Dagger...

I

irbailey

Joined
May 11, 2008
Messages
699
Hello again.

Here's the latest to emerge from my shop.

5 1/2" Blade of 1095, 9 3/4" overall
Ivory corian handle with red fibre liners and 303 stainless fittings.

Now, just to set the record straight, this was inspired by a Loveless dagger. It was made after looking at a picture in Al Williams' book, but not scaled from the picture and I did it from memory in my way rather than try to make a carbon copy. (bad pun intended;))

All comments, good, bad, ugly, or otherwise will be very much appreciated.

As usual, the pictures were by Stevie Wonder.:rolleyes:

Thanks for looking,

Ian
P9050380.jpg

P9050381.jpg

P9050383.jpg

P9050384.jpg
 
Very nice dagger.

Pics could be better though... ;)

Kind regards,

Jos
 
Cheers Rick and Jos.:thumbup:

That's two good comments....anyone want to make a bad or ugly one?:D

Cheers,

Ian
 
Stainless fittings are shiny!

Any chance you are going to etch your signature instead of stamping it any time soon?

Best Regards,

STeven Garsson
 
irbailey said:
I did it from memory in my way rather than try to make a carbon copy. (bad pun intended;))



As usual, the pictures were by Stevie Wonder.:rolleyes:
Click to expand...

truly classic lines there, Ian, lol:)

To me, the swell in the handle doesn't look quite right. It looks like it should start about mid way between the first pin and the hilt. And personally, I like a wider butt, (hehe).

The Loveless style of dagger is one of my favourites, and in general I have a bit of a thing for daggers anyway. This one is very pleasing in general and I think you did a great job of it. The sheath is excellent!

Since you mentioned earlier that you were working on a dagger, I've been excited to see the finished product. You did not disappoint!

:thumbup:
 
Thanks chaps. Very much appreciated.:thumbup:

Steven, you're right...stainless is shiny. More importantly I guess, it stays shiny.

Funny you should mention my stamp. For a few months now getting set up for etching has been on my 'to do' list.

A well known maker on here (I won't name drop!) emailed me last year and suggested I start using an etch rather than a stamp. He also very kindly sent me a link to where I can buy the necessary equipment.

So....sometime in the future I'll no doubt change to an etch.

Incidently, the stamp I use was my Grandfather's. He was a carpenter and used it to mark his tools S. H. Bailey. I found it in one of his old tool trunks a few years back, ground off the initials and it became my makers mark.

Lorien, now that you mention it, I see what you mean about the swell. It's a little bit further towards the butt than it could be.

I think asking for some constructive criticism will help me to notice these finer details that I often overlook. Until you mentioned it, I'd not really given it any thought to be honest.

Thanks for your honesty. :thumbup:

Cheers,

Ian
 
irbailey said:
Incidently, the stamp I use was my Grandfather's. He was a carpenter and used it to mark his tools S. H. Bailey. I found it in one of his old tool trunks a few years back, ground off the initials and it became my makers mark.
Click to expand...

You are using it on your sheaths, and I think that is a good and fine use for it.

Best Regards,

STeven Garsson
 
Ian, my critique is based on what I would do if I were at a show an you had this on your table. I would be attracted to your dagger. I would ask if I might pick it up. Granted permission, I would do so, and then I would put it back down and thank you. The RED liners would have been the deal breaker for me, but I doubt I would have made a big deal of it at your table and would have mentioned it only if you asked me. I figure it's your knife and if it is for an order the customer, probably wanted the red, and if not, then it's still your knife so it would have to be your choice of color, just as it would have been my choice to put it down and go on to the next table.

Also, it's probably the Loveless influence, but it looks just a little too "vanilla" to me. Might be why I don't pursue the Loveless band.

Paul
 
Thanks for your thoughts Mr Long.:thumbup:

The customer asked for the liners, and to be honest, I think I'd have put them on if I'd been making it for myself.

Since I started using red fibre liners/spacers, I always feel like I've missed a bit if I don't use them.

Of course, not to everyones taste, but if a customer doesn't want them I won't fit them.;)

Any comments to make on the leatherwork.....?:D

Your opinion would be greatly valued.

Ian
 
The leather sheath certainly shows some Loveless influence to my eye. I have made many similar for Loveless influenced Chute Knives etc.

I kind of like the brown stitching. I can't really tell from the photo lighting whether the sheath is dark brown or black. The brown stitching goes with either color though. The stitching is very neat and precise I think your sheath is designed and made very well with good attention to detail. Is that leather the "half tanned" I heard so much about? It seems to be available just about any where except the USA.

Finally your sheath fits the knife nicely with regard to embellishments or lack thereof. I mean the level of "fancy" matches the level of the knife. Good job,:thumbup:

Paul

Edited to add: I went back and looked again. I can't tell from the photos how well the edges are finished. They should be smooth as glass. Even without embellishment or other fancies the edges should always be finished to glass smooth.
 
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Hey, I like the red liners. I only wish they extended to the front of the bolster. :eek:

Honestly I do like liners, yet I see Paul's point. If you could figure out how to use thinner liners (Someone mentioned colored construction paper?) I'd really be looking closer.

The sheath looks fantastic. I've seen enough poorly designed etches to make me wonder if this would be an improvement over a solid mark. Make SURE you pay an artist to do one well. (and I'm not your guy.)

Thanks for the show. :)

Coop
 
Nice knife Ian. Your threads make it very obvious that you really love making knives.

I like your knife, however feel your handle seems a little narrow as the Loveless dagger handle usually swells out subtlety coming from the hilt towards the mid-point of the handle before tapering in producing the butt swell.

The knife seems very clean overall though the photos don't accentuate your grinds very well. Your tang taper and liners look well executed however the liners appear a little thick.
It's probably just that they are against white handle material. I'm use to seeing them against amber stag where they don't look as proud.

The sheath seems well executed as well.
 
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SharpByCoop said:
Hey, I like the red liners. I only wish they extended to the front of the bolster. :eek:

Coop
Click to expand...

I like red liners as well, however isn't it kind of rare for them to extend to the front of the bolster on Loveless knives? I have seen it, but not too often.
 
Good looking knife... can seethe loveless influence both in the knife and sheath
 
Thank you all for your replies...I'll try to answer in the right order..

First the sheath. The leather is veg tanned shoulder hide hand stitched with white nylon thread. It was then dyed with Fiebing's tan dye. As for the edges....:o No, not shiny like glass at all. Smoothed but not really shiny.
Edge finishing is something I always struggle with. I smooth them down with the belt grinder and then once the leather is damp from the dye I run a piece of stag along them. I never seem to be able to get them glossy though.

Thanks for sharing your thoughts.:thumbup:

As for the handle, I agree with the swell criticism 100%. It's these small details that make or break a knife and it's great to have someone with a more discerning eye than myself point them out to me. As I said earlier, the positioning of the palm swell wasn't something I thought about when I made it. I will do next time though!

The liners I use are 0.9mm thick, and they can look a bit clumsy, especially on a small thin handle.

One problem in the UK is finding the right materials for knifemaking. Of course I could buy thinner fibre from the States, but as you can no doubt appreciate, it's generally easier (and cheaper)to buy close to home.

Thanks for all your input, I've learned something from this thread, which is good... I wish I'd asked for some criticism in the past now!

Oh yes, before I forget, I''m well aware my photography is shocking. :barf:

Must do something to improve that as well.:rolleyes:



Many thanks,

Ian
 
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