Wow. I'm thrilled by all the appreciation you all are expressing. Thanks for all of the encouragement.
Classic. Foot3. I haven't really given any thought to selling knives yet. I'd be happy to make whatever you'd like, as long as it's in my power.
I'll PM you guys and we can talk more about details.
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Originally Posted by BigV
Is that a bucket full of wet sparks underneath the belt grinders? Clever! Also, nice clamp/vise. Your instructor has a nice shop, and I can clearly see that he's given a lot of thought to the finish product, especially on the glamour shots.
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Yeah. Those buckets really help with the sparks and wood particles. There's even a vacuum hose to suck wood dust away on one of the grinders.
Ed's knife vise is awesome. It's got rubber padded jaws/clamping area and rotates so you can get at three sides of your blade without taking it out. A little design flaw keeps it from going all the way around.
Quote:
Originally Posted by xoxoxoBruce
It's a beautiful knife, you should be proud of it.
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I am very proud of it. It just that with all physical artifacts, there is always room for improvement. I want each of my knives to be better from a design and functional perspective than the last.
There's an intimacy you feel with a handcrafted artifact. I've always heard craftsmen talk about it. It is an amazing feeling.
Quote:
Originally Posted by BigV
Did you start with blanks or did you create them from flat stock? The guard looks like stainless steel in the finished picture, but in the filing picture it looks like a block of copper or maybe a block of micarta. For the full tang blade, do you intend to make some through rivets to secure cheek pieces for the handle? Or something else? What other handle materials do you have in mind?
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I started with 1.25x0.25 stock and forged the blade by hand. I did "cheat" and draw the tangs down with the power hammer and hydraulic press. (Funnest tools ever, btw.) That's a luxury I won't have in my own shop, and will probably add an hour's worth of forging to a hidden tang blade.
Nickel silver is all copper but for just enough nickel to make it silver. I think that's what might be showing on the surface of the raw guard stock. Nickel silver mirror polishes really, really easy. 400 grit and then buff it.
For the full tang I'll be using pins or rivets of some sort. Most likely nickel, stainless or brass depending on the particulars. Titanium is another popular pin stock.
I've got a few pieces of deer and stag antler to use for handles. I'll also do micarta, g10 and carbon fiber. I really want to try homebrew micarta. Oh, yeah, I also have some dyed camel bone that I think is going to come out REALLY cool.
There's a black spacer between the guard and the handle. It's made from vulcanized paper.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Griff
Excellent work! Do you know how many hours you have into it?
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I have little idea. We worked back and fourth between three different blades. There was also a lot of instructional and bullshitting time.
Since I'm not doing it for a business, I probably won't pay much attention to the time investment right now. I need to keep my focus where it matters.
Again, I have to thank you all for the kind words and encouragement and interest in my work.