Kearnach

I wholeheartedly recommend Wilmont Grinders.  I have a TAG-101 1.5 hp variable speed.  It's worth every penny.  If i had to do it all over again I would have bought that grinder before I bought a forge, anvil, anything.

I didn't take any more unfortunately, and it's already in the client's hands.

Wrapped this guy up yesterday, my second stock removal knife.

1084, 416 stainless, black-dyed stabilized curly maple.  Hand-rubbed 600g finish.

Any and all feedback are welcome!

Hey guys, I've got a post drill here that's missing a table, and has no obvious markings other than "PD 31" on the crank side of the body.  It's painted John Deere green under the dust, but I don't know if that's original.  Any clue who made it?

I'm planning on doing one about 2' tall for myself for the soda that comes in a brown glass bottle. :)

And a quick shot of it installed at the customer's house...

Hey guys, I don't make it down to this end of the forum, usually I'm up in the knifemaking section, but I thought I'd share my first welding project with you...

Gorgeous work!

^ What he said.  Very nice!

Looking great bro!

A lot of firsts with this knife: 

My first frame handle design, wanted to make it out of canvas micarta cause I thought it would look cool and be a little easier to work than steel.

My first successful "Coke Bottle" handle.

First time working with O1, and I love it.

My first "real" guard, slotted and soldered on.

Unresolved issues with the knife:

2nd pin hole is lower than it should be.

Kydex sheath is scratching the NS guard.

A couple of the "hidden" pins are trying to show, but sharpie keeps them from shining.

Can't quite seem to get the finish right on the Micarta, but after about 5 hours of hand sanding a working knife, it's time to move on.

There's still some random scratches, but as above, time to move on to the next project.

All in all, this knife was a lot of fun, and feels good in the hand.   It'll shave, and has a good deal of flex in the blade, I'll be happy to carry it.

Feather patterns are my favorite, and yours looks great!

Gorgeous knife bro.

Gorgeous!

How does a kitchen knife, what Murray is trained to make, relate to a sword?

If Murray is a licensed Japanese sword-maker it would be news to me.

 

Ric

Ne0spartan, if you're really interested in Japanese style bladesmithing, Murray Carter hosts classes of all types from his forge, and is the 17th generation Yoshimoto Master Bladesmith.  He's also an American Bladesmith Society Master Smith. 

I'm not trying to take anything from anyone here (there's some amazingly knowledgeable and helpful smiths on this site), but if you really want to take it to the "bleeding edge", and you're gonna have to shell out some big bucks on equipment and training, and get way more dedicated than prodding some old curmudgeons on the interwebs.  That being said... Murray's probably the guy you want to get up with.  

Unless your pockets are as deep as an art knife collector's, and your expertise as expansive as a mastersmith's ... it's probably best to keep it simple.  Not trying to put you, nor your enthusiasm down bud, I'm just saying the nuances of the finer points of heat treating O1 tool steel are more than most want to tackle, or really have the capability to do.  The highest quality steel isn't worth any more in the scrap bin than 5160.  Just sayin.

It's a two-burner Forgemaster, I'm pretty sure.

Kearnach, where are the "foothills"? nice hawks too.

Hey Pault17, sorry It took so long to reply, the foothills are between the mountains and the piedmont... I'm about 30 mins from Winston-Salem.

Thanks for the feedback guys!

Gorgeous piece of work man, I'd be proud to receive that as a gift.

Great video Joe, thanks!

Thanks guys!

By the way Don, fantastic work!
I love how you've done the handles.

Acrylglass is pretty awesome, from what I understand.

So this is my sixth knife, It was conceptualized as a cutting competition chopper, but I got it a little too thin for my comfort, so it was given new life as a butcher type kitchen knife.

This is the first knife I've done plunge lines on, and they're a pain. Next time I'll cut them in before the final grind. Other than those scratches around my plunge lines, this knife is a workhorse, not a shelf queen, so I stuck with a hand rubbed 400g finish, followed by the ol' nonwoven pad.


What do you think?

Frosty: There are several purposes of the tapered tang: to save steel, to keep the balance point of the knife at or about the ricasso (making the knife feel more lively and responsive), it is also more aesthetically pleasing and demonstrates greater skill (or a perhaps greater aptitude to work through your own frustration).