Anybody into knives?

[PapaBear]

To add to my long list of hobbies, I have added some knife work. I thought I would share this, as most of you will appreciate the work and the result.

I found this old knife in my father in-laws stuff. It was really weird and beat up and the scales (handle) were broken. So I took the handles off, buffed the blade out and sharpened it. Not shown in this pic is that I also cut off the second bolster off of the handle. Seemed pointless and didn't feel good in my big hands. .





Then I decided to make some scales for it with some carbon fiber I bought on eBay that turned out to be pretty crappy. Proceeded and made some scales and pinned them on. Sanded to 600 dry, then 800 and 1200 wet.

Turned out pretty good I think....




So I bought a Kukri style blade blank off of eBay, a decent 440C stainless. It's 14" long and weighs a LOT. I paid $13 for it, lol already sharpened! Same process as the other one, except I used some THICK carbon I found on eBay that was WAY BETTER. Sanded same deal, and got some AWESOME results. So, the rescue of the original knife turned into something I'm really enjoying, and it's not very expensive......thoughts?

Yeah, the bench was dirty, lol.











So, I've been on eBay, scoring some cool blade styles for $5 or so a piece for 440C stainless blades, already sharpened, including shipping. And some pretty cool wood slabs on there as well for about $8 a pair. This could be fun.....




It's really rewarding. Found a couple of spots on the spine I need to step back to 120 on for a minute but I'm digging this wood though.

Hammer forged "otter skinner" with leopard wood scales and paracord lanyard.

Zebra wood skinner with stone-washed blade. The scales were bookmatched pieces of wood, so the grain is consistent across the blade for the most part. This one was given to my brother in law. Perfect for skinning with his "pointer finger on spine of blade" style.....








And a worm hole opened up on this one. Gonna see what's involved to fill it.


"Bengal tiger" G10 scales, on a 440C Stainless "Raptor" blade from premium knife supply. Feels pretty good in the hand. Really liking the G10 and the color options.....







Just finished these two as well. Kukri with Carbon fiber scales and mosaic pins (resemble a revolver cylinder). And another Raptor with Leopard wood.....

 

[Midnight Raver]

That is some mighty fine work you've done on those pieces! :ugeek:

 

[PapaBear]

Thanks man.

To date, I've sold the orange skinner, the hammer forged one with paracord lanyard, and I just sold the first kukri (sight unseen even).

 

[Bradley]

Awesome, who are you selling to, how'd you determine price point. I want to sell mine rather than just do them as gifts for friends but don't know where to start on price.

 

[rotarymike]

Pretty work, indeed.

I used to build knives when I was involved in the SCA - lots of folks at those events to be customers.

I'd normally get old mill files and grind, grind, grind until I had a good blade with the file marks still present. Did some stainless work with pre-made blades and used deer antler stubs to make the handles, with brass handguard/bolster. I've still got one somewhere I'll see if I can find it and get a pic.

Had friends that were more blacksmith than grinders and they'd heat and pound on railroad spikes to make some interesting blades.

Right before I quit (because I was joining the USAF and everything I owned went into storage) I got some inconel/monel jet turbine hot-section blades to try to turn those into knives. Monocrystaline structure, so really really strong, but I have no idea how to get the twist out. Think I still have one or two of those, plus some exotic wood scales somewhere.

 

[PapaBear]

Price was difficult.

Basically I took my costs (blade/scale material/a little for supplies) plus my time (hard to estimate) and went from there.

The orange skinner I had $24 into. I sold to a good friend for $60. The skinner with lanyard I had $15 into. Sold for $40 to another friend. The kukri with CF scales I sold on a outdoor/hunting swap page on FB for $100 sight unseen. Same thing, $50 in materials and a lot of time.

The problem is, like most of my hobbies, it's not about the money.

This time, I had just quit smoking, and needed something to keep me busy. It does that for sure.

 

[Gamecock24]

Very in deed PapaBear. I've been want to make some new scales for a Kershaw knife I just bought because I don't like the way the G10 scales that came on it feel. But I may have to go a step further and make additional scales for fixed like you did. There are some pretty nice blades on eBay.

What material did you find easier to work with?

 

[PapaBear]

They all work about the same. 80/120/220/320/400 grits and done, all with relatively the same amount of "work" required to get the end result.

Wood is of course cleaner and less invasive to work, just because of the dust. Carbon fiber and G10 (G10 is a composite too) make some horrible, stinky, nasty dust. Even with a dustmask and shop-vac hooked to my belt sander, black boogers are present even after only 10 minutes of work. That, and the fibers will make you itch just like fiberglass insulation.

