Finally finished some knives :)

G

gudspelr

Joined
Jul 1, 2013
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A while back I had some struggles with a bird and trout knife I'd made-wouldn't hold it's edge. Finally got the kinks worked out and made some more of them along with some hunters. There were some more bumps along the road, but ended up with 5 finished ones.

The bird and trouts started out as 1/16" thick 15n20, so I wanted to carry the slim, light thing through the design with the handle.



I finished 3 of these-Osage, curly Desert Ironwood, and black G10. First time for me using G10 and I like it pretty well. Easy to work and the pattern as you shape it is appealing to me.





Not very good leather, but it holds the knife...







They sliced very well when I tested them. Still shaved hair after cutting several pieces of old stiff leather.


 
The hunters are out of 1080 and gave me some headaches along the way. After grinding into the tang pockets, I smashed the handles off on the anvil and got back to slotting more blocks of wood... Here are the two that got finished. One is some figured Maple that I ended up dying. The other is some mystery hard wood a friend gave me a few years ago. He'd had it for several years. It has some nice chatoyance and is really hard stuff. A little reddish in color when working it, but after some wet sanding with oil, it darkened a bit and reminded me (and a friend) of Mesquite.

Maple before any dye:



After some dye:



Finished:



Other one-same blade as the Maple one:






These turned out relatively well, but I still have a ways to go before I'm satisfied with how things come out. If anyone has some suggestions/constructive criticism, please let me know. It's hard to be really objective about your own work sometimes so taking help from others tends to be the mechanism for better results next time. Thanks in advance for the help.


Jeremy
 
Looks like Bubinga.

Nice knives. The pin in the bubinga handle appears in the photos to be too high. Otherwise, it is a very good job.
 
Thanks very much for the comments. I should've put in a better pic of that other knife... The angle does make it look too high... The pin is actually pretty well centered. One of these days when I get the hang of handles and guards a bit better, I want to give domed pins a whirl. Anyway, thanks again.


Jeremy
 
Hey Jeremy,

I really like the blade on the b & t knives but I have a question about the handles. Why did you make them so thin? Even though the blade is small, your hand size stays the same, small or large blade. For me, it is easier to hold a thicker handle, and when gutting a brookie a thin handle would not help. I am in the process of making a couple of b & t's, so your thoughts would really help. Thanks.

Tim
 
Tim-

Good (and relevant) question. I find handles to be an interesting thing... There are aesthetics, as well as function to be considered. On top of that, everyone has varying experiences and preferences regarding both. The short answer to your question is, I don't have a good reason :confused:. I've ended up liking the thin profile and the sculpting seems to help any rolling in hand/keeping it secure. One other reason (that admittedly isn't necessarily right) is my preference towards light knives, especially with such a thin, light blade.

For some reason, with such thin blades, I much prefer an overall thin feel. Having them light enough in the handle helps keep away that feeling of heft in the hand with no weight in front of it. Again, none of that means it's the right way to go...just the way I happened to on these.

I appreciate your thoughts, though. Everyone has different hands and therefor different shapes are more/less user friendly. That kind of input helps me think in a different way, which is a good thing.


Jeremy
 
Thanks, Jeremy,

I agree that visually your handle fits that blade much better than a fuller handle I might put on. In fact, I think your b & t looks great - a very classic look. Guess you're right - "different strokes for different folks".

Tim
 
My best guess for the mystery wood would be teak or mahogany. might be cherry but i'm not sure that's as hard as you're describing.
 
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