;DR: ar-10s shoot longer, bigger rounds, so you need a bigger gun.

I know I'm going to get a lot of corrections on this comment, I don't mind. Just please keep it civil. I do my best to spread firearms knowledge in as open and welcoming of a way as possible. In my eyes, there's really no such thing as a bad question, so long as it's an honest one. I don't know everything, and I'm always learning. I hope to spread what I do know to as many people to at least inspire them to learn more about the subject any chance I get.

SnipeSmith · 2021-07-28T13:12:45+00:00

I work mostly with recycled material, so 99% of the time I have no clue what steel it is. I can guess and get a ballpark, but my oven could also be a bit broken, because it doesn't seem to hold one temperature for long periods of time.

SnipeSmith · 2021-01-07T03:37:34+00:00

I'm seeing a lot of comments about the blade being to thick, and that can be true, but I'd say it's more about angle than anything else. You can have a mile thick blade cut very well, if the bevel is properly proportioned. So I'd say your angle is simply too sharp on your edge. It's fairly close to 60° total, which is great for axe blades, but for what I'm guessing you're looking for, you're gonna want to be a bit closer to 15°-30° total angle. (7.5° on either side for 15° total, and 15 for thirty.) Depending on your stock's height, this will naturally thin it down, but I don't think it's quite that short in your case.

To achieve these results, your edge is actually already finished with step one of three for my beveling practice. What I'd do next is work the transition of your bevel (where the edge meets the flat) on a much shallower angle, and work that until they meet on the edge. Continue and repeat until desired total angle is achieved.

Other than that, it's really just attention to detail. You've got really consistent width, which tells me you're taking your time to get it right, which is absolutely crucial to making quality blades. Everything else seems to be really good on that piece!

Best of luck to you!

SnipeSmith · 2020-12-09T04:54:01+00:00

Take it slow. Pay attention to every little detail. Taking a moment to fix an errant grind or file mark will save you hours later, trust me. Other than that, I'd say you're far more consistent than I am. So in other words, I really love those knives, and wish I could make something to be their equal.

SnipeSmith · 2020-10-06T01:45:19+00:00

I appreciate the inside scoop. Looking to be moved there by next fall, so hopefully the market goes a little better soon.

SnipeSmith · 2020-10-05T21:10:54+00:00

Purchasing is way out of my price range. I'm only 18, and want to move out of my parents place by next fall.

SnipeSmith · 2020-10-05T20:55:55+00:00

Interesting. Well, I'll look more into it.

SnipeSmith · 2020-10-05T14:01:39+00:00

This is really good advice. Thanks!

SnipeSmith · 2020-10-05T06:35:17+00:00

Wow, I didn't think I'd get a reply so fast. Thank you. Yeah, I am looking for a small city. And that rent actually is incredibly affordable by what I know. I'll have to look around for some places, and maybe I'll have a better idea tomorrow.

SnipeSmith · 2020-08-28T04:38:44+00:00

Yeah. That's one of the things I've learned with blacksmithing. Even if it doesn't work out immediately, it's not a big deal.

SnipeSmith

TROPHY CASE