templehound

....You guys have to see this!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g46tXWxtsfY

Cheers

Thanks a lot, Willy!....

See You around

On 11/7/2022 at 12:45 AM, Steve Sells said:

In case I never said it before, I love your work

....... that's a statement! Thanx

On 11/8/2022 at 1:14 PM, Frosty said:

This blade especially speaks to me.

Frosty The Lucky.

Frosty, we always appreciate a good conversation!

On 11/9/2022 at 12:18 AM, ThomasPowers said:

Your work is characterized by a certain "calm elegance"   very appealing in this Guernica world these days!

Thank You, Sir!

2 hours ago, Rojo Pedro said:

I will add my admiration for your leather work. Fit and finish looks top shelf. 

this encourages me posting the last picture which I hadn't posted because it has not more essential infos to show than the other.

But it bears an special opportunity to say Thanks Pedro Rojo!

11 hours ago, Frosty said:

I don't say much about knives I don't know what to say without sounding trite, "Me too" or "I love it," are pretty worn out in my vocabulary. Everything about it says ready to work and is a perfect size to carry. 

Frosty The Lucky.

....well.....

all of you (Frosty, JHCC, Daswulf, gmbobnick, Les L, George N.M., Thomas Powers, Iron Dragon, Big Gun Doctor, arkie,....)

have already given answers that have brightened my day multiple times....and some of you said some deep stuff that have stayed in my mind for days

Frosty, I understand that you and many others have a certain artistic and literary claim, but believe me every answer means a lot to me....

there is no "triteness" to me, even not in an one word honorable recognition....

Even for me as a German, with limited linguistic expression in English, there are just a handful of Possibilities how to say "Thank You" in English and even in German.....

and often I found myself thinking how to say "Thanks" and not sounding trite.....but  there is only heartfelt gratitude.

Gentlemen, once again.... I am humbled, grateful and I am honored by Your comments and replies!

Thank You very much!

Cheers

PS : George N.M., the bolsters are cut by hand with a coarse checkering file.

Here is a small utility knife with 90 mm blade length and it measures 195 mm overall.
Blade steel is 2419 (105WCr6), bolsters are made from steel mokume and the handle slabs are water buffalo horn.
 

Cheers

On 10/29/2022 at 2:46 AM, Steve Sells said:

except in testing, many 5 min epoxy's fail after only a few years

Steve, you are absolutely right!....seems that many well known knife makers ignore that fact.

On 10/29/2022 at 7:33 AM, Frosty said:

Polymerizing resins, epoxy or polyesters to name the two most common harden when the long chain molecules intertwine and bond chemically at various sites. Epoxies tend to be stronger because the molecules are twistier so to speak so when they polymerize they interlock at more points. 

Anyway, the faster they set the less time the molecules have to intertwine and so the bonds aren't as strong. The catalyst isn't actually necessary polymerizing resins will set in time regardless, what the catalyst does is cause a reaction that generates heat on a molecular level. 

The often flaming results of adding too much catalyst isn't so much caused by the resin setting but by the catalyst itself. 

You can set and cure resins by heating them but unless they're designed for heat cure it's tricky to get right.

Anyway, the slower the set and cure the stronger. 

Old surfer and rubber plant employee who mixed a LOT of various resins privately and professionally.

Frosty The Lucky.

My man!....I could not say it better!

Daswulf, Les L and JHCC,

Thanks a lot for the beautiful comments!

....using very old stock green canvas micarta....well, it is so dense pigmented that it appears practically black and it misses the white fibers
which I never appreciated in recent micarta qualities....if I had more of the stuff I would use more micarta.
The blade sports the German Aogami version 1.2419 (105WCr6) and the liners are milled 6Al4V Titanium with separated spring.
Spring and clip both made from high carbon spring steel 1.1274 (Ck101) with its own heat treatment.

Cheers
 

On 9/5/2022 at 9:51 AM, WAGONJON said:

Very beautiful and well made! Just stunning. 

Thanks a lot WAGONJON, much appreciated!

On 6/26/2022 at 12:02 PM, JHCC said:

Gorgeous, as usual. Your high level of design, execution, and fit & finish are inspirational.

JHCC Thank You very much!

Frosty, Les L and  seb leney thanks a lot Guys!

Steel and bone, a material combination as old and archaic as the "edge-low-fingers-high" knife pattern itself.
The 105 mm long blade is ground from O7, the bolsters are made from construction steel scrap and the giraffe bone slabs are pinned wth steel nails.
Overall length measures 225 mm.
Cheers

Clipping or splitting?I could not see in the video quality what you were actually doing

....clipping is imho easy but splitting is another deal.

Splitting hair is depending in which direction the texture scales of the hair is pointing.Also people have thinner or thicker hair....so splitting hair depends.

