Fighter

LongRifle

LongRifle

Joined
Apr 5, 2000
Messages
2,018
Here's a little fighter I made for a fellow forumite.

I forged the blade from 1065, ~8", 304 ss guard, stabilized African Blackwood handle, ~12.5" OAL.

The only regret I have with this piece is going with a simple gunome hamon. It came out exactly as I had envisioned it, but I think it would have looked better with something very dynamic and active. I guess you don't have to flex your muscles all the time :).

Since the hamon is so simple I didn't take a photo highlighting it.

The spine and underside of the ricasso are once again radiused and polished. I really like the effect, but the light has a tendency to play off the spine in odd ways. I nearly had a heart attack thinking the swedges were off :), but it was just a trick of the light.

Thanks for looking guys.

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Matt
 
Nothing little about it in my book :D
It looks great, elegant simple lines just how I like :thumbup:
 
Matt,

That knife is simply sensational. The hamon is perfect.

Just super! Well done! :thumbup:

P
 
It turned out awesome Matt!!! :D

Most guys couldn't pull off that hamon and polish on their best day, so I think you should quit complaining about it!:p :D

I think the lines on this piece are perfect.
 
I wish that piece was available, I would like one just exactly like it!

Best Regards,

STeven Garsson
 
Thanks for the comments kids :).

I learned quite a bit from this piece, both construction and design wise.

I'm still bucking the system with my slightly oversized handles, at least when compared to the ricasso. Surprisingly I no longer find the radius choil as objectionable as I did before; I really like the repeating lines of the choil and the radius of the guard. I decided to go with a 3/8" ricasso and mirror the guard as closely as possible, it's subtle but I like it.

I'm also starting to really dig stabilized woods, so much so that I might actually buy a buffer :). The mortise line came out pretty nice too, even better than the typical dark woods. I'm not sure if the mortise is due to the stabilization or just some simple construction improvements.

Anyway, thanks again guys.

Matt
 
Great knife Matt as usual :thumbup: .

I guess constructive criticism is ok with you. And before I venture onto this thin red line ;), I want to make sure that you know that I'm totally in awe, regarding your knifemaking in general and your forging and out of this world hamon skills especially.

I'm definitely not saying this with an "I do it differently and my way is better" type of approach. I think we started knifemaking about the same time roughly three years ago, but you seemed to be more persistened with it then I was (my usual lazyness problem ;)) and as we can see it payed out.

From my judgement we both are developing in the same direction in knifemaking (the forged, stick tang, etc. stuff ) allthough you seem to be quite ahead of me regarding your skills :).

Enough chitchat now ;), what I wanted to ask you about was your handle contruction. I also started out with mortising handles and I know that highly respected knifemakers as Bayley Bradshaw and Terry Primos use this method on high end knives. But on several occasions when I displayed some knives on shows I got quite a lot of criticism for using this method from collectors and senior makers alike. Most seemed to really like my knives except for the mortised handle. And as it actually bothered myself to always have that faint line or some shiffting with time even with stabilized woods I found a way to avoid mortising my handles. I wrote a little tutorial in shoptalk about it.

Without the intention to highjack your thread I'd be really interested on your an the other forumites opinion on mortised handles. Do you really like it or just haven't found another way to do it?

And the other thing that is now really concerning your knives and not a general construction method. As much as I like the profiles and designs of your handles they seem a bit "square" and ?unergonomique? to me. I know I say this without having handled one of your knives but I would really like to know how they feel as I always tend to "carve" into my handles quite deeply.

This thing got quite long now but I hope you can extract my most important issues ;). Please don't rip off my head now as I'm just curious about it.

Now I'm off to my math studies as I'll have an exam the day after tomorrow.

Regards Marcus
 
Marcus thanks for the compliments and comments.

I can see both sides of the "mortise" argument. For starters block construction is quicker than cutting a block in half, flattening, slotting, and bonding. I also like the idea of having no visible mortise line. I prefer to make my knives with very long, wide tangs. This tang runs a little over 1/4" from the butt and I would not feel confident drilling into the handle that deep. The width of my tangs is also a big concern; I'm worried about wallowing out too much handle material. I like the advantage of seeing where I'm milling and I prefer a tight tang to mortise fit. I don't have a drill press either, so that's an added problem ;) :D. I agree with the added stability and not concerning yourself with a possible edge from shifting.

Here's a pic of the mortise; if done right the mortise is nearly invisible.
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I think my handles look blockier in my photos than in person; they're actually pretty well rounded. I like the idea of having some slight angles to hold on to, but that is just a personal preference. Currently I am not sculpting my handles, but that is something I'm working with. I think even without sculpting, a handle can be very comfortable during extended use. But, I do find scuplted handles appealing.

Maybe this pic shows the "roundness" a little better than the previous photos. I think it's something you just have to pick up and use to get a feel for it.

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Thanks again for the comments.
 
I too prefer a more rounded handle. The countour down the back looks fine to me but the sides are a bit flat. I also dislike mortised tang construction, but you did a great job with it, I can't see the seam at all. Good work! :thumbup:
 
Two things:

I absolutely love the figure in the African Blackwood. Usually one thinks of the solid black color that is used in clarinets.
However the natural yellow streaking really floats my boat. :cool:

My eyes maybe fading, but did a tiny pin appear in the later photographs?
 
Peter,

Your eyes are still working :). There is one domed, mirror polished pin in the handle.

I think the photo I took of the spine is misleading; it is on an angle. The sides of the handle are rounded. I should have taken a photo of the knife point first to show the circumference of the handle. Oh well, maybe next time :).
 
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