Well, here's a few pix of the knife I finished a couple of weeks ago after asking many questions etc. It is a 3 layer ladder pattern with cable for the outside two layers and L6 for the central layer. I think the pattern came out really cool, I'm calling it "Gator Skin". I did have a couple of "issues". that xxxx 36grit belt, don't give no mulligans, and so I ground into the epoxy a little bit right behind the guard. Glad I used the black dye with the acra-glass, it don't show too bad. Also, mostly a body mechanix thing, I had a hard time with the bevel grind near the tip on one side. I'd sure love to watch a couple of you experts actually at the wheel grinding, just to observe your body mechanix. Hint, hint. Youtube anyone? Please. Anyway, I haven't actually measured it, but my guess it about 9.5" overall, with about 4.5" of tha being blade. Full hidden tang, the pommel is a piece of 1/4" copper silver soldered to a peice of bronze, then drilled and tapped. Guard is copper, handle has brass spacers between everything, with the wood being ebony and purpleheart. Let me know what you think.


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I think it looks very nice. Good job! :D

Great looking knife!

Really good looking. The pattern is very interesting and the handle flows very nicely.

The pattern reminds me of lava.

Very nice!

WOW! number 6 and your already playing with demascus?!?

WOW! number 6 and your already playing with demascus?!?

Mike
That's one good looking knife. You've combined a lot of difficult process into one knife. I really like your "Gator skin" not to mention your handle combination.
Keep up the good work.

Mark

That is some good looking work. I like your 6th knife better than my own.
Everything flows together very nicely.

You guys are too kind. I did make some mistakes, but overall am pretty happy with how it looks. I have a couple of things to work on. One thing, I think I need a smaller diameter contact wheel. I'd like to be able to grind the guard to a smaller radius to make a more abrupt stop? As in, having the metal hanging down without wood where your finger goes. Not making much sense am I. Anyway, I do still want to watch one of the experts grind a blade just to see the motions. Kind of like watching Mark Aspery forge something. I learn new stuff every time I watch him now. Anyway, how does everyone feel about proportions etc. I didn't have a pre-determined shape/size for either the blade or the handle. I just kind of went for it and forged 'til it looked good, same with the grinding, just did what looked/felt good without a pre-determined plan. That's (I'm sure) what led to grinding into the epoxy up against the grip. Thanks for the comments all.

WOW! number 6 and your already playing with demascus?!?

Danz, it may be only my 6th knife, but it's far from my first pattern weld. I've got a drawer full of billets that I've welded up over the past 4 years. did I say that? OMG, I can't believe I've been forging for 4 years now. Anyway, I've done a lot of forge work, and only recently really got interested in making knives. Part of that is, I did a few before I had a decent belt grinder and it didn't seem worth the time. I went ahead and built a real nice KMG style with my own improvements / design. Still need a few more tools etc., but I'm advanced enough in my overall skills that my instructor isn't having any problem with me branching into knives.

Hi Mike
I used to design as I went and sometimes I was pleased and some not.

Rich Hale encouraged me to work to a plan, picture drawing etc. This helped me very much. Instead of following the steel it forces you to develop control and pre plan. I draw a knife now and think it to death, study and build in my mind before starting.

I learn more and faster i believe.

Mark

Nice work! I think you might have created a new trend with that pattern. I like it!

markb, I do the same. I like having a sort of pre-meditated shape and design. I draw whats in my head and see how it looks.

i like the blade man, the bevel is interesting , i like how it gets narrower near the tip. i think it all adds to the flow of the knife. well done! :)

Hi Mike
I used to design as I went and sometimes I was pleased and some not.

Rich Hale encouraged me to work to a plan, picture drawing etc. This helped me very much. Instead of following the steel it forces you to develop control and pre plan. I draw a knife now and think it to death, study and build in my mind before starting.

I learn more and faster i believe.

Mark

I did have a bit of a preplan for the tang, I didn't want to short myself there, so I did some math and figured out where I needed to fuller in to leave myself enough material for the tang. This was the leftover piece from a billet that I'd already made one knife from and wanted to maximize the amount of blade I'd get in the end. That's as much as anything how I got to just going for it on the blade end. I forged in a distal taper, and I belive that is what caused the tapering reveal of the edge bevel, it got narrower as the blade got thinner. On other forging projects I do a fair amount of sketching and thinking before hand. It's just that on knives I've not built enough of them to have a solid expectation for proportion. I do know that a couple that I've made didn't look to good in the end because of the proportion of handle to blade. Thanks for the comments so far guys.
ML

Keep right on doing what "looks/feels" right...It's a very nice knife...the pattern is fantastic.
Bear

An absolutely beautiful combination of handle materials.

I love stacked configuration handles.

Great pattern on the blade, too.

im really loving this knife! the pattern is just awesome, the handle is very well done(love the copper) and the sheath just wraps it up in a nice package , is that snake skin? it compliments the the blade very nicely. for all a strangers word is worth, good job!

rokshasa,
Yes, the sheath has a snakeskin inlay. A couple of weeks before I built the sheath I was out in the desert with Mike-hr and he killed this 30" Great Basin Rattlesnake. We BBQ'd it for dinner and Mike-hr tanned the skin. We each made a knife sheath with inlay out of the hide. And no, Rattlesnake doesn't taste like chicken. Actually I thought it tasted more like frog legs...

ML

well its really well done , good work.