My sharpest knife is a straight paper thin ground razor, so thin, You are not supposed to cut something else than your beard hair.

So the conclusion is sharp for use or sharp for hair splitting contest.

The edge ground to 0,15-0,20 mm of thickness is the sharpest that makes sense to put on a knifes edge.

For some folks this is too sharp,too thin  they cannot handle this sharpness without damaging the edge

Cheers

Thank You very much, FlatLiner!

Gentlemen, Thanks for the nice comments!...they are much appreciated!

George:

...like Thomas already said, it was made on purpose and sometimes I like that straw flower look of the peened tang on occasions .....rustic is the word...

....I was in a somewhat rustic mood this time....but anyway, precious honesty is always appreciated and very welcome!

Thanks for your comment George!

LesL, Thomas, Irondragon FCW and JHCC thanks for your comments, Guys!

This hybrid puukko cuts with a blade ground from O7 flat stock, sports a copper ferrule and has a handle made from Burma ironwood (Xylia Xylocarpa).
The blade ricasso has bevels which are giving a straight transition into the edge and the tang is riveted over the butt.
Burma ironwood is an extreme solid , hard wood that is rather plain and inconspicuous.
It darkens immediately when contacted with hand sweat and oils, leaving a beautiful sinister plain no nonsens tool look.
The sheath has a wood liners and is made from half tanned cow leather that still has a rawhide core.
Blade measures 100 mm and overall length is 225 mm.

Cheers
 

On 3/26/2022 at 12:31 AM, ThomasPowers said:

I keep expecting to see heads of state from that region formally dressed in sarongs with your work tucked into their waistbands!

Unfortunately such folks expect to be worked for them for free since they are far above a blade smith in the hierarchy.

Everybody who has to work hard and get the hands dirty is low ranked.....as it is in most Asian countries....(maybe Japan makes the exception here)

20 years ago I once gifted a knife to somebody high ranked and I didn't even get thanks...but that was a learning and teaching experience.

Gentlemen!....those are beautiful comments, much appreciated, Thank You very much!

While my last visit in a German winter, 7 years ago, I forged the blade blank on a power hammer of a friend.

I remember my face got toasted and my butt freezed off.

Since then I worked on it when the time allowed. It took 7 years to complete, so to speak.

It has approximately 100 layers and it contains 50% of W2 and 25% of O2 and 15N20 (75Ni8) each.

It is not that high contrast mixture because the W2 appears grey which makes together with the bright nickel tool steel the main colors.

But it is a heck of a tough blade and it holds an edge quite good which to me is the most important thing....but I love how the colors came out, less dominant

and not so distracting from the actual knife.

The fittings are embossed copper and the handle and the sheath is made from Burmese Padouk root.

It measures 310 mm on the blade and 465 mm overall length.

Cheers

Daswulf and Mr.Slag, Thank You very much, Gentlemen!

Mr Slag: The handle is made from Indian almond wood (Terminalia Catappa). This tree grows literally everywhere here in the south. Very hard and very tough material.

On the internet I found nothing about this wood.

The tree is in wikipedia and the wood is mentioned there...." The wood is red and solid, and has high water resistance; it has been used in Polynesia for making canoes"

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Terminalia_catappa

The steel 1.2419.05 is a special melt from Friedr. Lohmann GmbH. in Germany

Its alloy is very similar to this steel:

http://zknives.com/knives/steels/1.2513.shtml

...but with 0,60% more Cr and an addition of 0,30% Mo.

Cheers

Les L and JHCC, thanks a lot, Guys!

I just finished another Diogenes.....Did you know that Mark Twain's Huckleberry Finn was symbolized to be Diogenes?....dwelling in a barrel and smoking weed ....

...well it must have been weed, because there is no other kind of tobacco that could made the boys fall asleep.....

So this could be the perfect tool for Huck whittling corn club pipes.

Cheers

Gentlemen, I am humbled by those nice comments....Thanks a lot !

Vultures are formidable and highly effective tools of nature and the vultures that can be found on the roofs of some Indian temples
create for me an archaic, exotic and also dark picture of great epic expressiveness.
A picture that takes my mind far back in time and expresses itself again in one of these knives.

The 260 mm long blade made of 115W8 is ground convex, has a fuller and a ridge on the back.
I used Indian almond tree (Terminalia Catappa)as the handle material and copper for the real ferrule.
The tang is riveted on the butt and shows itself as a flower stamp in the copper flower.
The scabbard consists of a core made of Burmese ironwood,
the throat and tip are reinforced with cape buffalo horn and molded and sewn wet in a half tanned leather quiver.
The sheath and quiver can be separated from each other for maintenance and repair purposes,
I made the clip from fully heat-treated high carbon spring steel.
Overall length measures 410 mm.

Cheers and a happy new year.