# Lil' Sis' Fillet Knives ready...



## Jack "Pappy" Lewis (Nov 9, 2017)

I have been under the weather for so long that things have been really slow as far as work goes. I finally finished my Lil' Sis' set of fillet knives yesterday...the longest is called Skinny Minnie and the shorter is Lil' Speck, after our parents....Ironwood and spectraply laminate for the handles, the sheaths are 6 oz.

Reactions: Like 2 | EyeCandy! 5 | Way Cool 4


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## Foot Patrol (Nov 9, 2017)

@Jack "Pappy" Lewis Nice work Pappy! I like both of them but my favorite is the Skinny Minnie. The Ironwood handle has nice flow to it.


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## Spinartist (Nov 9, 2017)

Very nice!!! I will own a "Pappy" blade one day!!


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## dbroswoods (Nov 9, 2017)

Very nice I really like them both!!!

Mark


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## Strider (Nov 10, 2017)

Slick! Must have been so hard to grind them so thin!


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## Jack "Pappy" Lewis (Nov 10, 2017)

I have been asked about the grinding before, it is a slow process NEVER get the metal too hot to hold...ALWAYS water quench between grinds, ALWAYS wipe off the water before you grind again. I have found that on thinner materials, more care is an automatic thing, and when you go to the finer grits it is even more apparent because the speed is picked up on the grinder so the pressure is less on the blade in contact and making for more passes as the work progresses.

Reactions: Agree 1 | Informative 2


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## NYWoodturner (Nov 10, 2017)

Nice job Pappy. The ironwood handle would be my pic for a fave too. What kind of steel did you use? What are the dimensions ? I️ have a set of filers underway and find that they definitely present their own set of challenges


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## cabomhn (Nov 10, 2017)

Those came out really nice. I am not very good at filleting fish but I can only image that those make it a breeze.


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## ripjack13 (Nov 10, 2017)

Love em both pappy....the leather work is awesome too....

Reactions: Like 1


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## Jack "Pappy" Lewis (Nov 11, 2017)

thanks again all for the kind words. The Skinny Minnie seems to be the hit of the ball...everyone likes her..with her flowing lines and very thin and sleek curvature....the steel is from an old crosscut saw, so I can't tell you exactly what kind it is but it flexes without any problems and bounces right back straight as an arrow....

Reactions: Like 1


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## robert flynt (Nov 11, 2017)

Nice work Pappy, Grinding fillet blades have their set of challenges don't they!

Reactions: Agree 1


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## Jack "Pappy" Lewis (Nov 11, 2017)

Challenging doesn't cover it Robert...LOL


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## milkbaby (Nov 12, 2017)

Those are beautiful knives! Usually I prefer natural wood, but that laminate handle looks really great too. Nice sheaths, makes me want to get into making leather sheaths myself! 

I can only imagine how tedious it is to grind these so thin. I've made a number of knives that are shorter than I originally intended due to overheating at the thin tip...


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## Jack "Pappy" Lewis (Nov 12, 2017)

I will share a couple secrets on grinding down to such thin material size. Speed is the key issue lower your belt speed to its slowest and work lightly removing material....I also employ a 6" X 48" sanding table so I can use the entire surface to run my grinds running parallel with the length of the blank. Also I use a wooden block 2" X 4" X 1" to apply any pressure to the blank and I start from the tip and run back to the tang applying the lightest pressure on the tip and gradually applying more towards the tang. I NEVER overheat....as I practice great care in using this tactic on the full 6" wide table and since the cast iron bed is a full 24" long I have plenty of room to work with. Also one other tool that I use is one of these...I picked up an old one on ebay for a few dollars then cut the chord it holds like a champ and gives you extra control on holding thinner blades.

Reactions: Like 1 | Thank You! 1 | Informative 2


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