First Nessie

[amcardon]

So over on one of the other subforums they are doing a Christmas KITH that I signed up for but after looking at the level of knives that people were posting I decided to back out - I didn't want mine to be the "turd in the hat" compared to the rest! There's always next year, right?

Anyway, I really like the scales on this guy and I'll hopefully have the sheath done in the next couple days - I plan on doing a horizontal carry sheath for it, maybe play around with a little tooling as well, we'll see (and I'll post pics of that as soon as its done as well). This is the first knife that I did the heat treating myself (in the heat treating oven I made and am quite pleased with) and learned a lot making it.

So here's the specs:

3/16" 1080 Rc 58-59
8" OAL
stabilized walnut scales
2 1/4" brass pins
3/8" stainless lanyard tube
vinegar etch (I like nessies that look used)

And here's the pics:

Not sure exactly what I'm going to do with the knife now, I guess I can use it for a Christmas present or even hold onto it. The pictures don't do the scales justice, they have so much color and character to them... Any critiques, pointers, suggestions are appreciated.

 

[foxx]

Turd? I'd buy it, tell me how much. I can understand if you don't want to sell it, but I think it looks great. Tis not a turd!

 

[kvaughn]

Damn fine lookin' turd!--KV

 

[NStricker]

What to do with it?

Use it!

Find out how it performs, find out what you like/don't like, and make improvements on the next one. For example, use it a while and see how the squarish handle feels in your hand--are there hot spots, etc.

 

[Mr. Sogetsu]

Not sure what is wrong with it...I'll take the "turd" off your hands just ship it to me.

What did you think is wrong with it?

If you want me to be critical, the only thing I can tell that I would like fixed is it looks like the plunge is very deep near the hilt and gets progressively thicker towards the edge, but maybe not, I can't really tell.

If you truely think it is bad, beat use it to see what you would change. Better yet, put it in the hat and tell the other person to critique you! The contest is about learning more than giving the way I look at it.

 

[foxx]

I have made a payment for the "TURD". I should have this knife next week, Aaron is making the sheath for it.
I've seen pics of some of Aaron's other work, and I'm guessing that he is being hard on his first Nessie.
As long as the HT is good, it's gonna be a good, if not great little knife. Actually, I wanted it because most Nessies aren't 3/16" thick. And, I like the grind.
I love my Fiddleback Forge Nessmuk, but it's 9" OAL. Too big for EDC, the sheath is also kinda large.
Aaron is making a horizontal sheath, and at 8" OAL, I'm hoping I can hide it under a shirt or jacket.

 

[amcardon]

Thanks for the comments guys!

As promised, pics of the sheath:

Hot dipped, dyed in antique gel mahogany, hand stitched...

 

[scs.knives]

very nice, make your next one out of 1/8.