I resorted to a very large shop fan blowing out of my garage, with a dustmask, and a t-shirt covering my face for added protection. Also, to prevent the itching, I've been wearing gloves and some Tyvek sleeves on my arms. I work in a manufacturing environment where CF is present, and I have worked with the people responsible for monitoring safe concentration levels of it in the air, so I know what it will do to your lungs.

Think of asbestos. Same problems can be caused from CF fibers and fiberglass and the like. So if you're going to work with CF or G10, please use some protection.

 

[Gamecock24]

I ordered a black stone washes "Lone Survivor" blade. For the scales I'm going to look for iron wood, snake wood or some kind of ebony. I'm going to wait until the blade comes and I can see how it looks. If it's a dark jet black then I'll go iron/snake wood which ever I can find. If it's more washed out or gray looking then the ebony wood.

It's amazing the blades you can find in there like some nice Damascus.

 

[PapaBear]

I ordered a black stone washes "Lone Survivor" blade. For the scales I'm going to look for iron wood, snake wood or some kind of ebony. I'm going to wait until the blade comes and I can see how it looks. If it's a dark jet black then I'll go iron/snake wood which ever I can find. If it's more washed out or gray looking then the ebony wood.

It's amazing the blades you can find in there like some nice Damascus.

Just looked up the lone survivor blank. That's nice! Might have to grab 1 or 2 for myself, would look awesome with the carbon fiber......or some black/grey G10.

 

[Gamecock24]

If I was going to go with G10 I would do a laminated OD green with black or tri color multicam. I looked at a bunch of G10 when I was thinking of new scales for my Kershaw Damascus.

 

[Gamecock24]

I should have my Lone Survivor blade by Monday, I also placed bids on wood blank scales in Madagascar Ebony and 2 set of AZ desert ironwood. So I have a few more knives in my future. Thanks for turning me onto a new obsession PapaBear.

 

[rotarymike]

Wait until you get caught out by your wife using that newly built "firepit" in the back yard to make damascus... lol

 

[Tigerstripe]

want a video of a guy making knife steel with those beautiful patterns on them?

he heats folds, cuts welds streaches, heats folds ..... comes out looking great but from the beginning you wouldnt know what the heck he is doing.

http://youtu.be/5abi7UzKcq8 3 minutes.

he says they are for sale. go back or look at his channel to watch him make them. machine goes BAM, BAM, BAM.

it seems like he said he was in NC.

 

[PapaBear]

Damascus is gorgeous, and can turn a $40 knife into a $100 knife just from the look. But the blanks are expensive, so the initial investment for me has been a turnoff. Just knowing that a slip on the belt grinder could ruin a $50 blank is scary to me, lol. I cover the blades in layers of electrical tape prior to any work, but the danger is there.

Glad I could help you, lol. It's a blast to do, and really rewarding.

 

[PapaBear]

Last night's project.......

I got this old meat cleaver from a friend who was going to sell it at the flea market. I paid $20 for it and am super glad I did. I can't find much info online about the maker, but it's OLD for sure.



It's stamped "Royal Brand Cutlery CO, USA" and is 3/16" thick, and HEAVY. The tang was not finished, with burrs along the edges, and the center sections rough and not finished. I wanted to retain some of the "character" of the blade, so I didn't get too aggressive with the sanding, but I took all the rust away.

I started with 46 grit, worked to 80, then 100/150/220/400/500. These 2 pictures are at 500 grit. Notice the "pitting" in the second pic. This is the stuff I wanted to "preserve" in the final product for history's sake:





After 1200 grit:




And after 2000:






Tonight I will polish the blade and finish the edge on it. When I got it, you couldn't cut butter with the thing, so I put a preliminary edge on it last night, and will hone it tonight after polishing the blade.

I have decided on Gabon Ebony scales, SUPER SUPER dark wood, should be nice when it's completed......

 

[Gamecock24]

Man that's looking good nice and shiny. I think the Gabon ebony will be a perfect fit with it.

 

[PapaBear]

I'm really happy that I was able to bring back the shine, yet keep the dents and dings and pitts and stuff that show its age.

I would imagine, when it's all said and done, I could ask a nice pretty penny for this thing......

 

[Gamecock24]

I ordered two more blades today. One hammer forged and one Damascus blade.

 

[Gamecock24]

PapaBear I got some wood scales in today iron wood and ebony. I really like both the ebony is amazingly dense and hard as well as the ironwood they should make for some good knives.