Bigfattyt
Gold Member
- Joined
- Jun 23, 2007
- Messages
- 19,226
I typically give my dad a knife for the holidays. I've gifted him a S&M File and wire Grandad barlow, Gec #25 Barlow, Opinel and more than a few modern folders (Kershaw, Cold Steel, etc).
Earlier this year he was looking at a knife in a magazine and asked me what I thought of them. (It was a low end fixed knife made in a third world country out of mystery steel).
I decided I needed to make him a fixed blade knife this year.
I got a forge this summer. I forged one prior knife that did not quite seem like a good one to give him. My first forged knife, out of 1075 steel.
It was yakut inspired. Flat/fullered side, and then other convex grind. Without a guard. Kind of a specialized design, and minus the guard.
(Knife on the right...in this pic)
I figured I'd made him something a bit more "Western".
So for my second attempt I forged a bar of 5160 that was a cut off from another knife. It was too short to make a proper sized knife through stock removal. So I used it. 1/4" stock.
Forged to shape. Hidden tang. Hickory handle (broken pick handle, entirely whittled to shape. Very minimal hand sanding, and no shaping or finishing on the belt sander....except shaping the spacers to the handle shape, which was done first. I was out of belts, and more were not coming till Christmas!).
Left just a bit of forge marks. Intended on more.
The spacer is linnen micarta, a scrap from another knife scale. Several colored vulcanized spacers.
Front of the handle
Back of the handle.
6 inch blade just a touch shy of 5 inches on the handle.
Dad and I have 2xl hands.
I gave it to him Christmas Eve, with instructions to give it back to me after to make a sheath. And then to sharpen.
Did a full convex to zero edge. Hair jumping sharp.
One through hole on the bottom that goes through the square welt, and 6 on the back of the belt loop to use to tie off to a pack if he wants to.
The snap domes are a bit too close (consequence of doing the bottom snaps first....won't make that mistake again.
He was tickled pink.
Earlier this year he was looking at a knife in a magazine and asked me what I thought of them. (It was a low end fixed knife made in a third world country out of mystery steel).
I decided I needed to make him a fixed blade knife this year.
I got a forge this summer. I forged one prior knife that did not quite seem like a good one to give him. My first forged knife, out of 1075 steel.
It was yakut inspired. Flat/fullered side, and then other convex grind. Without a guard. Kind of a specialized design, and minus the guard.
(Knife on the right...in this pic)
I figured I'd made him something a bit more "Western".
So for my second attempt I forged a bar of 5160 that was a cut off from another knife. It was too short to make a proper sized knife through stock removal. So I used it. 1/4" stock.
Forged to shape. Hidden tang. Hickory handle (broken pick handle, entirely whittled to shape. Very minimal hand sanding, and no shaping or finishing on the belt sander....except shaping the spacers to the handle shape, which was done first. I was out of belts, and more were not coming till Christmas!).
Left just a bit of forge marks. Intended on more.
The spacer is linnen micarta, a scrap from another knife scale. Several colored vulcanized spacers.
Front of the handle
Back of the handle.
6 inch blade just a touch shy of 5 inches on the handle.
Dad and I have 2xl hands.
I gave it to him Christmas Eve, with instructions to give it back to me after to make a sheath. And then to sharpen.
Did a full convex to zero edge. Hair jumping sharp.
One through hole on the bottom that goes through the square welt, and 6 on the back of the belt loop to use to tie off to a pack if he wants to.
The snap domes are a bit too close (consequence of doing the bottom snaps first....won't make that mistake again.
He was tickled pink.
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Very awesome gift.
