I wanted to try an integral, and the W1 I received recently was 1/2" thick, so I experimented a little. It was a lot tougher splitting the bar than I expected... getting a decent shot of the hamon was even tougher - it's amazing how it can be clear to the eye, but the camera won't pick up anything but glare. 

How do I get that split to be cleaner in the future? I didn't want to remove much material from the inside because I liked the weight, but now I feel I should have ground it down more to clean up that inside lip.

That came out quite lovely.  My criticism would be that the wood seems kind of plain for the rest of the knife. 

The cleanest way to make that opening would be to slot punch rather than slit.

 Great job by the way!

I can't help on the knife question... but I got the photography covered.   Get a card... the size of a pizza box.  Paint one side mid to dark grey, the other white.  When you have the glare... move in the grey side until it knocks it down.  Another tip... always diffuse a light source ... ie if shooting outside and it is sunny... move to the shade of a tree's trunk... or a thick branch.  Also wearing a dark shirt can help when shooting shiny stuff.

Looks great, a few months ago I saw pics of a good smith On Australian blade forums and that was Damascus wood integrals. Had them shaped a bit like a keyhole slot, so that is what hey called them. Keyhole Integrals.

Another photography tip or two is to use oblique light (from the side) or as said diffuse light. A good field expedient diffuser is a piece of toilet paper over the flash. Dark clothes is a good one too. Polished objects reflect light and images. There was a site on the net with "interesting" reflections like the naked guy reflected in the tea pot he'd photographed in an "artistic" composition. His naked carcass became FAR more famous than his composition. <grin>

 

Nice looking blade by the way.

Looks pretty darn cool. Gives me even more things I need to try out. Good job. 

Thanks everyone! I usually shoot outdoors, but with the snow and all... having a proper little psyche and lighting setup is one of those "when I have money" things that I should just invest time into right now.

Nice work, Theo. Looks like it would be comfortable in the hand and use.

One more photography tip on diffusing flash: Something I learned in still photography classes; Scotch (or your favorite brand) tape, the frosted type, over the flash does a nice job of softening the light. Layer it up and graduate the amount of light and diffusion

That's all I got for 2¢ :D

Scott

You can make light boxes out of alot of cheap stuff or repurpose things. A tupperware storage bin, the ones that are almost clear with a slight haze can work. I have made a frame out of pvc pipe and wrapped tracing paper around it. Ya could take and make a frame and cover it in tracing paper or even plastic sheet that is almost see thru and place that between a shop light and the blade setup with the proper background. These things may not be perfect but can really help. 

Welcome to the hyjacked photo thread!

Flash made gooder... if using a 'vivitar' type placed on camera flash... get a Fed Ex box... the shipping a shirt sized one.
Open it up... line with tin foil.  Make rec hole in bottle center to press flash in through... aim flash head UP.
Go to large front face of box... open it as desired... circle, rec, sq, or 1" slats... cover new openings from inside with said diffusion type material... best is cheapest white frosty material scrap from fabric shop.... then... go nuts.

I used to shoot back stage at the biggest fashion shows in Paris... and some dude always near me had noted set-up... his images were awesome.

Simpler than above but easy... frosted plastic 8?oz water cup taped head head of flash aimed at subject.  This is a ghetto version of the Wong Super Sphere... or whatever that thing is called.

Best bet though... no flash... shoot up in the snow... in the shade of a tree... bring small black card.   :-)

I think I like this knife better than the others I remember of your work. Hopefully this means you are going in a good direction rather than just my poor taste.

Haha, thank you Metal. I'm still not the biggest fan of shiny; it's awful pretty but but as soon as it's used... that's why I like an etch, especially if there's a hamon. I couldn't figure out an order of operations to do the wood insert glued and sanded flush, and then acid etch the steel.

Shiny was not what I was looking at. You might be able to get it all preped then etch then glue wood in with pins through the steel handle, these pins would also let you sand to finish w/o glue holding it in place.

If you want to see a Damascus one check out ali bastian in Australia, really nice bowie and smaller hunting knife.