I knocked one out today. Only took me 3 hours. The handle is a bit too narrow but I'm still learning. Here's mine. Post yours.

Three hours of grinding after forging about an hour. My attempt at a tapered lamb splitter to make the next hunting trip go smoother. 

Hmm seems like I've heard of the Texas Lamb-splitter massacre before.

Middle one is the newest but they are all pretty recent and all ive got, havnt been forging long.

2 hours ago, HondoWalker said:

The handle is a bit too narrow

Easy to make that up with the scales.

Hmm, I recently posted that last few knives I finished, but here are a pair of folders I did just before those.  One is nearly done in the pic, and the other is still in the assembly phase so the parts are still a bit rough.  I took the pic mostly to document the parts I used.  The blades are mosaic pattern welded 1095/15N20.  The bolsters are nickel/copper mokume gane.  Scales are jigged bone.

These took me a bit more than 3 hours 

 

Very nice work but a couple questions:  1) Do you use commercial rivets or make your own?  If you make your own, what is the process?  2) What do you use for the springs?  3) Is the mosaic pattern welded steel better at holding an edge or in general use than, say, straight 1095? 

I've always wondered how much of the use of pattern welded blades is aesthetic and how much is practical.  I suspect that most of the decision to use pattern welded steel is mostly "for the look of the thing."

"By hammer and hand all arts do stand." 

George, IMHO, pattern welding is purely aesthetic these days.  I don't think I can forge weld together anything that would outperform most (or any) of the modern steels that are available.  I just like making pattern welded steel

I make my own rivets from either stainless or nickel silver stock depending on the knife.  I just hold the round stock in a 5C collet, and form a head with a tiny ball-peen hammer.  Then I cut the rivet to length and peen it in place.  I think I have some pics somewhere of the process if you want, but it may take a while to dig them up.

I've gravitated towards 1075 for the springs, although I have dabbled with some in S35VN when I made some stainless blades.

Thanks.  Your comments are about the same as my thoughts re pattern welding, beautiful blades but it's probably better to go with a uniform steel for an actual working blade.

Thanks for the info on rivets.  I've made plenty of larger ones for general black smithing projects but never any small ones for knives.

Getting the spring just right for a folder is something I have found fussy between dimensions and exact temper.

Again, thanks.

"By hammer and hand all arts do stand." 

I's say that situations that require the most out of a knife would not be ones where you would want to use a fancy knife anyway.  Like the heavily engraved and decked out guns; how many US$50K shotguns see much rough field use do you think? (Now I have dug a firepit with a pattern welded seax; but as I told the onlookers:  "I can't do anything to it I couldn't fix---I made it!)

I have a number of blades just waiting for power to my shop. I decided that with my hands getting arthritic I'm not up to doing all hand work anymore; love the forging, hate the grinding.

Oh, there are a nbumber of my folders out there in daily carry situations.  My personal knife has held up better than the last 3 commercial pocket knives I had. (I'm a confessed knife abuser)

A good pattern welded blade will hold up just fine.  It won't improve performance, but if it's done right, it can perform just as well.

Here is the same blade after a week's work week's work on it.

howdy: 

Here's one of the four  I finished today...will post all four  under different header..

JPH

Eye candy alert!

Frosty The Lucky.

I recently made this as a submission for an art scholarship which didn't pan out. Feather pattern 1084/15N20 blade with brass, copper, sambar stag, and curly maple. This is also the knife that taught me to always put a pin through the tang.

Frosty, I'm sorry that we never met last summer when I was up in the Big Lakes area. I stayed with friends on Crooked Lake which inspired this knife, which I call "Crooked Lake." It is one of my humble offerings on my newly launched web page.

OR 

After seeing the blades posted here I'm embarrassed to show mine. But I would like some input, so here goes:

 

 

The pattern is evident, being 1095 and 10(low carbon =/<30) But The "Ol Lady" sez it just looks dirty. I agree. Mabe more layers? (only 12 here). Other than that I'm happy that it's smooth, and no flaking, of layers. (I assume good weld)  I would like to find some known 23xx to bring better contrast.

 

My latest blade has taken me about 3 years to make. It was/is a steep learning curve, starting with I'd like to know how to make knives. The photos aren't great, but here it is.

My latest. I rarely make blades but was asked to make a chopping blade. 

John: VERY nice work.  What do the ideograms say and how did you create them?  Is the box your work too?

"By hammer and hand all arts do stand."

Just finished this one up this evening.  Just need to oil the handle and finishing sealing it, and oil the blade.  Oddly enough this is my first hidden tang that wasnt a Wa style handled kitchen knife.

Mr. Philb86,

Beautiful knife,

What are the scales made of.

And what alloy of steel did you use.

SLAG.

Philb86, beautiful handle is it dyed; or spalted; or other?  My pareidolia seems to see lost souls in torment in the main section near the blade end!

Beautiful handle Phil. Nice all around.

XXXX. From a guy just getting started in BS with zero knives under his belt yet... that's beautiful. Handle's fantastic. Would love to see it again after the oiling. 

George: Yes, I made the box too. The characters are Japanese Kanji characters, also represented on the box upper right corner. Left to right on the box, the vertically aligned pairs meaning (if my research is correct) is Abundance, Serenity, Harmony, Health. Those pairs are on the blade guard and pins of the knife - visible are Health on the blade guard and Abundance in the two pins on the handle. The pin in the darker rosewood has my initials in it - JAM.

The pins I cast in brass from 3D print outs from models I made in a CAD program. They are essentially Corby bolts, each pin half having male or female threads.

In this photo you can see the latches and hinges I made for the box along with the rough castings of the pins.