Fighter Progression Thread With Lots Of Photos

[MacHete]

Awesome thread, and +1 on the gorgeous chunk O' wood! :thumbup:

 

[RogerP]

That's a fair bit of work just to get to this point.

Roger

 

[Kyle Royer]

Here I put a template on the billet and spray painted over it so I could clearly see the blade pattern.

Here I have profiled the blade.

Here I have rough ground the blade and it is ready for heat treating.

Here is the blade at critical temperature going into the quenching oil.

Here is a picture of the blade in the quenching oil.

I am checking to see if the blade is straight after hardening, and it is.

I am checking to see if the blade is hard with a new file after hardening, and it is.

I am tempering it here for two hours at 415 degrees Fahrenheit.

Here I have taken the torch and heated the spine and tang to about 450 degrees to soften the spine. The rag and gator clips are wet to keep the edge cool. That's all until Monday, have a great weekend.

 

[Jon Brand]

My favorite blade shape right there..

 

[barrabas74]

This is a great thread! I love that blade shape and the wood you picked out should look great on that, cant wait to see more.

 

[Kevin Jones]

Really good shots Kyle, covering every step of the process.
I really like the blade profile and that ironwood is beyond fine.

Can't wait to see more. :thumbup:

 

[Kyle Royer]

OK, I'm back. Here I have stamped my mark on the knife.

Here I have taken a slack belt and put a convex edge on the blade towards the edge. The tape is to keep the slack belt from grinding the spine and shoulders of the blade.

I have taken layout fluid and put it were the clip is to be ground and scribed the center.

Here I've ground the clip .

I've hand sanded the blade to 220 grit.

Here I have hand sanded the blade to 320 grit.

Here I've hand sanded the blade to 600 grit.

I've hand sanded to 1200 grit and it is now finely ready to be etched.

 

[Keith Montgomery]

Looking really good so far.

 

[Kyle Royer]

Here are some pictures of the blade etched, it came out great!

I will get some better pictures tomorrow. The only way I can get good pictures is to take them in natural sunlight and I don't have any of that at 11:30 at night.

Thanks for looking.:thumbup:

 

[RAN]

Kyle You Scare Me





in a good way

 

[Kevin Jones]

The blade profile and the feather pattern has turned out extremely well.

The pattern starts at the raccaso, center of blade and flows towards and ends at the point, just as it should.

Looking forward to seeing how the pattern flows on the guard. Going to be a happy owner in deed.

 

[Doug C]

Kyle,
Beautiful feather pattern,amazing work! :thumbup:

Doug

 

[jbombelli]

Nice work! That will be a beautiful finished product. I'm jealous of those who have the knowledge, equipment, and time to do something like this.

 

[thombrogan]

I'm pretty sure Kyle's days only have twenty four hours. He just uses them really well.

This progression just keeps getting better!

 

[RogerP]

Gorgeous blade. 1200 grit before etching? That's dedication right there. :thumbup:

 

[Kyle Royer]

Here are some better pictures of the blade.

Here is a picture of the spine, this is what the edges of the guard and pommel will look like.

This is the piece of damascus that I will make the guard and pommel out of.

Here I have milled the piece of damascus for the guard flat.

I've made the slot for the tang in the guard in this picture.

Here I have filed the ricasso so the tang will fit up tight.

Here are the parts roughed to shape. Thanks for looking.

 

[Kevin Jones]

That's an exceptional feather pattern IMO.
The Ironwood will match up very nice with it.
Great job Kyle.

 

[Kohai999]

If you dont use some material for a ferrule/spacer, either same damascus as guard, with some stainless or nickel silver thin stock for spacers, OR bronze/stainless steel....you are going to make a big mistake.

The blade is superb.

Best Regards,

STeven Garsson

 

[Nylunds knives]

Very nice!!

 

[Kyle Royer]

If you don't use some material for a ferrule/spacer, either same damascus as guard, with some stainless or nickel silver thin stock for spacers, OR bronze/stainless steel....you are going to make a big mistake.

The blade is superb.

Best Regards,

STeven Garsson

I would put a ferrule/spacer on the knife if the customer wanted one.

I think it would make the knife a little fancier with one but without one it will look clean and elegant, so I am not partial one way or the other.:thumbup:

Thanks for the comments everyone.