- Joined
- Feb 28, 2002
- Messages
- 13,348
Dans table at Blade is always a must-stop for me not only because I find his knives (and all that goes into them) very appealing, but also because Dan always makes a concerted effort to have something new to show. Whether it be some new form of embellishment, a new design or a new construction method, you can clearly see that this is a maker seeking to evolve and progress while still turning out pieces that are recognizably his.
There was more newness than usual this year, starting with a broad array of knives made from the all-new CruForge V the very first steel specifically designed for the forged blade. As a forged blade enthusiast, I am pretty excited about this stuff. Since Dan has been closely involved in consulting with Crucible at all stages of the development of this steel, it is not doubt particularly gratifying to him to see it finally come to light.
There was additional newness in an area where Dan has a well-earned reputation for innovation: knife handles. Those familiar with his work will be well familiar with the English walnut Dan favors for his knives. The straight-grained wood is very strong and also quite attractive. But there were some beautiful burls in Dans shop that never seemed to get used, and the simple reason was the comparative weakness of burls as compared with their straight-grain counterparts. The solution Dan came up with was both effective and, in my opinion, quite attractive: carbon fiber reinforced burl.
Huh?
Yeah that was my reaction too. When Dan first mentioned it on the phone several months before the show I had a hard time envisioning just what the heck he had in mind. In practice, though, its pretty simple. The tensile strength of carbon fiber is effectively off the charts, and the idea was to draw upon that strength while still retaining the natural beauty of the wood. The answer: lamination.
You start with a bowie block of black walnut burl, slice it into three slabs:
Then insert two sheets of carbon fiber around the middle piece of wood, so that the stack from top to bottom goes wood / carbon / wood / carbon / wood and epoxy the whole thing together.
Those wooden pegs are there so that the layers dont slide around on the fresh epoxy once they are clamped in a vise. Grind off the excess and you now have yourself a carbon fiber reinforced bowie block, good to go.
But how does it look? Well, way cool in my opinion but you can judge for yourselves from the photos that follow. The effect is quite subtle what you get is two parallel lines running the complete circumference of the handle. The downside is that you have to make sure you grind the handle evenly from side to side otherwise those parallel lines will be off-center. The upside is that the lines themselves provide a visual reference to help you do just that.
Okay enough rambling on to the knives.
First up is a camp knife in satin-finished CruForge V with an octagonal faceted handle of carbon fiber reinforced (CFR?) black walnut burl.
Specs are:
Blade length 7 3/4,overall length 12 3/4
Steel CruForge V, hand rubbed satin finish
Guard nickel silver with black spacers
Sheath modified pouch with shark inlay by Paul Long
You can see in the handle close-up in the bottom-right of Coops excellent photo the two thin parallel lines of the carbon fiber.
This piece also features Dans classy new makers mark:
Next up is another bit of new for Dan a forged integral.
Dan had a pair of these little integrals forged out for some time but was ruminating on what to do for the handles. He didnt want to take the traditional approach of a handle flowing out of the integral bolster with the same thickness as the bolster as there would be nothing to stop your hand from riding up onto the cutting edge.
His selection of a faceted octagonal handle is one that I was initially a little unsure about, but the knife really grew on me in a big way. This thing feels just terrific in hand. Dan mentioned that the handle really assisted in hand-sharpening the blade on a flat stone, because the facets in the handle made it real easy to feel the blade angle on the stone.
As it happened this piece became the very first knife in my daughters collection. She is completely thrilled (her Mom, slightly less so).
Specs are:
Blade length 4 1/4, overall length 8 3/4
Steel 5160, hand rubbed satin finish
Handle octagonal faceted English walnut with ebony
Sheath tooled and shark-inlayed pouch by Paul Long
And here is a shot of the father / daughter pair together:
Finally, what may be my have been my favourite piece on the table, the Black Combat.
It turns out this was a piece Dan was building for Les Robertson and inspired by some of the black powder-coated pieces Dan had with him at Blade last year. I had seen the near-completed blade in Dans shop some months ago and on picking it up immediately noticed that it was a bit of a departure. It was thicker more massively built than Dans super-quick camp knives and choppers. The angular lines were also something of a departure from Dans curvy contemporary blades.. I was really keen to see what Dan would do with the finished product and I was pretty tickled when I did.
Specs are:
Blade length 8, overall length 13
Steel CruForgeV, black powder coated
Guard Nickel silver, black powder coated
Handle CFR Black walnut burl, stippled, matte finish
Sheath - black military with sharpening stone by Paul Long.
This knife has a really cool look and feel that just really appeals to me. Among all the great handles that Dan has shaped, this is the one that I like best. (Note to self plagiarize this design for your next knife!). The handle has a matte, low-gloss finish that matches well the subdued finish of the powder coated blade and guard.
I have to give a nod to my buddy Steve Garsson, whose Paul Long sheath he commissioned to accompany his Bailey Bradshaw Model 14 gave me the idea for what I think is the perfect compliment to this Farr piece.
Thats all there is thanks for looking and reading. And thanks to Dan, Paul and Coop.
