Got a custom idea....need some help though

[crazyengineer]

Ok,
I am a freshman in college, and I will have a paid internship this summer (engineering if you want to know).
After I pass this year, I am going to have a knife made for me....well not exactly a knife...

I have had this idea floating around in my head for a good 3 years, it started out as just a USMC kabar with a different length blade

You can describe it as you will, here is what i have so far

i plan on having the blade blued instead of coated, same with the handle that is steel (if this handle design stays at least, i doubt it)

I dont know for sure what thickness i am wanting yet, i was considering .20" thick, if anyone has some other ideas, please, let me know and explain why

the handle is definitely going to change, i just havent decided how yet, if you have any ideas, please let me know
recommendations on the handle material would be great too.

can i get some recommendations for the type of steel that would be good for this?

I know that I want a Kydex sheath for this as well, probably a pancake with rivet holes all the way around it so i can strap it every which way

this will be a user and used like a machete (like some people use the rucki, waki, etc...).

any ideas and recommendations would be amazing, thanks for the help

Also, who would be the best bet for me for having this made?

 

[Bill1170]

I looked at your drawing. The blade looks like a really big Mora knife. Won't a steel handle be uncomfortable, especially in cold weather? Machetes are typically wider and thinner than what you propose because this offers less resistance when cutting vegetation, and the width gives back the mass that was lost by going thinner.

 

[Cold Kill]

What are your ideas for length and steel used?

 

[EricV]

Have you seen the KaBar big brother series? Just under a 10" blade

With your design a blade that long and that thick will have two problems.

1) It won't cut very well because the grind will be so obtuse

2) Its going to be heavy and awkward to use


machete's have wide thin blades because it allows for the best compromise between a deep biting blade thats still lively to swing and plenty strong enough because all the steel is behind the edge to take up shock rather than off to the sides where it will drag and try to split the wood/vine/whatever like an axe. Just some things to think about but your idea is still has a really high cool factor. For that length a thinner preferably wider, flat ground blade will work better is many ways. What you've designed is an unbalanced sword, again really high cool value just the same.

 

[res1cue]

Ok,
I am a freshman in college, and I will have a paid internship this summer (engineering if you want to know).
After I pass this year, I am going to have a knife made for me....well not exactly a knife...

I have had this idea floating around in my head for a good 3 years, it started out as just a USMC kabar with a different length blade

You can describe it as you will, here is what i have so far

http://www.flickr.com/photos/61421251@N05/6180321246/in/photostream

i plan on having the blade blued instead of coated, same with the handle that is steel (if this handle design stays at least, i doubt it)

I dont know for sure what thickness i am wanting yet, i was considering .20" thick, if anyone has some other ideas, please, let me know and explain why

the handle is definitely going to change, i just havent decided how yet, if you have any ideas, please let me know
recommendations on the handle material would be great too.

can i get some recommendations for the type of steel that would be good for this?

I know that I want a Kydex sheath for this as well, probably a pancake with rivet holes all the way around it so i can strap it every which way

this will be a user and used like a machete (like some people use the rucki, waki, etc...).

any ideas and recommendations would be amazing, thanks for the help

Also, who would be the best bet for me for having this made?

Looks kind of like a Buck 119, but it looks good. Just out of curiosity, why did you chose not to drop the point at all? I think you may have a bit better point control with a simple clip or gentle slope near the tip.

Also I see that you are located in blacksburg and you are an engineering major... smells like a Hokie to me! I graduated from UVA not too long ago

 

[crazyengineer]

Looks kind of like a Buck 119, but it looks good. Just out of curiosity, why did you chose not to drop the point at all? I think you may have a bit better point control with a simple clip or gentle slope near the tip.

