A pair of Tantos in Damascus Steel and Dinosaur Bone

[Daniel Fairly Knives]

Here's some information on this pair of tantos I recently completed.


Damascus Steel - 416 layers of 52100 based Damascus. This material is my favorite pattern, raindrop.

Dinosaur Bone - Fossilized Dinosaur Bone from my local area. This bone has turned to Jasper so it is tough material and 100% natural. (didn't need stabilization) I picked the rough from my 100 pound personal stash of dino bone.

The dots you see in the stone are individual cells, most of them are red and grey... two tone! I always look for a distinct cell pattern when I select dinosaur bone as it is my favorite look.

I cut and polished the stone myself. I cut the slab, selected the sections I wanted then polished it over 8 stages to 50,000 grit on my all diamond lapidary setup. It is fun to cut some stone on occasion, that was my profession in the past.

Cord Wrap - rock solid and West System epoxy soaked Tsuka-Maki style wrap.

 

[Daniel Fairly Knives]

 

[SBranson]

Though I'm not a fan of the chisel grind, this is very nice work. The only suggestion would be to get some 6mm ito for the wrap. The smaller size would be easier to control these small handles.

Love to colour combos and the dinosaur bone really adds interest. 50,000x eh? man that's some fine finish.

 

[RyanW]

I really like that Daniel. do you have any close up photos of the dinosaur bone? Would love to see the detail.

 

[cole.manns]

Thats a beutiful knife, do you sell your work?

 

[saganco]

Beautiful job on the dino bone! I've been cutting rock for years, but never polish it - just cut it for those who are more talented with making things from it than I am. How thick do you generally cut your rock for handle work?
Sharon

 

[jwaj]

Beautiful work on those Daniel. That is some of the nicest looking damascus I've seen.

 

[Shaw Blades]

Cool. Who did the damascus?

 

[Daniel Fairly Knives]

Though I'm not a fan of the chisel grind, this is very nice work. The only suggestion would be to get some 6mm ito for the wrap. The smaller size would be easier to control these small handles.

Love to colour combos and the dinosaur bone really adds interest. 50,000x eh? man that's some fine finish.

Thanks very much for the kind words and input. A smaller ito does sound like a great idea, I will have to try that on these slimmer knives.

The dinosaur bone is wet ground from 80-3000 grit and polished with 14,000 and 50,000 diamond paste. With dino bone you have to get a really nice initial finish, it likes to undercut in the final stages if you are not careful.

I really like that Daniel. do you have any close up photos of the dinosaur bone? Would love to see the detail.

Thanks Ryan, I really appreciate that.

I tried a bunch for close ups but I am having a hard time dealing with glare even with diffused lighting. Any tips? Your photos are always top notch.

Thats a beutiful knife, do you sell your work?

Thanks! I am a full time knifemaker, here is a link to my subforum here on Bladeforums. http://www.bladeforums.com/forums/forumdisplay.php/873-Daniel-Fairly-Knives

Beautiful work on those Daniel. That is some of the nicest looking damascus I've seen.

Thanks! I am a big fan of this material as well, I did not like Damascus very much until I saw this in hand. Now I like it all!

Cool. Who did the damascus?

It is from Brad Vice at Alabama Damascus, I am very happy with the product.

I take my Damascus to a high polish before the etch, I feel it gives a better contrast.

 

[Lycosa]

These are so nice.
I like the fat-wrap yo.