Got some new tantos ground out

Josh Mason

Josh Mason

Tombstone hand. Graveyard mind.
Joined
Jun 15, 2011
Messages
1,512
Hey guys, posted this over on the gallery and wanted to see if I could get some more feedback here. These are a blast to make. I have a bunch more too, so stay tuned!

As always, questions and critiques always welcome here.


Specs:

A2 tool steel
58-60rc Peters Heat treat
Chisel ground on both - razor sharp.
ground with a 60 grit blaze, 180 grit gator, then a fine scotchbrite.
Black and grey stingray under epoxy soaked cord.
Kydex sheaths in the making

These were real fun to make, and I hope you guys enjoy them. Pretty new at all of this, and having a real good time. :D

bigtantos.jpg
 
Love them! Japanese style wraps are my favorite. Mine look nowhere near as good as yours! Nice work.
 
Thanks guys! Took me years of cussing and hand cramps to get mine to look halfway good...lol. Tsukamaki is a tricky deal. I know mine is different and not too traditional, but it works for me. There's many types of tsukamaki, so i won't say it's completely "wrong".

Jonathan, thank you man. Your one of the best at this and I'm always glad to hear you like my stuff.
 
The top one isn't really my style (the bottom one is), but they are both really clean and look well-made. I'm a fan of the full-width, gentle hollow grind on the bottom one — I bet it cuts like crazy.
If I may offer some minor criticism: the 180 grit finish strikes me as a little unfinished, especially contrasted with the very nicely done maki. Taking them to at least 220 or 320 before the scotchbrite would improve the look IMO, but keep the more matte finish (which I like).
Where do you buy your ito? I've been using paracord for mine, but I've been thinking of getting something wider.

- Chris
 
Josh Mason said:
Thanks guys! Took me years of cussing and hand cramps to get mine to look halfway good...lol. Tsukamaki is a tricky deal. I know mine is different and not too traditional, but it works for me. There's many types of tsukamaki, so i won't say it's completely "wrong".

Jonathan, thank you man. Your one of the best at this and I'm always glad to hear you like my stuff.
Click to expand...

Thanks Josh!

I know what you mean about the hand cramps; I wrapped 5 in a row yesterday!
 
Very nice work Josh! :)

Can you explain the design for the first blade to me? Do you have a specific reason for that tip geometry, or cool factor, or? Just curious. :)

Very clean and crisp blades!!! :thumbup:
 
I like the bottom one better. The sting ray is cool looking. Where does someone buy that from?

Your makers mark, what font did you use for that? It's pretty cool.
 
Love the way they look. Super nice
 
Hey thanks guys! The full time job is keeping me from answering you guys in a timely fashion.

Hesparus -Thanks man, I get my ito from knifekits. I ordered about a million feet of it, and it's just now running dry. I'm probably going to restock with a heavy flat hiking boot lace. Heard from some other makers of this style that it's the stuff to get. I'm probably going to start going to 400 before the scotchbrite. I did that on some early stuff, and it's super nice. I'm trying to improve all the time, and I appreciate your feedback.

Nick, I have no idea.....lol. Probably just for cool factor, and I've seen that point somewhere before. To my eye, it looks pretty cool. I have another one that's a standard americanized tanto that's the same size and grind height. I guess I just wanted one to be a bit different. Thanks man, your knives are so clean, and it's awesome to hear that from you.

Railrider - I get my rayskin from the Ostrich Market website. They have alot of options there. Nice stuff. The font is kind of a Frankenstein. I borrowed from a few old gothic fonts and added a few of my own things. It's definitely different! lol

Avigil - Thanks alot man, had a blast making them!
 
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