Also I see that you are located in blacksburg and you are an engineering major... smells like a Hokie to me! I graduated from UVA not too long ago

yes, i am a hokie.

i have no idea why i didn't make a drop or clip point (though i am still toying with the idea, this is the first time i have actually drawn this thing out)

I looked at your drawing. The blade looks like a really big Mora knife. Won't a steel handle be uncomfortable, especially in cold weather? Machetes are typically wider and thinner than what you propose because this offers less resistance when cutting vegetation, and the width gives back the mass that was lost by going thinner.

i was wanting the dark parts of the handle (i had only pencil so no color coding) as a different material other than steel (i should have clarified that), but then again, the handle is going to be changed still, i dont know what i am going to choose for it. i believe that i will make it longer but keep the guard, it is growing on me

i have seen the kabar's new big brother, but its the original ka-bar's size (other than length) that i like

I wont make the blade wider (I like the style of this), but thinner i will do, could i get a recommendation on thickness?

As for the steel issue, i have no idea what i want in the way of steel, because I dont know near enough about steel
so, if anyone has any ideas on what kind of steel would be good, please let me know

and as for the length question, in the diagram it is 18"

 

[res1cue]

For a big chopper like that, 1095 is always a good choice. 440C is good too.

 

[crazyengineer]

any chance you have a recommendation for blade thickness?

and i am looking for a finish for it as well. I am looking for a dark finish on it, but i dont want a coating.
what would everyone here recommend?
i was thinking that i might get it rust blued, but i dont know

 

[res1cue]

crazyengineer.. what is the intended use?

0.2" is pretty average for a bigger fixed blade, but if you want a big thick survival chopper, you could consider going thicker. For a more all-rounder, it sounds good where it is at.

As for finish, i prefer a nice stonewash with no coating at all.. but do note that if you use a carbon steel like 1095, you will have to do some light maintenance to prevent rusting

 

[crazyengineer]

crazyengineer.. what is the intended use?

0.2" is pretty average for a bigger fixed blade, but if you want a big thick survival chopper, you could consider going thicker. For a more all-rounder, it sounds good where it is at.

As for finish, i prefer a nice stonewash with no coating at all.. but do note that if you use a carbon steel like 1095, you will have to do some light maintenance to prevent rusting

i realized that i will have to do light maintenance for rust prevention

i was even considering .25", though, I think that i will go with the .20 if not a little bit thinner.

the intended use is probably a big chopper, maybe some light machete work though.

I like the look of stone wash, but i am leaning towards bluing, i was thinking about getting it rust blued, will that do anything to the steel other than color?

 

[res1cue]

i realized that i will have to do light maintenance for rust prevention

i was even considering .25", though, I think that i will go with the .20 if not a little bit thinner.

the intended use is probably a big chopper, maybe some light machete work though.

I like the look of stone wash, but i am leaning towards bluing, i was thinking about getting it rust blued, will that do anything to the steel other than color?

I don't know anything about bluing knife blades, don't own any knives that have been blued. My blued gun barrels are perfectly fine though

So 3/16" is 0.1875 (Cold Steel SRK's thickness) and 5/16" is 0.3125 (Cold Steel Recon Scout's thickness).. both of those knives are able to get to a relatively thin edge very effectively. The SRK has does not have a very wide blade, but uses a saber/hollow grind.. it works, but I am personally not a big fan of it.
The Recon Scout has almost a 2" wide blade, and with a flat grind on my SK5 version and a convex edge on the SM3 version, is able to get the edge fairly thin and effective.

So basically, anything in that range will do, but how it behaves and cuts will depend a lot on the grind and the width of the blade


Btw in your picture, the darkened area on the blade, is that where you want the grind to start?

 

[crazyengineer]

I don't know anything about bluing knife blades, don't own any knives that have been blued. My blued gun barrels are perfectly fine though

So 3/16" is 0.1875 (Cold Steel SRK's thickness) and 5/16" is 0.3125 (Cold Steel Recon Scout's thickness).. both of those knives are able to get to a relatively thin edge very effectively. The SRK has does not have a very wide blade, but uses a saber/hollow grind.. it works, but I am personally not a big fan of it.
The Recon Scout has almost a 2" wide blade, and with a flat grind on my SK5 version and a convex edge on the SM3 version, is able to get the edge fairly thin and effective.

