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First custom chopper

Thor1986 said:
Well yes, it will be used just for chopping and splitting, but its going to be more of a personal thing for me. It will be my last big purchase before getting married and i want to make it a special one. Ive always been partial to large knives, dont really know why. So im thinking a custom chopper that i will have for a very long time and probably cut my wedding cake with will fill that spot of no more purchases for a long time sadly....lol.
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Sorry buddy my post might have come over a little negative !:o

I do love seeing some of the custom choppers but find it hard to justify adding one to my collection.
Although there are many fine makers on this forum if pushed to pick one I think Bill Siegle would be my first choice for a chopper !;):thumbup:
 
Nah Pit, I took no offense to what you said and completely agree to having a camp or bush craft knife and a belt axe or tomahawk for chopping. I just cant say no to having a awesome big knife made while i have the money that i might give to one of my kids one day when i have one. I guess its more of my first knife from my grandad was a big knife of his and i want something that's just as personal.
 
Lets talk about blade shape for a bit. Do ya'll prefer something with a belly on it like a khuk, bowie style, or even clever like? Also what style edge geometry on it?
 
Spearpoint is popular. As far as grind, flat or convex is the norm for large chopper/camp knives. I've found a wider blade, 1 3/4" to 2" wide at 3/16" to 1/4" thick, 6" to 8" long works out better then longer more narrow blades.
Scott
 
My opinion, on what I have used. Quick and dirty, I have to run, but I will come back with details later.

( Not in any real order )

Fehrman Final Judgement
Busse Battle Mistress
Custom from NWA or Siegal
 
NWA and siegal are both on my list now. Just looked at the fehrman and that thing does look sweet. If you can post pics, throw a pic of your favorite big knife up. I wanna see what all of yall are packing.
 
Thor1986 said:
NWA and siegal are both on my list now. Just looked at the fehrman and that thing does look sweet. If you can post pics, throw a pic of your favorite big knife up. I wanna see what all of yall are packing.
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My only big knife.....Swamprat Chopweiler, 7" blade, awesome edge retention !!!!

PC190016.jpg
 
pitdog said:
Sorry buddy my post might have come over a little negative !:o

I do love seeing some of the custom choppers but find it hard to justify adding one to my collection.
Although there are many fine makers on this forum if pushed to pick one I think Bill Siegle would be my first choice for a chopper !;):thumbup:
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Pit - I didn't think you sounded negative, you just spoke your mind. The reality is that some guys are happy with their 7 inches and some of us like having 10:D.
 
Yep Pit i have to agree on the chopweiler, its my go to camp knife and i love it. I beat the hell out of it this weekend when i went to my grandparents. Managed to hack down a 9 inch thick twenty foot tall cedar tree and baton it into usable pieces for a fire and carving. Ended up making a spoon and some chopsticks for fun. I know yall need pic and soon as i get them i will try and link them. This misfortune of not owning a lot of technology.
 
I'm working on my first chopper for a BF member:

parang001-1.jpg


parang002-1.jpg


It's a collaboration of sorts. I cut out the blank, Dacry Ellis forged the bevels, I did the grinding, heat treating, and now after doing some playing....er I mean testing:) - I'll be putting on a cocobolo handle. The 12" blade is made from 1/4" sawblade steel. The grind is convex with a secondary edge bevel.
 
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That blade looks mean.
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Well thanks!

Kudos to you sir on the design.
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But, I can't take credit for the design - the customer sent me this drawing to work from:

user240777_pic4679_12464662501.jpg



Thor, have fun on your quest for a custom chopper - lots of good looking blades in this thread and some excellent makers here on BF:thumbup:
 
I completely agree, this forums has been killing my bank account over a year now and i love it....lol. However my fiance doesnt. I love my guns, but there's a special bond between man and blade that somewhat primal and has always drawn me to them.
 
Gossman Knives said:
Spearpoint is popular. As far as grind, flat or convex is the norm for large chopper/camp knives. I've found a wider blade, 1 3/4" to 2" wide at 3/16" to 1/4" thick, 6" to 8" long works out better then longer more narrow blades.
Scott
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in my heavy choppers, I agree 110% I love doing full convex 3/16 to 1/4 inch thick spearpoints for that. massive and fun.

Now, for packing around, and general utility, I like my think leuku styles best, but I admit there's a touch of gleeful madness in a 1.5 pound langseax styled spearpoint swinging from your hip
 
I'm also interested in a custom large chopper! What sort of prices are we talking on average? I know it varies greatly, maybe some kind of price range?
 
you probably need to email the makers, but I'm gonna guess you can hit anywhere from $250 to $600 on regular WSS forum posting makers..... quite a range.
 
you probably need to email the makers, but I'm gonna guess you can hit anywhere from $250 to $600 on regular WSS forum posting makers..... quite a range.
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Easily in the range I had hoped for. However, I saw nothing in the range of large choppers I was hoping for. The closest was a custom in this very thread


parang002-1.jpg


I also posted in the custom area, hoping to find some makers with the skills/desire/interest in something like this :D
 
again, email a maker :D use the photo for a reference and talk about what changes you'd like. I'm not sure how every maker works, but a lot of us will give you feedback on what sort of changes we think will and won't work. It's a large part of the style.

For example, I'd dropthe upsweep on the blade a fair amount, recurve it a bit, and go for the lightest hint of a spear point. I'd also modify the handle for maximum usable length and a solid pinky catching drop at the rear (though I do like the looks of those ball ended handles.)
 
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