Chisel-ground tanto, long time coming

[Stormcrow]

This was a request from a fellow who really likes the work of Phill Hartsfield.  Which meant he wanted a chisel-ground tanto with a cord-wrapped handle.  We were originally thinking of it as an aikuchi, meaning without a guard, but I tried it with a Turk's head prior to applying the epoxy and we decided to go with it.

This project took way longer than it should have.  The issues were largely mental on my part; there were some aspects that were more difficult for me with it being chisel ground, but not that bad.  Still, I kind of feel like I should have included a certificate with it like Bob Loveless did with his one Damascus knife. 

The blade is 9" long, forged from 1/4" x 1" 5160 steel.  The spine is rounded.  This is a chisel edge for a righty, and I'm a lefty, but I think I did all right. 

The handle has a foundation of neoprene, followed by black paracord and coyote tan paracord, with a black two-strand Turk's head knot, all impregnated with West System marine epoxy.

With the lighting and my camera acting wonky, it was kind of difficult to catch the bevels well, but I think they show up better in these in-hand shots.

And finally, a coyote tan Kydex sheath to go with it.

I thought that sharpening might prove tricky, but it went smoothly.  I just made sure to keep a burr from forming on the back side.  It ended up pretty much scaring the hair off my arm. 

I'm still not a fan of chisel ground blades, but I'm rather pleased with this one. 

[Frozenthunderbolt]

I like it a lot Stormcrow; love the fact that you have an elegant tanto rather than the hideously angular tips that 'tanto' seems to have come to mean.
I like how you use the turks head as a small guard - echos of a tsuba in this piece, or generally reminiscent of a dirk, very nice.

[Stormcrow]

Thank you!

 

I do the angular Westernized tanto tips sometimes, but I have to say that certainly form the perspective of building them, I prefer the yokote-less design.  Shobu zukuri is the term, I think.

 

In the case of this one, I was following a sketch the customer sent me as closely as I could.

[Stormcrow]

 I've been posting my work on Instagram and from there onto Facebook since back in the summer.  I knew the customer was following along on Facebook and we had talked about the possibility of going wither with or without a Turk's head.  So I posted a picture without and asked what he thought.



He commented later that it kind of looked like a small machete without the Turk's head.  He had me try it with a black Turk's head knot.  I did a two strand to keep it small since aikuchis are supposed to be guardless, and he approved.



You can see how much the epoxy darkens the color of the paracord.