A JKM-1 Project with pictures

[eswartz]

Here is a project I worked on a couple of months ago. I just got up the courage to post the images.

I got this JKM in antler from a DOTD because I like antler handles and I thought this one had a longer handle than most. However, it still seemed too stubby or thick or something when I tried to use it.

It needed a choil. I have seen other JKM modified with a choil but none of them looked quite right to me.

I did not want to put the choil in the sharpened blade area, but there was no room to add a choil between the handle and the blade. I decided to cut into the handle and reshape that area. I have not seen this done before.

Another requirement was that I could not decimate any kami marks.


The JKM before:

Proposed choil location:

Choil cut, if I remember correctly, with a dremel grinder.

Polished handle (antler marrow filled with superglue)

Close up:

Another view:

I think it turned out well. It feels much better in the hand now and looks good to me.

 

[Kazeryu]

I'm no expert but it looks well done to me.

I think keeping the blade area and dodging the kami marks was a good idea. :thumbup:

 

[ALBPM]

Very nice job!!! Looks great!! :thumbup:

 

[Ad Astra]

That is a very cool mod, and a nice lookin' JKM, eswartz.

Nothing better ever gets invented if everyone thinks the same way...

Kumar would approve. I like it a lot.


Ad Astra

 

[Yvsa]

DAYUM!!!!:thumbup:
Eswartz that is some mighty fine work!!!! Very well done, very well done indeed!!!!
I commend you sir.:thumbup:
It's really, really, good when someone new comes along and thinks outside the box.

 

[sky masterson]

I like the change you made.

James K. Mattis is smiling down on us right now.James and Uncle Bill

will never be forgotten.They live on, in our hearts and memories.

Norm

 

[ferguson]

Well that's just too cool. Several folks have added a choil in front of the handle, but your's is the first I remember to be added including the handle. That's a very nice idea, and a good job. Thanks for posting the pics.:thumbup:

Steve

 

[jw556]

I think it actually looks better with choil added. :thumbup: Maybe not quite as traditional-looking, but a whole lot more functional, I'm sure. Little handles lacking hilt/subhilt/choil are a Bad Thing for people with big hands.

 

[Fiddleback]

Very pretty knife. I really like how you've modified it. The JKM is one of my favorite HI knives. I've got an antler handled one just like that. I'm not modifying it though. Maybe I'll have to buy another...

 

[ArchAngel]

Beautiful work! I really like the way you fashioned that choil into the handle blade junction. Much nicer job than the one I did. I like the smooth transition it makes. Great job!!

 

[DannyinJapan]

that looks great.
in fact, im going to order another one and do that same job to it.
nicely done, dude.

 

[gravertom]

Super nice!

Looks like it belongs there. The way it was looks right too.

Not too much, nor too little.

You nailed it!

Tom

 

[Sylvrfalcn]

Well thought out and well executed, very nice job. I'm glad to see the JKM's are again being made with maximum edge, minimum ricasso. For a while there were bunches being made with a ricasso so pronounced that you had nearly two finger breadths of blade before the edge even started. That explains the earlier tendency to incorporate a finger choil in the ricasso area and leave the handle pretty much "as is".

Top knife in pic is an old one by Sanu, bottom knife is a recent example by Kumar, the two middle knives have the long ricasso that seemed prevalent for a while.

Sarge

 

[Fiddleback]

I don't like that large ricasso. I'm glad you pointed that out Sarge. I plan to buy a few more JKM's. They are sweet blades. I'll watch out for that. Nice set though.:thumbup:

 

[Svashtar]

I'm scanning for old threads, and found this one I missed somehow. I second everyones comments Eric! That is some really nice work and a great idea. I have a couple with huge ricassos so naturally thought of dishing out the blade, but this looks a lot more elegant.

Great job! :thumbup: (A month late, but it's the thought that counts... )

Norm

 

[Fiddleback]

Did you ever make a nice dangler for it? The sheath on the one I received today is too small for the knife to fit all the way into. Not that I needed an excuse to make a sheath...

 

[DaddyDett]

DeLuxe! I really like the new shape.
It's visually pleasing, and looks ergonomical.
Mixing those two elements well is to cross into the world of art
DaddyDett

 

[Howard Wallace]

I love to see folks "perfecting" the knives for themselves!

 

[medbill]

I like it!!! Well done!

 

[eswartz]

I appreciate all the kind words. I do think/try to look at projects from a craftsman/artistic point of view, not just in knives but in everything I do. At some I am more successful than others. Mostly it comes down to time and how much I care. Do I have time to do this right, or do I have to settle for quick and dirty?

The quick and dirty procedure always seems to bite me. For example, I am selling my old house right now and all the "quick and dirty" fixes I did to it in the past, just to get something working or looking better, need to be redone now to get it sold.

In my new house, my father-in-law stepped through the ceiling drywall from the attic. Instead of fixing it myself, like I normally would have, I realized my drywalling limitations and hired a pro to fix it. I could get 90% there, but it would not look right in the end. The artistry part would take too much time (for me). (I plead the normal excuses...new baby, holidays, work, fixing old house, new house, etc.)

Eric.