CODY OEBEL .. update.. going full time knife maker soon!

C

CodyOebel

Joined
Dec 14, 2010
Messages
85
It's been a while for me to post on any knife forum as I have been busy with IRS tax returns, back hoe, property acreage clearing, and preparing to build a pier beam foundation for a home to sustain me, my wife, and 5 kids. So my knife making took a hault, but not for long.

I developed my own website mean while, and will work on it as I get time. This is my next step into the knife making business. So as of now.
WWW.OEBELKNIVES.COM is live, and on line.

I am considering to start etching\hot stamping my knife blades with OEBEL instead of my usual CO. I like the german sound of my last name, and this will put emphasis that my blades are crafted behind a german decendant!


My first project coming back into knife making is a barber's straight razor. I just cant get this little straight razor with exotic axis antler handle\scales out of my head. I'm going to video it, and try to sell it on barber forums, and through my other advertising means.

I have also been working my butt off on getting more 5160. Here's some photo's and video's of leaf springs I pulled from the same truck I used leaf springs from for all my past knives within the last 5 months.

Enjoy!
[youtube]uoTLIdsCCU4[/youtube]

LeafSprings1.jpg

LeafSprings2.jpg


[youtube]EBEwrUu8lOE[/youtube]



I hope to be starting another fully documented video project within two weeks. I will make the website look better as I squeeze in time to code\program the site. I'm not going to invest to much time into making it fancy. Plus I want my website to be very easy to navigate. Simple as Knives I made before, and knives for sale. Simple simple!

Make sure to get a napkin for all the drool on your lips looking at all my collected 5160 steel ;)

I'm going to flip over another old truck today with the back hoe, and take it's 5160 leaf springs as well.
I have made knives from both trucks leaf springs. So what you see in the picture right now. Is but 1\4th the amount of truck springs I am going to be pulling as I have 4 old trucks to take them from before I sell them for metal salvage.


MMMMMMMMmmmmmMMMmmm sexy leaf springs they are :) just like a lady.. Gonna warm them up gettem hot, and make them bend and twist and shape the way I want them too.
 
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I just pulled leaf springs from the second truck. What you see in the pictures above now is nothing compared to how much I got :). I figured while I have this backhoe for rental I might as well get as much leaf springs as I can with these old trucks.


ALSO... just a side note. I tried to rip them leaf springs off with the back hoe just to see if I could as the truck I flipped over is 40+years old. I have allot of respect for leaf springs after hitting them with tons of hydrolic power. I tried to bend them, smash them, rip them off the hinges, and every time they returned to their normal shape. Simply amazing steel!

I got a whole lot more respect for this steel after what I just put it through with a backhoe, and lots of determination. I hoped it was going to rip right off of that truck but it did not. So as always I resorted to some wrenches WD40, and lots of bust arse and determination to get more. Now I'm set for probably at least minimum a years worth of knife steel!
 
Cody,....Man, you are going to have to start shaving the hair on your head:D...

..I just watched all your videos in the "soft" steel thread... like your wife said... " you are running out of hair to shave"

nice working blades you are making there with your back yard blade making equipment.. and that is not a slam...I am impressed with your work with what you have...

Keep it up..looking forward to seeing more of your stuff as you start cranking out the blades...
 
watch the warpage in your knives with those springs. Sometimes the blade wants to retain the curvature from the original spring for some reason.
 
Hey Cody !!!

great stuff as always my friend..keep it up!! always look forward to seeing what ur up to...

Gene/Wilkesboro, NC
 
Cody,

Welcome to the world of knifemaking. There's a ton of things to learn, woodworking, leatherworking, and of course, the complex and fascinating world of heat treating, grinding, and finishing. Even guys who are masters never stop learning. Don't forget, all the makers over in the makers forum are very generious in answering questions, it's where I learned, and continue to learn.

I enjoyed your last posting, I thought you were a breath of fresh air. Go Man! Enjoy and good luck.

Dave
 
ScottRoush said:
watch the warpage in your knives with those springs. Sometimes the blade wants to retain the curvature from the original spring for some reason.
Click to expand...

I noticed this with the very long knife I cut the 2x4 in half three times with.
I did not video how many times I hardened and tempered that knife.

I hardened and tempered it for practically 4 days obsessing on slight warpage until finally the frustration over came my obsession to perfection.

I wanted 800$ for that knife, and because of slight warpage I could not forge out I let it go for 300$ to a Military officer who didnt care and absolutely wanted it anyways!
 
