Gaucho rebirth - Thanks Andy!

Warrior108

Warrior108

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Apr 24, 2012
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This knife was purchased used, at a good price for what it was but I honestly felt ill at the state it came to be in. Rather than try to tackle repairs myself or complain to the seller and return the item, I contacted Phillip with some pictures and asked if it could be looked at for salvage work evaluation. In the end, Andy performed magic and breathed life back into the knife. It came back from its Andy Spa Treatment a reborn Gaucho and totally different! If I understood correctly, the swedge was required to bring the point back to the knife. I am super excited to have a swedged Gaucho! a) because I like it! and b) I don't think I've seen a swedge Gaucho before.

I want to thank Phillip who helped with the process, Andy for his grinding / regrinding magic and anyone else who played a role (handle work, etc.).

(If you do reply to this post, please refrain from any ill comments about the previous owner or their sharpening methods. My intent for this post is positive in nature and isn't meant to be for complaining/bashing/embarrassment of any sort)

Enough rambling, lets see some pics ...


Thanks!


Before/After:
auchoBeforeAfterBladeRight1000-vi.jpg


GauchoBeforeAfterBladeLeft1000-vi.jpg



Test run when it came home: (wow, what a slicer)
GauchoReborn11200-vi.jpg


Current pic, with a bit of patina aka character:
GauchoReborn21200-vi.jpg



Spine pics.
GauchoReborn31200-vi.jpg
 
Cool, just out of curiosity, how did the other guy sharpen it. It kinda looks like a worksharp gone wrong or one of those motorized kitchen knife sharpeners.
 
cool deal. i'm glad you like it.
Andy did the grinding and I did the scales.

It turned out pretty nice.
 
I was jealous when you got it at the price you did, I was 15 mins late. After seeing what Andy did refurbishing it I'm amazed. It looks to be an even better slicer than new with the higher grind. And that swedge 😳
 
Looks beautiful! I was the previous owner, and I sharpened it a lot, all by hand. This was my user kitchen knife for several months and every time I sharpened it I would try to thin it out behind the edge to make it a better slicer. I just did the best I could but I'm obviously not an expert. It was super sharp for all my purposes so I never worried about it much. Also, just to note, I think the price was fair and I of course would have taken it back if Warrior wanted to. But I'm glad it looks so beautiful now! Great job.
 
jujawa said:
Looks beautiful! I was the previous owner, and I sharpened it a lot, all by hand. This was my user kitchen knife for several months and every time I sharpened it I would try to thin it out behind the edge to make it a better slicer. I just did the best I could but I'm obviously not an expert. It was super sharp for all my purposes so I never worried about it much. Also, just to note, I think the price was fair and I of course would have taken it back if Warrior wanted to. But I'm glad it looks so beautiful now! Great job.
Click to expand...

Hey Justin,
Gaucho's are not easy to come by so I was thankful for the opportunity to get my hands on one and I also agree that it really was a fair price. Again, my intent was really to focus on Andy's work here but thanks for commenting. I'll send a PM shortly also.

Thanks
 
Very nice job here, all the way 'round.

This interests me greatly:
Warrior108 said:
If I understood correctly, the swedge was required to bring the point back to the knife.

Before/After:
auchoBeforeAfterBladeRight1000-vi.jpg


GauchoBeforeAfterBladeLeft1000-vi.jpg
Click to expand...

I've often had it explained to me that the best (only?) way to restore a point to a knife blade is to grind/sharpen from the top of the spine, but I could never quite picture how or why. These images illustrate the effect clearly. Thanks!


... So far, to my eyes Shadetree's Evergreen is the 'ebony' of micarta handle options-- it always looks 'right,' and any knife clothed in it is instantly classy. :)

~ P.
 
Congratulations Jerry. Andy and Phillip did a great job resurrecting that Gaucho in a very classy way.

Here is a little more back story on that knife. It was originally offered in this thread:

http://www.bladeforums.com/forums/s...-The-actual-Fiddleback-Friday-thread-02-20-15

IMG_9784-vi.jpg


2015 0220 22 – Gaucho knife w/ Evergreen burlap over black w/ white pinstripes, Trinity pinout, SFT Tang, convex on 3/32” spalted 01 steel - $290

I was the original “buyer” of that knife. I went for it because I thought it would be good trade bait down the road. It turns out that I traded it that same day to another guy who posted interest in it in that thread. I asked Ken to drop ship it right to him which he did, so I never even touched the knife myself.

I like the new look a lot better now with the higher grind and swedge. Beautiful knife now. :thumbup:

Phil
 
Comprehensivist said:
Congratulations Jerry. Andy and Phillip did a great job resurrecting that Gaucho in a very classy way.

Here is a little more back story on that knife. It was originally offered in this thread:

http://www.bladeforums.com/forums/s...-The-actual-Fiddleback-Friday-thread-02-20-15

2015 0220 22 – Gaucho knife w/ Evergreen burlap over black w/ white pinstripes, Trinity pinout, SFT Tang, convex on 3/32” spalted 01 steel - $290

I was the original “buyer” of that knife. I went for it because I thought it would be good trade bait down the road. It turns out that I traded it that same day to another guy who posted interest in it in that thread. I asked Ken to drop ship it right to him which he did, so I never even touched the knife myself.

