July 5, 200818 yr Hey Folks, Here is the latest, its made for a hunter with very big hands. I got the steel from Alabama Damascus, the mix is 5160, ball bearing and Nickel. It has a 6-1/8" convex blade that is tapered front and back. The 6" handle scales are out of Pink Ivory from South Africa and gray spacers with mosaic pins. The high ride sheath is hand stitched out of cowhide. Enjoy the pics!
September 1, 200817 yr Author I cut the blank out of stock, and then forges the handle and blade. I differentially tempered the blade, and used muratic acid for the etching. I was really happy with the lines too!
September 3, 200817 yr Saiga, how 'bout a bp on how you do the "wet molded" sheaths? Do you wet it with Acetone (or some other solvent) or water? How do you get it to conform so nicely to the handle? Vacuum pump/clamp? In quiring minds want to know.... By the way, nice knife.
September 4, 200817 yr Author I am glad you liked it! I did not use anything special for this, I took some good quality leather and cut it to size then I sewed it up. Afterward I soaked the entire sheath in water and used a curved piece of wood in the shape of a spoon to press the leather into shape. I covered the blade and handle in saran-wrap and put it into the wet sheath. Then I pressed the leather from the outside with the "spoon", and kept pressing and moving the wood around until I had the shape that I was looking for. Afterward I set the moist sheath out in the sun and turned it every 10 minuets or so to even the drying process. I hope this helped, next time I work with leather I will post some pics. Take care , Jim
September 5, 200817 yr Nice knife, looks great for chopping what with the balance way out there and the convex grind. One thing, though; when you do a differential heat treat on a damascus blade, it can cause the etch to be different along the hard part versus the soft part. So if you're ever putting a lot of work into a specific pattern or something, it could make the pattern look sketchy if you clay treat it. keep up the good work!
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