Schafer, Jeff

I am Jeff Schafer. I started playing with knives when I was 5 years old. My grandmother would give me a hunting knife with sheath and send me out to play in the yard. I would cut up sticks and practice throwing it. In high school, we vacationed in the Smokey Mountains and I bought a Gerber double edged blade look alike. When I got home one of my friends immediately offered me more than twice what I paid for it. I took the money because I thought I would just make another. I scavenged a file and went to work with the bench grinder. I got it rough ground and tried to heat treat it with a propane torch. I never was able to get it hot enough to harden. Despite the rough finish on the blade and the lack of hardening I decided to put a handle on it. I used a scrap piece of pine 2x4 and attempted to shape it like the knife that I sold. It was horrible. I ended up cutting the 2x4 off. I still have that blade though. I am tempted to finish it to a nice finish and heat treat it. I don't know if I want to do that or just leave it like it is as a reminder of how far I have come.