- Joined
- Feb 28, 2009
- Messages
- 1,050
Late last week, I missed a call from Mastersmith Bruce Bump. Long story short, he left me a voicemail saying that he had me down in his book for a slip joint with an ETA of April 2011. Turns out he had one ready that a collector had passed on in favor of another blade steel. My fingers were shaking as I emailed him back to get some pictures and specifications. Here was Bruce's response:
"...its 3 5/8" closed with a 2 15/16" blade from bolster to tip.
Sandvik Stainless blade and spring 19c27 and cryo'ed,
blade is 60-61rc spring 46,
14" hollow grind, centers perfectly,
liners are .040" 410 stainless,
bolsters are 410 ss and all pins are 416 ss,
scales are tapered, my own elk slabs amber dyed by Culpepper and Co.
.010" black fibre liners
bullock shield
easy pull ramp tang
flush at all stops with half stop.
I think its one of my best yet. Its the 27th slipjoint I've made so far."
I believe Bruce named this one Blue Mountain Trapper. Here are Bruce's pics. I hope to add some of my own here shortly.
This is a very special knife for me. It wasn't too long ago that my interest in knives wasn't very broad. I liked a certain type of bushcrafty fixed blade and not much else. Then I stumbled upon some of Bruce's work and it opened my eyes to the beauty of the forged blade, intricate damascus patterns and, most importantly, the traditional slip joint folder. My appetite for the higher end customs was whetted.
It was through Bruce's work and his incredible WIPs that I developed a desire to get into forging as well as try my hand at making slip joints. In honor of that, I asked Bruce to put me on his list for a slip joint. Altogether, the wait didn't seem that long and I'm glad I had the scratch put back to beckon this one home.
It will take some time for me to ease this beauty into my pocket, but I could easily see it becoming my EDC. I might have to buy a pocket slip so it isn't tarnished by whatever else works its way into my pocket. If there is a particular pocket slip you'd recommend, I'm all ears.
"...its 3 5/8" closed with a 2 15/16" blade from bolster to tip.
Sandvik Stainless blade and spring 19c27 and cryo'ed,
blade is 60-61rc spring 46,
14" hollow grind, centers perfectly,
liners are .040" 410 stainless,
bolsters are 410 ss and all pins are 416 ss,
scales are tapered, my own elk slabs amber dyed by Culpepper and Co.
.010" black fibre liners
bullock shield
easy pull ramp tang
flush at all stops with half stop.
I think its one of my best yet. Its the 27th slipjoint I've made so far."
I believe Bruce named this one Blue Mountain Trapper. Here are Bruce's pics. I hope to add some of my own here shortly.
This is a very special knife for me. It wasn't too long ago that my interest in knives wasn't very broad. I liked a certain type of bushcrafty fixed blade and not much else. Then I stumbled upon some of Bruce's work and it opened my eyes to the beauty of the forged blade, intricate damascus patterns and, most importantly, the traditional slip joint folder. My appetite for the higher end customs was whetted.
It was through Bruce's work and his incredible WIPs that I developed a desire to get into forging as well as try my hand at making slip joints. In honor of that, I asked Bruce to put me on his list for a slip joint. Altogether, the wait didn't seem that long and I'm glad I had the scratch put back to beckon this one home.
It will take some time for me to ease this beauty into my pocket, but I could easily see it becoming my EDC. I might have to buy a pocket slip so it isn't tarnished by whatever else works its way into my pocket. If there is a particular pocket slip you'd recommend, I'm all ears.
