First time with kydex and broke a couple of my own rules

Z

zachtateknives

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May 4, 2010
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I try to follow two rules when making knives, #1 if I don't like it I won't make it and #2 Don't use someone else's design.

Well I broke both of those rules. The wife's cousin got married, her new husband saw my work and asked me to make a knife. I turned him down for a few weeks because I was sorta indifferent to the knife he wanted me to make. In fact the only part I wanted to challenge myself with making was the saw portion of the design, but the saw was the only thing he did not want on the knife, but he wanted a gut hook like object... Without further ramblings, my interpretation of a Tom Brown Tracker.

IMG_20130522_202450_zpsa2e0844c.jpg


Its 440c that is cryo'd, 5/32" thick, about 11 1/2" long overall, and the handle can be taken down for cleaning or replacing, this was my first go at making a kydex sheath. I felt I made several errors while grinding and I wasn't in love with the design, but once completed I think it came out reasonably well.

Any feedback?
 
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Looks good, not a fan of the tom brown tracker either. He is another one of those guys with a semi-mystical outdoor survival resume/experience, etc that caters to the mall-ninja crowd. His knife is a POS in my opinion full of wasted blade space and poor balance.
That aside, nice iteration of it though. My only question is about the gut hook. The general idea of a gut hook is to split the belly without cutting too deep, hence why they are shrouded on top. Seems like having it located there the tip of the blade will trail into the bowels... no fun at all... of course if it is supposed to be for other purposes no worries. Its still a better use of that notch than the speedbump wasted space on tom's original design...
I like the coloration and steel treatment. Good looking blade. I know it isn't much fun to make a knife when you aren't in love with the design, so good for you making it a really nice blade despite that fact.
Cheers.
 
Ah, that makes sense then... My opinion of the Tom Brown WSK design stands, but your workmanship looks great. :) Cheers!
 
I'm not big on the Tom Brown Tracker any more, I do how ever like what it's modeled after, Dave Becks WKS.

I do like your interpretation of the Tracker as well. It seems like it would have more functionality than the Tom Brown one, even sans the saw.

Not to mention I dig the finish on the blade, how was that done?

EDIT:

This wasn't really meant to be a "WSK" more a camper right?

That's the way I'm looking at it.
 
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I had Texas Knife heat treat and cryo treat and that's how it came back.

I think he is gonna use the knife for all his outdoor activities.
 
Well it looks great, I'm sure it's going to perform just as well!

Almost forgot to mention... if that's your first kydex bend, you're on to something, sheath looks pretty good to
 
No kidding with the kydex... my first several sheaths ended up looking more like a kindergarten art project than a sheath when I took up kydex... lol. Nice job...
 
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