Cable Knife

[sanddraggin]

Heres a cable knife I made for a friend. He saw the first cable knife I made the other day and was quite taken with it. He mentioned how cool it would be to seize the end like we do on wire ropes for work only out of copper. This is what I came up with.

[Rich Hale]

i like the whole concept of using the wire for a handle on a cable knfe as it really shows wot you have crafted the piece from..However I think leavingthe scale on the blade and hiding the pattern that is underneath and would be outstanding after finishing and etching..Takes a lot away from this knife Hope this does not offend you Just my thouights.

[sanddraggin]

I'm not offended in the slightest. I was curious what the response would be in fact. I've seen criticism for leaving hammer marks in the blade and was careful to avoid that. There were several factors that lead me to this result. First of all I did remove the scale between each heat with a wire brush and then after the HT I ran a wire wheel across it to remove any more but it obviously left the scale pattern in the blade. Second is that I didn't have much success with etching my last blade. I used Vinegar, lemon juice and salt. I warmed thhe solution up and left the blade in for 10-15 min intervals wiping off the slime that develops in between. It gave a very light pattern so I tried leaving it in a few days with no noticeable change. So since I didn't have much success I didn't want to etch another till I had a chance to get a better Echant. Since the closest Radio Shack is 120 miles away I will have to wait to try that again leading to my next consideration. I wanted to have it finished to give my friend this weekend when I see him. I also have only built the two blades now and wanted to try something different and see what I like. I like this look ok, but I do like the pattern better. You never know till you try. Anyway, thanks for your insight. I look forward to the Knife Chat so that I can improve.

[Loneforge]

Try finding some battery acid or pool acid.....There are lots of options. I would file and sand to about 400 finish. Then I heat treat clean up again then etch. I etched the last cable I did 3 times at 10 minute intervals. The smoother you get that blade without scratches the better it will etch. Cheers Darren

[WmHorus]

Everyone has their own opinion about how the finish of a blade should look, some folks agree some don't. I have learned go with what you think is best. I have people think I should make my cable look like a homogenized piece of steel, but personally I like to leave a few closed shuts on the surface when I am not etching it to show that it was made not bought steel. Heck some folks like the half finished look of blades some don't. I really am not one for leaving scale and schmutz all over but once again its personally preference. The handle looks great Ive always liked the leaving a bit of the cable whole idea, I just have never done it since the size cable I generally use is inch and a half and thats a bit large for your average human hands.

[Hayden H]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P9CSu62rZwM&playnext=1&list=PL5C794843F35DD5FA&feature=results_video

if you could forge the blade, and then do this to your handle with it thick enough to file into an ergonomic shape. It'd be insane

[WmHorus]

Ya you can do the brass or copper, heck even melt some high nickle content steel to get a high contrast between the cable and whatever you use...I'd just be careful doing the brass and have it in a well ventilated space and NOT breath the smoke....

[sanddraggin]

That's really cool. Gonna have to try that soon.