Chopper in 80CRV2 and Mesquite

John Cahoon

John Cahoon

JWC Custom Knives
Knifemaker / Craftsman / Service Provider
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Apr 13, 2017
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Greetings all! Here’s a new medium sized chopper for your consideration, easier than a real behemoth to carry but it’ll get the job done.
Steel is .195” x 1 1/2” in 80CRV2 with professional HT at 60/61. Hand sanded to 600 grit for a satin finish. The robust edge was a tad under .15” before sharpening, cuts phone book paper just fine and it balances at the ricasso.

Dimensions: 9 7/16” OAL, Tip to Scales 5 5/16”

A beautiful Mesquite handle is sculpted to the coke bottle shape. It’s finished to 1200 grit and secured with copper pins and lanyards. The wood is heavily oiled with danish and hand rubbed with carnauba wax. The handle feels great in my average sized hand with room to spare.

I haven’t done my Egyptian Lion carving on the sheath in quite a while either.
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Only $160 to your US door, and of course your satisfaction is my only priority. Thanks so much for looking and please feel free to ask anything here or via PM.
 
Hi Craig, yes there's a back story. A couple of years ago I saw some tree trimmers thinning out a large mesquite in Phoenix AZ and grabbed a bunch. I got a bunch of Olive too! This is from a 3-4" limb so my guess is the thinner pieces are lighter than the usual reddish. There's a wide variety of mesquites too and I don't know if some are lighter or not. I have pieces from larger 5+" logs and they might be slightly darker but still light. I've used other mesquite that's much darker.

When I tested with my moisture meter it didn't register so less than 5% ( I check against other pieces to make sure it was working properly). Funny that guys in the knifemakers forums said to dry it for years but they don't live in the lower Sonoran Desert where ambient humidity is routinely 5-7% for 9 months! It's pretty hard though I can barely indent with my fingernail the same as other mesquite. I do love blond woods though!
 
as one who grew up in Texas mesquite country, I will vouch for its being hard. I would love to chop something with that very neat chopper. Bet it is wonderful in hand.
 
Hi Grady, thanks for that, it is very comfortable in my hand. I've been swinging it a lot (just foolin' about though, not hitten' anything. Don't want to scratch up the merchandise!)
 
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