- Joined
- Apr 24, 2013
- Messages
- 408
This is the second of the two blades I've worked on. The first had more problems, so this one turned out a little better. I still have a lot to learn. It's the same pattern as the first one, basically a modified mule team shape which was stretched out more at the blade. I used a 1x30 Harbor Freight sander with some "Home Delay" belts, drill press, some files & sand paper for my tools.
The basic dimensions are:
LOA 8.625"
Thickness 0.125"
Blade length 4.625"
Blade depth 1.35"
Grip 4" X 1.30" deep at the swell & .68" thick after finishing
BTE 0.035" (it's a fatty)
The hardware is stainless steel from Jantz, as is the D2 I started with. Again, I really enjoy D2 steel, not too exotic or expensive, but it's nice to work with & a bit hard to finish. Peter's did the heat treat for me & it's right about 60, according to their tests. Again, I left this blade too coarse prior to heat treat, so it took a long time to get it looking like this. Sharpened to 19 degrees per side with a fine diamond stone, so there's still a bit of tooth to it but it cuts well enough. Finish on the blade is just with 400 grit W/D paper & you can still see the surface from the mill rollers at the scales.
The scales are 1/4" purple heart with .063" black phenolic spacers at the tang. Slow set epoxy was used to laminate/glue the grips, fasteners & 1/4" lanyard tube in place. Finish on the wood is now at 800 grit with Danish oil, but it needs a bit more oil now that the pores are filled & it's smoothed & rounded enough. It's a very comfortable grip for me. I'll put some more oil on and leave it in the truck to bake again tomorrow, now that spring is here (94 degrees out today).
Thanks for looking. Comments are appreciated.
P.S. Next in line is a 5160 chopper, but I'm still working on a design for that one. This stuff really is fun & addicting!
The basic dimensions are:
LOA 8.625"
Thickness 0.125"
Blade length 4.625"
Blade depth 1.35"
Grip 4" X 1.30" deep at the swell & .68" thick after finishing
BTE 0.035" (it's a fatty)
The hardware is stainless steel from Jantz, as is the D2 I started with. Again, I really enjoy D2 steel, not too exotic or expensive, but it's nice to work with & a bit hard to finish. Peter's did the heat treat for me & it's right about 60, according to their tests. Again, I left this blade too coarse prior to heat treat, so it took a long time to get it looking like this. Sharpened to 19 degrees per side with a fine diamond stone, so there's still a bit of tooth to it but it cuts well enough. Finish on the blade is just with 400 grit W/D paper & you can still see the surface from the mill rollers at the scales.
The scales are 1/4" purple heart with .063" black phenolic spacers at the tang. Slow set epoxy was used to laminate/glue the grips, fasteners & 1/4" lanyard tube in place. Finish on the wood is now at 800 grit with Danish oil, but it needs a bit more oil now that the pores are filled & it's smoothed & rounded enough. It's a very comfortable grip for me. I'll put some more oil on and leave it in the truck to bake again tomorrow, now that spring is here (94 degrees out today).
Thanks for looking. Comments are appreciated.
P.S. Next in line is a 5160 chopper, but I'm still working on a design for that one. This stuff really is fun & addicting!
