CS 1084 Small Kiridashi

I swear sometimes the creative process is my worst enemy. I've been working on a side project for quite some time as part of getting back to a more hands-on approach to making knives. While working on the design for the past several knives I focused on simplicity of design and construction. While scratching out the knife profile onto a steel bar something occurred to me: the design I was using had an unnecessary complication: the curve of the spine.  Perhaps but not everything is as it seems.

I originally established my kiridashi-inspired design to be universal: friendly for belt grinders, small belt sanders, and file jigs. Having a curved spine adds more steps and generates more waste, and there was no benefit to the outcome. Or so I thought. I had built up this whole idea in my head that I needed a blatantly simple design. However the devil is in the details.

After playing with many sketches, I got the idea in my head to change to this modified design that requires less cutting and less filing. Oops, but I forgot one significant problem: filing. Because of the angle between the edge and the spine, the knife needs to be situated at such an angle on the filing jig that the clamps get in the way. For best results, the clamps should be set apart and this simply isn't the case. So in the end this was an unnecessary revision and I should learn to trust my instincts and not second-guess myself.