From the arcane world of knifemaking...

Status
Not open for further replies.
Mooseyard said:
I grew up in the Catskill Mountains of New York, and served as an Officer of Marines and Special Forces team commander in most any environment you can think of. I have backpacked, hunted, fished, orienteered, adventure raced, kayaked, rock climbed and hiked from inside the Arctic Circle to the Bayous of Louisiana and from the White Mountains of New Hampshire to the High Deserts of Joshua Tree and Big Bend. I like going to places and doing things where the outcome is uncertain.

Knives are one of man's oldest tools and they are, in their essence, a simple affair. In the final analysis, it's all about material separation, and everything else is just eye candy. I like the simplicity and inherent strength of fixed blade knives. Folders can do one thing a fixed blade can't: fold. If you really need a knife, there is none better than a full tang fixed blade.

Part of my job as a professional firefighter involves using all sorts of tools in unforgiving situations. A dependable tool, in the right hand, has the capacity to transform a bad situation into a better one.

The knives I make are a by-product of where I have been and what I have done. My knives are different from most knives because I am different from most knifemakers - it's really that simple.

I engineer spartan tools based on my experience in spartan situations. Most of my orders come from people who want a knife that is engineered by someone with my experience and background - as you might imagine, experience and background in grinding steel is not at the top of their list. With the exception of the Baby Chisos I don't regularly fabricate blades. Bush Monkey Knives is a one man operation that makes old skool tools one at a time in Fort Worth, Texas. Every Bush Monkey knife is utilitarian by design. I design, fabricate and/or procure the individual components of the knife: blade, handle material, mechanical fasteners, lanyard tubing, adhesive and modify, shape, fit, finish, assemble and inspect every knife that leaves my shop. I have done my job when there is nothing to take away and elegance remains.


J. Peterman??
Click to expand...



So, Mooseyard has the experience but BMK makes the knives..................

leo under one profile, firefighter on the other...................

What other names do you use here, Mr. Peterman????????
 
I don't know when this guy first "appeared" but does anyone see similarities? Constant editing, french/cajun flavor,tone and attitude,repetitive thank you statement at the end of the insults. This guy is or is a clone of Jim Adams.
 
rubiconss said:
I don't know when this guy first "appeared" but does anyone see similarities?
Click to expand...

That occurred to me as well. Sadly, I don't really think it's the same person... there are a lot of "characters" out there. :(

What encourages is me is the overwhelming majority of real knifemakers who actually have character.
 
Deweyknives said:
So, Mooseyard has the experience but BMK makes the knives..................

leo under one profile, firefighter on the other...................

What other names do you use here, Mr. Peterman????????
Click to expand...


Deweyknives, you completely missed the joke. Sometimes my humor is hard to see.

I AM NOT BMK. The quote about growing up in the Mountains was a C&P from BMK's website. I am an LEO, and I have NO experience making a knife, and I've freely admitted that on this website every time I ask one of the masters for advice.

Now the part about J. Peterman. J. Peterman was Elaines' boss from Seinfeld. He would travel the world looking for adventure, and then use stories about his adventures to describe the clothing and items in his catalog. I just felt that BMK's description of his life and how he had backpacked in the arctic circle and climbed mountains, and milked rabid porcupines and been a member of every special forces group was a little over embellishing and had nothing to do with making a knife.
 
So now we have 2 examples of how overstating your case weakens it. The OP is clearly not proved to be Mooseyard, and praising someone else's work proves zip about when the OP came up with any ideas.

Take a deep breath and stick to facts.

Water jets for cutting metal exist. What is the point about a post about water jets? (Cute picture of PB.) I could speculate, but please be clear. No added fog needed.
 
I think that the point is that his vast experience taught him nothing about the "molecular" structure of steel.
 
AcridSaint said:
I think that the point is that his vast experience taught him nothing about the "molecular" structure of steel.
Click to expand...

No way to draw that point from the quoted language. What the OP posted is apparently correct so far as it goes.

From a commercial site:

Water Jet Cutting
OUR GOAL: Is to SAVE you money and INCREASE productivity.

