Aviator

[jdm61]

I did a number of the aviator/pilot survival type blades early on, but I did not realize how long it had been since I made one. Maybe like 7 years!!!!! My previous ones have been kind of a combo of Moran and Randall like the little brown one pictured. The old one is from like 2008 and mae from W2 with a 400 grit hand rubbed finish. It has a straighter blade like a Randall. This new one is a bit more Moran. It has the upswept "Southwestern" style blade. What is new for me is the forge finish on the flats. This one is just screw together to see how it fits up. The only parts that are glued are the guard and spacer, which were put on with JB Weld. The blade is 5.5 inches long and is .22 thick CruForgeV. The fittings are 416 and the handle is African blackwood. It has a cork belt finish and was ground on a 36 inch Nathan platen. It will be residing in a black Randall type sheath smilier to the one in he picture that I got from Steve Shepard years ago. Both of these knives have the more forward shifted and sleeker Randall style "Coke bottle " handle. The Moran that I had for a while and others that I saw tended to have the palm swell right in the middle of the handle and were pretty tall.

 

[john april]

very nice model ! and that sheath looks pretty sweet too.

 

[DevinT]

Good job. Nice knife.

Hoss

 

[jdm61]

i have a straight blade 7 inch fighter in 300 layer random pattern 1084/15N20 damascus on the bench. Not sure whether to go with the blackwood or ebony coke bottle handle or a stag carver on that one. It goes into a black sheath like the little one. I have another piece of steel that may end up as a larger version of this type of knife or maybe as a slender Randall 15/16. The brown sheath I have for that one is one just like the one in the picture and will handle a 6 1/4 by maybe 1 3/8 wide blade. This one and the 7 incher are 1 1/4 wide. That mid size knife might get a morticed Randall ""Border Patrol" style handle in some kind of rosewood.

 

[Josh Rider]

Those look great!

 

[jdm61]

Thanks, guys. As you may have noticed, the Nathan platen also makes it much easier to get ready good clips/swedges. Done on the same 36 incher as the bevels.

 

[Stacy E. Apelt - Bladesmith]

I like the earlier version better. The ricasso is a tad long for my taste, but it is well executed. The Moran style looks "off" to me, probably because of the unfinished part butting against a mirror polish.

 

[jdm61]

If you think that ricasso is long, take a look at the original Moran. Look at some of the Randalls too for that matter. They tend to be "long in the choil. LIke I said, this is only like the third knife that have done with the forged finish, all done in the last couple of months. I am kind of agnostic on it at this point, but at least it is not a "fauxged" finish. Did I just make up a new non-word?

I like the earlier version better. The ricasso is a tad long for my taste, but it is well executed. The Moran style looks "off" to me, probably because of the unfinished part butting against a mirror polish.

 

[jdm61]

Stacy, here is a picture of the knife that was a primary inspiration for these blades. I saw pictures of a knife like this in the Knives annual back in the early 90's. IIRC, Ken Warner had one like this before he had Bill make him the Rio Grande camp knife. That was long before I actually found this one on FleaBay back around 2005-2006. You will notice that I definitely toned down some of the proportions, etc. The somewhat exaggerated "Southwestern" shape of the old blades almost bordering on Bug Bunny/Daffy Duck carton scimitar proportions. Hassan CHOP!!!! Another difference is that I tend to use 3/8 or even 1/4 thick stainless stock for the buttcap as opposed to the 1/2 inch or so thick stock brass or aluminum that Moran and Randall used. Both the Randalls and this knife have an exposed nut holding the buttcap whereas this one has a countersunk 5/16 stainless corby that will be cur to length and ground flush. Other times, I hard solder the nut to the instead of the buttcap