Roger
There was more newness than usual this year, starting with a broad array of knives made from the all-new CruForge V the very first steel specifically designed for the forged blade. As a forged blade enthusiast, I am pretty excited about this stuff. Since Dan has been closely involved in consulting with Crucible at all stages of the development of this steel, it is not doubt particularly gratifying to him to see it finally come to light.
There was additional newness in an area where Dan has a well-earned reputation for innovation: knife handles. Those familiar with his work will be well familiar with the English walnut Dan favors for his knives. The straight-grained wood is very strong and also quite attractive. But there were some beautiful burls in Dans shop that never seemed to get used, and the simple reason was the comparative weakness of burls as compared with their straight-grain counterparts. The solution Dan came up with was both effective and, in my opinion, quite attractive: carbon fiber reinforced burl.
Huh?
Yeah that was my reaction too. When Dan first mentioned it on the phone several months before the show I had a hard time envisioning just what the heck he had in mind. In practice, though, its pretty simple. The tensile strength of carbon fiber is effectively off the charts, and the idea was to draw upon that strength while still retaining the natural beauty of the wood. The answer: lamination.
You start with a bowie block of black walnut burl, slice it into three slabs:
Then insert two sheets of carbon fiber around the middle piece of wood, so that the stack from top to bottom goes wood / carbon / wood / carbon / wood and epoxy the whole thing together.
Those wooden pegs are there so that the layers dont slide around on the fresh epoxy once they are clamped in a vise. Grind off the excess and you now have yourself a carbon fiber reinforced bowie block, good to go.
But how does it look? Well, way cool in my opinion but you can judge for yourselves from the photos that follow. The effect is quite subtle what you get is two parallel lines running the complete circumference of the handle. The downside is that you have to make sure you grind the handle evenly from side to side otherwise those parallel lines will be off-center. The upside is that the lines themselves provide a visual reference to help you do just that.
Okay enough rambling on to the knives.
First up is a camp knife in satin-finished CruForge V with an octagonal faceted handle of carbon fiber reinforced (CFR?) black walnut burl.
Specs are:
Blade length 7 3/4,overall length 12 3/4
Steel CruForge V, hand rubbed satin finish
Guard nickel silver with black spacers
Sheath modified pouch with shark inlay by Paul Long
You can see in the handle close-up in the bottom-right of Coops excellent photo the two thin parallel lines of the carbon fiber.
This piece also features Dans classy new makers mark:
Next up is another bit of new for Dan a forged integral.
Dan had a pair of these little integrals forged out for some time but was ruminating on what to do for the handles. He didnt want to take the traditional approach of a handle flowing out of the integral bolster with the same thickness as the bolster as there would be nothing to stop your hand from riding up onto the cutting edge.
His selection of a faceted octagonal handle is one that I was initially a little unsure about, but the knife really grew on me in a big way. This thing feels just terrific in hand. Dan mentioned that the handle really assisted in hand-sharpening the blade on a flat stone, because the facets in the handle made it real easy to feel the blade angle on the stone.
As it happened this piece became the very first knife in my daughters collection. She is completely thrilled (her Mom, slightly less so).
Specs are:
Blade length 4 1/4, overall length 8 3/4
Steel 5160, hand rubbed satin finish
Handle octagonal faceted English walnut with ebony
Sheath tooled and shark-inlayed pouch by Paul Long
And here is a shot of the father / daughter pair together:
Finally, what may be my have been my favourite piece on the table, the Black Combat.
It turns out this was a piece Dan was building for Les Robertson and inspired by some of the black powder-coated pieces Dan had with him at Blade last year. I had seen the near-completed blade in Dans shop some months ago and on picking it up immediately noticed that it was a bit of a departure. It was thicker more massively built than Dans super-quick camp knives and choppers. The angular lines were also something of a departure from Dans curvy contemporary blades.. I was really keen to see what Dan would do with the finished product and I was pretty tickled when I did.
Specs are:
Blade length 8, overall length 13
Steel CruForgeV, black powder coated
Guard Nickel silver, black powder coated
Handle CFR Black walnut burl, stippled, matte finish
Sheath - black military with sharpening stone by Paul Long.
This knife has a really cool look and feel that just really appeals to me. Among all the great handles that Dan has shaped, this is the one that I like best. (Note to self plagiarize this design for your next knife!). The handle has a matte, low-gloss finish that matches well the subdued finish of the powder coated blade and guard.
I have to give a nod to my buddy Steve Garsson, whose Paul Long sheath he commissioned to accompany his Bailey Bradshaw Model 14 gave me the idea for what I think is the perfect compliment to this Farr piece.
Thats all there is thanks for looking and reading. And thanks to Dan, Paul and Coop.
Roger
. This is what I am talking about when I talk about performance in a blade not overly embelished pieces but pieces done with a strong performance base with enough sparkle to stand out as something different.. Great stuff thanks for posting. As usual Pappy Long's sheath's can make a bad knife look good on a good knife they just are iceing on the cake. A sheath is the most important part of a knife if you can't carry it well you won't
