5" Kwaiken with hamon and curly Honduran mahogany

Ha!
Dozier, send me an email and let's talk about it.

Thanks for all the kind words, gang. Means a lot to me!
 
Great looking blade Matt. :thumbup:

Have you ever considered painting the epoxy directly onto the wrap rather than soaking the whole thing?

I use West Systems 105 resin with the extra-slow set 209 hardener... and a pack of kids paint brushes. When I paint the epoxy onto the wrap, it soaks in like water (... well, not exactly like water... not like those fancy hipster waters anyway. Like a more substantial water... the kind as puts hair on your chest). I'll usually go over the wrap 2-3 times... by the time I work an application from one end of the handle to the other, it has soaked in enough to start again.

The extra-slow set gives time for the epoxy to soak/equalize throughout the cord before curing and helps minimize the glossiness on the surface of the wrap (blotting with a paper-towel after a few hours can also help tame this).
I can't imagine trying to clean the handle through the wrap after a full soak :eek:... but I suppose that it's a good way to ensure maximum impregnation.

Cooincidentally, if I ever start a metal band, it will be called Maximum ImpregNation (with the "N" purposefully capitalized)... so thanks for that. :thumbup:
 
Always glad to help out, Erin. :D

In fact, I kind of apply it the way you describe, but I'm not quite as careful, perhaps... No matter what I do, I get it on the wood. I use a resin comparable to West Systems stuff, but that I felt gave me better results. RJ Martin turned me on to it, and I haven't looked back.
 
wdtorque said:
I'll take it.
Dozier
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Hey Dozier - I was having email issues yesterday, but I PM'd you and sent an email through BF and still haven't heard back from you. Let me know if you're interested. Thanks!
 
Very cool little knife, love your work.

Very nice web site also!

Steve
----------
Member, W.F. Moran Jr. Museum & Foundation
ABS AP
 
Matthew, I love this knife more than you so I think you will have to sell it to me. Taking photos of hamon really does suck :)
Cheers Keith
 
Steve Nuckels said:
Very nice web site also.

Steve
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Thanks, Steve! I just added this knife to the front page yesterday, as it needed a little pepping up. In fact, I think the whole site needs an overhaul - most of the knives on it are years and years old. Always something I mean to start on, and never get around to...

That also reminds me to start a thread on what I've been making most of, lately. See if I can't get to that today. Stay tuned!

Thanks for all the comments, gang!
 
...so, I'm a dumbass.

This knife wasn't made with curly Honduran mahogany.


Yesterday, I was shuffling through my stash of fixin's, and noticed another pair of these scales I had cut from the parent block, sitting in the koa pile. A mistake, perhaps? Got mixed up? No. When I cut my blocks of mahogany up, they were ALL the same dimensions, and these scales weren't the same.

Then it dawned on me.

I had a block of REALLY light, coarse grained koa that I got ages ago from our own billf here on BF, and THAT'S what these were. Ha!

I should have known the moment I oiled the wood, as this stuff darkened considerably, and the mahogany I have stays quite light.

I've already spoken with Dozier, and he's okay with the mixup, but I guess this shows how important labeling is.

...it also shows I've got another set of scales of this stuff, and it is really gorgeous. Looks like everyone wins!
 
Matthew Gregory said:
...so, I'm a dumbass.
I've already spoken with Dozier, and he's okay with the mixup, but I guess this shows how important labeling is.

...it also shows I've got another set of scales of this stuff, and it is really gorgeous. Looks like everyone wins!
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You are not a dumbass, Matt....you, my friend are quite intelligent........but....

Yeah, labeling is important...be it steel, wood, or any other material.....if the buyer cannot trust you to know what you have, who can they trust?....and I think we all get the basic gist of how important this is....

As in the difference between W2 and O1 or A2 and 3v(for those that don't know, W=water hardening, O=Oil hardening and A=Air hardening, but it isn't QUITE that simple, LOL).....while the casual collector might not understand what this means, a serious user trying to find a like-minded maker to create a real cutter, slicer or hacker will NEED as much accuracy on the part of that maker in record keeping and attention to detail as possible.

Jumping off my soap box to disappear into the crowd.

Best Regards,

STeven Garsson
 
Agreed. Only thing I'll had, though, is that mixing up wood is an inconvenience. Mixing up steel is a catastrophe!!!


:)
 
Matthew Gregory said:
Agreed. Only thing I'll had, though, is that mixing up wood is an inconvenience. Mixing up steel is a catastrophe!!!
:)
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Hey Matt, we both agree that the steel is crucial for obvious reasons...

But, what if the collector is only into ironwood, or koa? Then....it's an inconvenience, but one that makes the buying experience fraught with unhappiness and unease....why even risk it?

I have said it before....the maker has control over the whole process....it's a matter of how anal retentive and attention oriented that they are that controls the whole experience.....

Some makers don't pay attention to steel OR handle materials....THEY want the experience to be organic and "chill".....other makers indicate even the source of handle pins or bolster material...personally, I prefer the detail oriented makers as both knife suppliers and friends....for that matter...

Paul Long can tell me what thickness the leather he ordered, who provided it and when he got it...

In this game....there are those at the top.....and everyone else.

Best Regards,

STeven Garsson
 
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