I like the new look a lot better now with the higher grind and swedge. Beautiful knife now. :thumbup:

Phil
Click to expand...

Hey Phil,

Thank you so much for adding this info! Great story to have behind it also. It saves a lot of digging for me because I'm ummm a bit anal with my knife info and have history (yes in a spreadsheet) on all of my knives, their original sale source and then I keep track of who I sold/traded them to, just in case I ever want to recover a regret.

I also prefer higher grinds and agree completely with you on this one.

Thanks again,
Jerry
 
Man, that came out awesome Jerry! Awesome job by Andy and a great score for you. :thumbup:

Comprehensivist said:
Congratulations Jerry. Andy and Phillip did a great job resurrecting that Gaucho in a very classy way.

Here is a little more back story on that knife. It was originally offered in this thread:

http://www.bladeforums.com/forums/s...-The-actual-Fiddleback-Friday-thread-02-20-15

Phil
Click to expand...

Phil, I'm glad you linked that thread. I actually own that Kestrel. :D I had to go through the whole thread to see who sharked that Osage Leku. I can't believe it lasted as long as it did. lol
 
Man that Gaucho looks awesome Jerry. Sort of makes me wish mine was swedged lol
 
Funny. I don't think I could have accomplished that grind when the original one was done in 2015. All the practice lately with 3/32" thick steel is paying off. I wish the flats didn't have all those deep mill scratches. I had a fight with them in 2015, and lost. They call that finish 400 grit! LOL.
 
pertinux said:
I've often had it explained to me that the best (only?) way to restore a point to a knife blade is to grind/sharpen from the top of the spine, but I could never quite picture how or why. These images illustrate the effect clearly. Thanks!



~ P.
Click to expand...

Bringing the spine down is better in most cases. If using any motorized equipment the tips are very easy to over-heat because they are so thin. In the few knives I have actually ground, I had to set my tip high to start with, grind the bevels in, and then bring the spine down to make the tip meet the edge where I wanted it, because I kept over-heating the tips during the grinding process. Knife making is definitely not everyone's thing. I love knives. I love using them, studying them, and designing them...but I learned making them is definitely not my niche in life. I guess there are almost a dozen unfinished knives covered in dust in boxes in a few knife maker friend's shops here in the southeast. If doing a tip repair on stones, it's just much easier and less work to regain a sharp point by bringing the spine down rather than grinding off all of the steel it takes o do otherwise. Also, if the tip has been broken back a ways, and the knife has a differential heat treat, removing the material from the edge rather than bringing the spine down, could put your tip into the softer part of the steel.
 
That's pretty slick! I really like the swedged Gaucho! The normal Gaucho is just good looking, but the swedge really adds something to it. :thumbup:
 
I want a Gaucho like that!!! Even with the '400grit' finish; this knife plays!!!


... Some day I'll have em all
 
pertinux said:
Very nice job here, all the way 'round.

This interests me greatly:


I've often had it explained to me that the best (only?) way to restore a point to a knife blade is to grind/sharpen from the top of the spine, but I could never quite picture how or why. These images illustrate the effect clearly. Thanks!



~ P.
Click to expand...

I actually re-profiled the steel on both spine and edge side, then re-ground from scratch. I almost always take meat from the edge side as well as the spine side when re-estabolishing a tip. Sometimes if it is very slight I can do only spine side, but more often, I take steel off of both. I like to knock the edge off the knife for safety (ie, we don't get cut as much while we work with the knife), then re-sharpen anyway. The swedge was pure luck. Though, I have been getting better at them lately.
 
blood604 said:
I want a Gaucho like that!!! Even with the '400grit' finish; this knife plays!!!


... Some day I'll have em all
Click to expand...

As much as I liked this Gaucho (because of the knife itself and the story behind it) I needed to scale back a few and chose to keep my bog oak Gaucho and sell this one. This one just sold last month. http://www.bladeforums.com/forums/s...iddleback-Flea-Market?p=16806772#post16806772

You can always drop the Buyer a line with a "Let me know if you ever want to part with that one" for just in case.
 
Warrior108 said:
As much as I liked this Gaucho (because of the knife itself and the story behind it) I needed to scale back a few and chose to keep my bog oak Gaucho and sell this one. This one just sold last month. http://www.bladeforums.com/forums/s...iddleback-Flea-Market?p=16806772#post16806772

You can always drop the Buyer a line with a "Let me know if you ever want to part with that one" for just in case.
Click to expand...

Thank you kindly for the heads up, always a shame when you have to give up a knife. Unfortunately my acquisition of FB knives (or any other) has had to slow right down, and I just got a Shaman thru FB outlet, my first since i don't know when, it's been that long!
But if things change I'll definitely shoot new owner a line to see how the Gaucho's doing... Wouldnt be the first time I inquired about a knife, and I ended up with a beauty Terrasaur...
 
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