Matthew Gregory
Chief Executive in charge of Entertainment
- Joined
- Jan 12, 2005
- Messages
- 6,531
There were so many noteworthy experiences with the making of this knife that I've been wrestling with selling it for months. The blade is 11" long, with an overall length of 16-1/4", of 1095 which was heat treated using an unusual method of clay-less hamon creation. The guard is mild steel, with a domed stainless steel pin through the handle. The thickest point of the spine is @ 1/4".
The blade leans just a pinch towards tip heavy, as I feel a big blade like this ought to be, balancing about an inch in front of the guard. I struggled with etching and polishing this blade, never achieving the 'look' I was aiming for, until I completely scrubbed the oxides off. Suddenly, with the blade bare, it appeared right to me. I'm not sure how else to explain it, but it's as if having the hamon so obvious detracted from the overall design. As you can tell from the next few images, though, it's there - when you're holding it just right. That's why I called it stealth hamon, as to the casual observer it's a featureless blade.
The wood handle is Tamboti, and African sandalwood. The figure is subtle, and a great match for the steel. One of the great features of this oily wood is the scent it imparts on your hand when you wield the knife - I wanted to roll around in the dust when I was shaping it!
Included in the price is a scabbard style sheath of simple tooled leather, dyed a deep reddish brown with black edge and back, and a Sam Brown stud. I find that when carrying big blades like this, being able to stick the sheath under my belt and letting the stud ride on the top of the belt allows me to swing the handle out of the way.
This one has been an interesting experience for me... it's the first 'ricasso-less' design I've ever done, and it posed a variety of interesting challenges. My original thought was to allow for more canvas to paint my hamon on (which I got), but what I didn't foresee was the difficulties that not having that demarcation presented. It took a lot of scheming, screaming, and sweating to work past it - and the help of some outside genius -but I think it turned out pretty well.
Just listed this for sale in the "For Sale by Individual" section, if you feel you need it more than I do.
Thanks for looking, gang!
The blade leans just a pinch towards tip heavy, as I feel a big blade like this ought to be, balancing about an inch in front of the guard. I struggled with etching and polishing this blade, never achieving the 'look' I was aiming for, until I completely scrubbed the oxides off. Suddenly, with the blade bare, it appeared right to me. I'm not sure how else to explain it, but it's as if having the hamon so obvious detracted from the overall design. As you can tell from the next few images, though, it's there - when you're holding it just right. That's why I called it stealth hamon, as to the casual observer it's a featureless blade.
The wood handle is Tamboti, and African sandalwood. The figure is subtle, and a great match for the steel. One of the great features of this oily wood is the scent it imparts on your hand when you wield the knife - I wanted to roll around in the dust when I was shaping it!
Included in the price is a scabbard style sheath of simple tooled leather, dyed a deep reddish brown with black edge and back, and a Sam Brown stud. I find that when carrying big blades like this, being able to stick the sheath under my belt and letting the stud ride on the top of the belt allows me to swing the handle out of the way.
This one has been an interesting experience for me... it's the first 'ricasso-less' design I've ever done, and it posed a variety of interesting challenges. My original thought was to allow for more canvas to paint my hamon on (which I got), but what I didn't foresee was the difficulties that not having that demarcation presented. It took a lot of scheming, screaming, and sweating to work past it - and the help of some outside genius -but I think it turned out pretty well.
Just listed this for sale in the "For Sale by Individual" section, if you feel you need it more than I do.
Thanks for looking, gang!
