MastaStan

Forged 1095 blade 1/4" thick, 4.5" long overall length 9". Brown oak handle and brass pins. Finished in osma wax oil.nnn.

Thanks everyone. Really enjoyed making this knife and sheath. Its a keeper I think, although I've got a lot of people asking me to acquire it! Think I'll be making some more

Sorry too, hope I didnt offend, I guess its the result of not knowing emotion in text. I just wanted to see the end result of Lou's knife/knives. Thank you for the link to saber tooth, I'll take a look now. A 'Newb' doing a knife like this with with a finger hole does have me intrigued!

I see finger holes on a daily basis, but yet to see one on Lou's finished knife. Comment didn't really help the original post. To jump in and 'help' someone who's trying to help isn't really helping.

As Joel said, you're best normalizing prior to quenching....go through the motions to get the desired result. What does your unique friend intend the knives to be used for? I think your best bet is to quench one, as proposed as a tester, and go from there to see if your choice of steel works with the shape of the knife as its quenched. Finger hole has me intrigued, hope I get to see the end result. Best of luck.

How about stock removal...I'm thinking about beginners trying a titanium knife?

I was thinking titanium....but is it easy to work with?

I'm not experienced with cedar, (I have seen it on knife and gun handles) but i would say that if you are worried about it cracking (or any other wood) to look into stabilizing it with resin. There are hardeners that require a vacuum to penetrate deep into the wood, and I believe there are hardeners that you can leave the handle in after fitting. I don't think a simple set up for doing this would be tremendously expensive if you were serious about doing it a lot (look online for diy). Or another option would be to outsource the stabilization. Or buy choice wood pre stabilized.... However if your handle stands the test of time, I wouldn't worry about it unless is particularly soft, spalted, cracked etc.. Type in cedar handle online and see what others are doing/saying about it. I'm no expert but this would be my thoughts if I had doubts about a handle. Hope this helps. Nice looking handle BTW, looks good polished up!

If you make a knife from carbon steel, you are going to have to look after it well esp if using in water......cleaning, drying and oiling your knife will help keep it maintained. If you want an easier knife to maintain opt for stainless steel and out source the heat treatment if you can't do it yourself. Saying this, no steel is 100% rust proof! You still need to look after it, albeit not as stringently. Also I would suggest a plastic handle, most woods wouldn't cope with the repeated water exposure. Hope this helps a bit. There are wipes (I forget the brand) that put a protective film on knives for storage.

Finally finished this puukko sheath out of Buffalo leather with a accoya wood insert (rot resistant). Posted the puukko late last year and it's had plenty of use and really proved itself as a nice field/bushcraft knife. It's my first real attempt at a sheath and although it's not the best, I think it came out OK.

Really nice work, loving the patterns in the blade.

Love it! Great work.

Thank you everyone, for your interesting input and kind comments. Really enjoyed making this piece. I made it for my Dad who has helped me out, no end, with tools, equipment, advice and has made everything possible! Cheers Dad, you're awesome!

Letter opener, forged out of an old British railway spike. A bit of fun, trying to find an owner for this as I mainly tear my letters up! Don't know if this belongs in knives but can't find another worthy place.

What I was trying to say was....the spine in between the handle was intended to 'look worn' rather than just shiny new with the sanding of the scales. The sides of the cleaver and rest of the spine are straight off the anvil. Bit of confusion with the original post and showing the spine to Steve. It definitely wasn't rescued, I worked hard to get it finished from scratch as ive never attempted a cleaver. Thank you for your input and praise...it means a lot. It was playing on my mind whether to have a shiny, finished spine all the way around or to keep it lookin entirely forged. As it progressed this is what I ended up with.....I guess this is my best description