Finally, my first 2 knives - pic heavy

K

kwakn

Joined
Oct 17, 2009
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117
Steel - CPM3v to 400 grit
OAL - ~8.5"
Blade Length - 3.5"
3/16ths at it thickest ground down into an integral bolster from 1/4" stock
Epoxy resin nylon wrap is backed with leather and heavy nylon thread (same as used for the turkshead) to bulk up the handle before laminating with stingray.

Weight was reduced in the handle during the waterjet process by including a series of holes and then thinning the handle (files and grinding) to 3/16ths as well, leaving a thick 1/4" butt and bolster.
You'll notice some scratches near the blade edge. The knife hasn't been sharpened yet. Those little scratches will come out in the convex edge sharpening process.

I owe big shout-out thanks to all you makers out there who've helped and guided me along the way. It would not have been possible without your guidance. These are Christmas gifts for my brothers. I hope they like them and use them.

Some of the last set of pictures are the new stuff in the works.

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Those are awesome! Really nice job. I just wish there was some way to more clearly show off all the work that went into thinning out the handle. Great gifts and I'm sure they'll love them.
 
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Thanks Strider, Thinning the handles wasn't too bad. Mark grind lines, 40 grit for the heavy lifting, back 'er down to higher grits from there. Near the butt, that did take some time with files to get them even. I made a clamp type guide to keep things lined up on both sides near the bolster area but at the butt end, that was done eyeballing things to make sure they just look even and balanced.
 
Bravo - Thanks but pure luck. The light was good the day I decided to take some pictures.
 
Are you a machinist by chance? Those blades are fantastic first and seconds!
 
mrp - No, not a machinist. A network consultant actually. This is just a hobby. It took 3 years (hence the title) to get from paper to where I could send 6 knives out to Peters for HT.
 
Thanks for all the kind words. Pocket katana, I like that.. Not really sure what to call them.
 
kwakn said:
Thanks for all the kind words. Pocket katana, I like that.. Not really sure what to call them.
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Pocket Katana? No.... POCKATANA!! haha

Those are some fine looking blades, and if I had to guess, they look more like your 101st and 102nd.... not your 1st and 2nd. Nice work.
 
kwakn said:
Thanks for all the kind words. Pocket katana, I like that.. Not really sure what to call them.
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Hi there Kwakn congratulations for such fine pieces, they do are something to envy, just one question, they are meant to be used frecuently as I understand, why did you go for CPM3V instead of stainless?, and afther these 3 years of use...or storage...how is their fit and finish.???
 
Tierra - You're too kind. Thank you.

I used CPM3V because I had some friends making tomahawks out of it. They had some scrap left over and said 'here make a knife out of this'. The educated me on its properties and after my own research here on BF I came to appreciate what my friends were offering. Tough, particle steel, can be hardened to 61/62 if you want to give up some toughness, and it has some chromium (http://www.crucible.com/PDFs/\DataSheets2010\ds3Vv1 2010.pdf) to aid rust resistance but not enough to be classified as stainless.

As to your second question, uh...these knives were not FINISHED 3 years ago. They were STARTED 3 years ago. An hour or two at a time from raw beginnings. Draw, tweak, CAD, find a waterjetter, find a grinder (Coote fit the bill), find a motor (ebay), pick belts, start to grind (fear!), stop, ask questions, fix mistakes, learn simple tsukamaki (practice..practice..unwrap..practice some more), experiment, mock up, oh.. need files for spine work, ask more questions on BF. You get the idea....did I mention I started out making machete's!:o
 
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