Chopper - WIP + a folder. UPDATE CHOPPER FINISHED!

Tiiiiiiiim

Tiiiiiiiim

Joined
Jun 11, 2010
Messages
952
Hi all,

I thought I'd like to have a go at making a chopper but being new to knife making (only completed 3 so far) I'm unsure on how thick etc. something as long as a big chopper should be. I really liked Mike Deibert's submission for KITH last year so that's where i drew my inspiration from.

showerchristmaskithknif.jpg


The biggest piece of steel i could get a hold of was a 50x7mm piece of RWL - 34. As drawn my chopper is 420mm (16.5") long. Is the steel going to be alright?

Sorry for the poor picture. I can try get a better one if needed.

53308957.jpg


Thanks in advance,
Tim.
 
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VERY good source of inspiration. While I don't know Mike personally, I know he's close with Jason Knight and Burt Foster and has learned a lot from them. If I was going to go to a smith and order a knife for chopping down a forest, the first three that really pop into my mind are Jason Knight, Adam DeRosiers, and Burt Foster.

I suggest you look into their work for ideas and inspiration.

I know Jason and Adam have made some insanely, beastly knives that are somewhere around 3/8" thick at the guard and taper to the tip.

I've spent more of my focus on fighters/bowies, and I like them to be light and fast...which means thin with lots of taper... but they'd take a lot longer to hack through a treated 6X6 than the types of choppers those guys build! So they're better versed in this than I am... but considering the serious choppers I have built.... I'd say go thick on the spine (at least 0.250") down to a thin edge, and put some of the weight forward. :)


EDITED to add- Look at the overall curve that Mike's knife makes. That's not only graceful, it helps with the balance of the knife. Now this is only meant as constructive criticism, but your drawing is a big straight line. I think you would GREATLY improve it with some more curves. :)
 
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very ambitious tim!
what are you grinding on? 7mm should be a decent challenge for just about anything.
definitely taper and drill the tang as much as possible
 
NickWheeler said:
VERY good source of inspiration. While I don't know Mike personally, I know he's close with Jason Knight and Burt Foster and has learned a lot from them. If I was going to go to a smith and order a knife for chopping down a forest, the first three that really pop into my mind are Jason Knight, Adam DeRosiers, and Burt Foster.

I suggest you look into their work for ideas and inspiration.

I know Jason and Adam have made some insanely beasts of knives that are somewhere around 3/8" thick at the guard and taper to the tip.

I've spent more of my focus on fighters/bowies, and I like them to be light and fast...which means thin with lots of taper... but they'd take a lot longer to hack through a treated 6X6 than the types of choppers those guys build! So they're better versed in this than I am... but considering the serious choppers I have built.... I'd say go thick on the spine (at least 0.250") down to a thin edge, and put some of the weight forward. :)


EDITED to add- Look at the overall curve that Mike's knife makes. That's not only graceful, it helps with the balance of the knife. Now this is only meant as constructive criticism, but your drawing is a big straight line. I think you would GREATLY improve it with some more curves. :)
Click to expand...

Thanks nick. I'll look into those guys. Mine does swoop down a bit. But I only have 50mm to play with in width. I was trying to keep weight towards the front.

FTO_dude said:
very ambitious tim!
what are you grinding on? 7mm should be a decent challenge for just about anything.
definitely taper and drill the tang as much as possible
Click to expand...

Thanks fto. I'm grinding on 150mm belt sander.
 
I cut the design out of some ply exactly as i had drawn it (top) but i thought the belly would be more useful if it was less zombie chopper. So i cut another one with a smoother transition from curve to re-curve and it all feels pretty good.

66916098.jpg


The angle grinder is going to have fun cutting through this 7mm.
 
I like the changes you've made, it looks a lot more user friendly. I'm excited to see where you go with this, all of your other WIPs have turned out top-notch!
 
doubly impressive knowing they're all done on a 150mm sander.

i agree with nick. it's a bit wrong seeing that big flowing recurve and then such a simple handle. i'd add more curves, specifically in the handle and definately in the guard.
 
Subscribed :). Tim, those knives are impressive...almost exactly the same shape, but the smoother lines of the bottom one should make it a beautiful knife.

I'm excited to see how they turn out :thumbup:.
 
I have to say that is one sweet looking knife. Love both variations, but I agree the lower one would be more user friendly (though that zombie chopper is sweet lol). Good luck with the knife, let me know if you start selling them lol.
 
Thanks for the kind words everyone.

Fto - I'll have to think about reworking the handle area.

Seionage - I hope I can live up to your current wip. Very well documented.

Tinbasher - I expect so. No one seems to be able to recommend a HT in QLD. They did a good job on my first knives.

Goodnight,
Tim.
 
Tim --

Try to take a pic every 15min or when you move the knife to a different position. No one says you have to use all of them

--Dave
 
Well! I got a start on it today. I re worked the handle area a bit. I added some palm swell and a sweep at the butt so it's less likely to go fly out of my hand.

Then i traced the pattern onto my steel -
77253826.jpg
29070070.jpg



I then proceeded to rough it out with the angle grinder -
55069579.jpg
87131540.jpg
42808928.jpg



Swapped to grinding disk and cleaned up a bit more -
93499565.jpg



I then moved over to the belt sander and cleaned up the profile as much as i could with the 60# belt (or was it 40#?).
95711144.jpg


That's all for tonight, off to church. I'm back to work tomorrow is progress may be a little slow. but stay tuned.

Tim.
 
Looking good Tim:thumbup: I'm liking the lines of the new design. Can't wait to see some bevels on this one!

Jonny
 
These are turning out SWEET! How long did it take you to rough it out on the angle grinder?
 
Tiiiiiiiim said:
Well! I got a start on it today. I re worked the handle area a bit. I added some palm swell and a sweep at the butt so it's less likely to go fly out of my hand.

Then i traced the pattern onto my steel -
77253826.jpg
29070070.jpg



I then proceeded to rough it out with the angle grinder -
55069579.jpg
87131540.jpg
42808928.jpg



Swapped to grinding disk and cleaned up a bit more -
93499565.jpg



I then moved over to the belt sander and cleaned up the profile as much as i could with the 60# belt (or was it 40#?).
95711144.jpg


That's all for tonight, off to church. I'm back to work tomorrow is progress may be a little slow. but stay tuned.

Tim.
Click to expand...

looking great !:thumbup:



But,dude....flip flops, in the shop???:eek::eek:
 
I can't knock him on the flip flops, I have been moving around in my socks while in my little shop that last few days:o Mind you they are heavy wool socks for the Canadian winters, still I really need to get a pair of shoes for in there soon. Luckily all I have been doing in there is setting up and a little drilling.

I am impressed with how well you were able to profile the blade with an angle grinder. I personally would have dropped the tip a bit to get some of that curve that Nick was talking about, still an impressive looking knife though:thumbup:
 
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