A water jet cutter can cut practically any materials at any shape with no heat involved or mechanical stresses. The cut is very accurate that it does not need any secondary finishing. This is a computerized cold cutting technology that can cut stainless steel, aluminium, mild steel, titanium, rubber, ceramic, polypropylene, glass, mild steel, acrylic foam, marble, bronze, carbon, fibre, copper and brass.

What Is Water jet Cutting Equipment?

Phoenix Water Jet Cutting offers these water jet cutting products which are capable of cutting up to 150mm thick with tolerances up to +/- 0.3mm sweat-free.

The water jet cutter cuts so cleanly that you can hardly identify the object is being cut. So, it saves time, effort and money. Also, Water jet cutting does not alter the molecular structure of the material as no heat is involved in the cutting process. With no heat, the wear and tear of your cutting machine is lessened.

Water jet Cutting has advanced features and productivity tools that can help maximize profits!
Click to expand...
(emphasis added).
 
Thomas, repeating a false statement doesn't make it true. All that shows is that BM copied/pasted something that does make sense (WJ doesn't harm the steel), but technically incorrect (steel is not "molecular" in nature).

Like his knives themselves (if they even exist outside of a graphics program), his supposed expertise appears to consist mainly (EDIT: no, entirely)of stuff he copied off the first website he stumbled across.
 
james terrio said:
That occurred to me as well. Sadly, I don't really think it's the same person... there are a lot of "characters" out there. :(

What encourages is me is the overwhelming majority of real knifemakers who actually have character.
Click to expand...

Well said, I will be sticking to KnifeMakers WITH character and staying away from KnifeMakers who ARE characters.
 
james terrio said:
Thomas, repeating a false statement doesn't make it true. All that shows is that BM copied/pasted something that does make sense (WJ doesn't harm the steel), but technically incorrect (steel is not "molecular" in nature).

Like his knives themselves (if they even exist outside of a graphics program), his supposed expertise appears to consist mainly (EDIT: no, entirely)of stuff he copied off the first website he stumbled across.
Click to expand...

I have no stake in this except to try and understand.

So far as I recall, most knife makers and smiths talk in terms of manipulating crystalline structure. However, at the least, the crystalline structure is formed of molecules. So this talk of the "molecular structure" of steel by some (including Phd's in metallurgy) may be no more than an example of statements by folks who don't "talk right" to the ears of the folks who come here. That fact does not prove the statements are, literally, incorrect - just not conventional to the "ear" of a maker or smith.

Not using conventional language MAY be evidence of lack of knowledge -- or not. Some glory in not sounding conventional - to the point of poor communication.

So statements like "Annealing is the process of changing the molecular structure of steel to its equilibrium state" don't prove the author is ignorant about steel and its manipulation through heat.

Nor, alone, do they prove any ability beyond Googling

To me. Right now.

I am prepared to be taught by my betters.
 
Last edited:
I'll post on this thread only once and I'll borrow a quote from another maker.
If it was easy, everybody would be doing it.
Click to expand...
(and knifemakers probably would be rich as well if it was easy-yet even the full time professionals make only slightly better then minimal wage)

The fact is; while it seems simple, the process of actually making them is much more difficult and time consuming-getting grindlines even and heat treating especially. In fact..heat treatment is part of a complete science involving pearlite, ferrite, cementite, austizing, cyrogenic treatment, etc.. And heat treatment is part of knifemaking-it is absolutely critical for a good blade.
 
Since there aren't any molecules of steel, the molecular structure of steel cannot be altered.

The simplest form of "steel" would consist of just Fe and C, however this is just a lattice, there is no covalent bond between the two elements. You can't break steel down into a molecule because there isn't a covalent bond between all of the alloying elements that make "steel".

Further, C and Fe can both be broken down into single atoms and thus are not molecules, to the best of my understanding. The only single atom molecules that exist are noble gases, afik.

Of course, I'm no chemist or physicist, I'm just some guy on the Internet. Maybe someone smarter than me can correct my mistakes.
 
Also, I don't particularly think grinding (or other means of shaping) or heat treating are necessarily the difficult parts of making a knife. However, they are both essential parts.
 
Status
Not open for further replies.
Back
Top