David Stifle said:
Cody,

Welcome to the world of knifemaking. There's a ton of things to learn, woodworking, leatherworking, and of course, the complex and fascinating world of heat treating, grinding, and finishing. Even guys who are masters never stop learning. Don't forget, all the makers over in the makers forum are very generious in answering questions, it's where I learned, and continue to learn.

I enjoyed your last posting, I thought you were a breath of fresh air. Go Man! Enjoy and good luck.

Dave
Click to expand...

Thank you sir.

It's really a combat inside my head of pride.
I know if I give in and use some belt sanders and a dremel, and some tools I could make far nicer looking knives. At the same time I feel as my audience who watches my videos forge would judge me if I did so. In my own head I think I am cheating if I resort to these tools. I tend to make family members knives using these tools because I can crank them out faster and easier and not spend as much time hand making them. However for a knife I make to be sold to a customer I feel like I am cheating myself If I do this.

It's a battle only time will tell, but for now my pride and love for forging and doing things by hand is winning the war. I do not however feel guilty if I have to cut a peice of 5160 spring with a circular saw and metal cutting blade for ONE REASON!

I would hot cut all my steel as you all know I'm obsessive on not using tools, but I tried hot cutting a leaf spring off camera by myself, and it was practically impossible. (Not impossible but I was eating up charcoal in trying). So without having a person to hold a chisel, and me hit the chisel with a 20lb sledge to hot cut. I am forced to use a skill saw :(

This and the fact my air source is electrical are currently my main "cheats" in knife making. Maybe once I go to Mike Snody's house he's gonna introduce me to tools and get me hooked on machines LOL.
 
Cody do you have an anvil with a hardy hole? (square hole around the butt end?) if so just make you a hot cut hardy
med_hot-cut.jpg

I made mine out of a leaf spring... PM me at Elnyne@gmail.com for a pic of it and a how to.

Jason S. Carter
Mud Creek Forge
 
No my anvil does not have a hardy hole, and knife making has taken a back seat for the time being. I love forging knives, but with five kids I have to push my c++ programming, and linux\knoppix computer knowledge to over drive as it is my other marketable skill in this life.

I had no problems selling knives, and to be honest with you after selling one of my knives for nearly half a grand it was clear to me I could rise up and become a well known knife maker. There were two problems however.

First having five kids, a college degree in electronics engineering not being used because any job I get my federal college student loans garnished both my IRS tax returns, and with each paycheck they garnish along side of some other garnishments I have as well I simply could not afford to work make 200$ a week. Have to spend part of that to get to work, and take care of the kids. So making knives and other business directions I took got me through for some time now. Now they no longer garnish my wages.

Second, I love the forging, and creation, and videoing process of the knife I am actively working on. I love the part where some random person in this world was willing to spend the asking price (I sold almost every knife even the small one's for 200+$). That was all fun, but when they drove off. I always wonder about the knife, and miss it LOL.

So now I will only make a knife for myself, a friend, or someone I know and will see occassionaly. My knife making spirit is a little broke at the moment.

However if I were to make another full video session and burn the session on DVD as with all the previous knives I made. At minimum without specifics. I would want 500 + S\H (made with hickory wood handle, add 50$ for real deer bone)$ for a small fixxed blade 5160 knife. Meaning the blade itself no longer than 6"L x 2"wide X 1\16,or whatever thickness.

For anything over that up to the blade itself being up to 10". A flat rate of 1000$. A CO knife gets full video documentation, doesnt get touched by a power tool, and upwards to two full hours of actual video of the crafting is performed each step of the way. I warranty the knife steel for life even if you run it over with a bull dozer and crush the handle material if that knife steel gets bent. I will forge it straight, and charge costs for re-pinning the tang, and creating handle material.

That said. www.oebelknives.com is still alive for now, and I will try to keep it alive, but all of the videos are all on my "YOUTUBE CHANNEL". Just youtube search for Cody Oebel.

This will keep the amount of knives I have out there limited. Also each sold knife. The customers name gets added to my website to validate the owner even further, and if permitted I add the "Paid" price for the knife, as result to what a person did pay for the blade.

Anyhow .. I dont think with those prices anyones going to be contacting me for a knife, but anyone who has seen my knife making process knows. I give you every cent to the dollars worth of video'ing efforts of the knife being made. It's my basic price list.

Call me if you got questions in having a knife made.
Currently I am persuing further education with knoppix, aka Linux. Which falls under my computer skills\experience to increase my IT market value.

Thank you,

210-429-6063
 
I had been wondering what happened to you...glad to see u back on the forums!!! good luck in ALL ur endeavors and God bless!!!
 
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