So basically, anything in that range will do, but how it behaves and cuts will depend a lot on the grind and the width of the blade


Btw in your picture, the darkened area on the blade, is that where you want the grind to start?

basically.....i think....i started out with a kabar and changed the handle, tip, and length of the blade

I like the color on bluing, which is why i am considering doing that. (i have plenty of blued guns)

i kind of suspect that the rust bluing is going to be a no, because of the price of having it done.

 

[res1cue]

The Kabar is a great knife.. it has withstood the test of time and have saved many lives before. That said, the Kabar was a mass produced war-time knife from half a century ago. The kabar employs a saber grind because it is cheap to mass produce while maintaining a fair degree of strength to what is really relatively thin steel stock (~0.16" IIRC).

If you are thinking about a custom fixed blade, I'd go for either a full flat grind or a convex grind for longevity, more shearing potential, and strength for the edge.

To be honest, it sounds like the Recon Scout has hit most of the points on what you are looking for in a knife, and it would be cheaper to put down 100 bucks and try it out and see what you want changed than to preorder a custom that have features you may not want.

and actually the knife that looks most like yours is the CS outdoorsman:

But it probably doesn't have the heft you are looking for

 

[crazyengineer]

The Kabar is a great knife.. it has withstood the test of time and have saved many lives before. That said, the Kabar was a mass produced war-time knife from half a century ago. The kabar employs a saber grind because it is cheap to mass produce while maintaining a fair degree of strength to what is really relatively thin steel stock (~0.16" IIRC).

If you are thinking about a custom fixed blade, I'd go for either a full flat grind or a convex grind for longevity, more shearing potential, and strength for the edge.

To be honest, it sounds like the Recon Scout has hit most of the points on what you are looking for in a knife, and it would be cheaper to put down 100 bucks and try it out and see what you want changed than to preorder a custom that have features you may not want.

and actually the knife that looks most like yours is the CS outdoorsman:

But it probably doesn't have the heft you are looking for

it also doesn't have the length either, I am wanting to have one made with an 18 inch blade.

the grind isn't as important to me as the size and length of blade right now, i will research and decide grind when i get there in the design, though i will probably avoid a convex edge as I have never sharpened one, and i would rather know what i am doing before i try to sharpen it.

 

[res1cue]

Wow.. 18" blade.. that's like a small sword.. in which case maybe 0.2" is probably a good thickness.. Convex grind can still have whatever edge you want on it (just because the grind is convex doesnt mean the edge has to be).. but convexing an 18" blade would be a PITA and may cost a small fortune..

At 18", saber grind would do you pretty good, but 1095 might be to brittle.. you may want to look at 1065 thereabouts..

By way of reference.. this machete has 14" blade

 

[crazyengineer]

That is a nice machete....i bought the parang instead (havent got to use it yet, been at school)

yes, i know its like a small sword, but hey, if i am gonna get a custom, i am gonna get something that has been my idea for a while

i plan on redrawing the handle for it tonight so that i can get a better one, i dont like the one i have that much

 

[crazyengineer]

Well, i finally got around to drawing out 2 more handle options for this

i love opinions on this, so please, comment on them

i plan on doing whatever my handle is in black canvas, black micarta, or, black G10
carbon fiber may be an option though, how is it for grip

also, which of these would be the most grippy?

with these two, i am thinking about a7 or 8 inch handle

 

[res1cue]

G10 could be made to be the grippiest, but something that long, and intended for hacking, you may want something rubbery to limit energy transfer

 

[crazyengineer]

ok, what kind of scales would be good for vibration absorption?

oh, i am leaning toward the handle on the leaft, Labeled "B"
if that makes any difference

 

[BryFry]

Funny, when I was a teen, I used to day dream about how cool my Ka-Bar would be with a longer blade! Narrow bladed choppers may not be the ideal design for choppers, but they are fun and they can still perform pretty well. I have a few "Waki" style choppers that I think do great.

Hey, looking at the size and shape of your blade there reminded me a little of this custom "sword/machete" I saw on ytube, I believe it was made by Justin Gingrich....

[youtube]IyLZa4b9kHQ&feature=relmfu[/youtube]
[youtube]fVyj6GtT6Z8[/youtube]