If I ran out of iron

Raymond Richard

Raymond Richard

Joined
Jun 17, 2001
Messages
5,705
could I still make a knife? As many have noticed I use a large selection of iron to make my fittings. But what if I ran out? A friend of mind sent me a few odd ball piece of material but mostly handle stock. There was a small bundle labeled walrus cheek bone. I really hadn't given the cheek bone a second thought till I started working on this knife. I had a pretty nice piece of osic but it was obviously challenged by being about an inch short. I thought I could just add an iron spacer or two but even I get tired of working with iron all the time. :D All of a sudden I remembered the cheek bone. Bone transplant! I went ahead and added a 1/4" bone spacer both front and back but it was still laking. Why not make the guard and the butt cap out of the same bone? I didn't think about that very long and went ahead and did it. My main fear came at the very end. I wasn't sure if the bone would stand up to peening the end of the tang but it did. With my luck that last little tap would have split the bone and I'd be back to scratching my head.

This knife had got a 4 1/2" L-6 blade with an osic and walrus cheek handle, no iron........ 9" overall and weighs 6oz.

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Worlds first Barbe Doll. I bet few knew Barbe started her life as a boot jack.

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Looks really great. Interesting that your Oosic is so much darker then the complete one I was given. The color contrast really sets it off. Great job.
 
ib2v4u said:
Looks really great. Interesting that your Oosic is so much darker then the complete one I was given. The color contrast really sets it off. Great job.
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Osic will vary in color a great deal. It just depends what minerals are close to it. I've had it in almost pure white to a really dark brown. I did soak this piece about 24 hours in a mixture of linseed oil turpentine so it could have picked up some more color that way.
 
I like the knife and the guard design.

But Jack boots or not, I'm not so sure about that bloated swimmer. Did she wash ashore like that?...
 
Very, very nice!
I realy enjoy seeing a non-metal guard and pommel.
The colours go together very well. I hope the jaw is large enough to last a few more like these.

BTW - My girlfriend mentioned that rubbing an oosic might extend it.
 
That's a funny one, good for your girlfriend...and you!

Cool knife! Sweet contrasts with similar materials in an innovative application. Makes for a handsome knife (without glitz and glitter.) Well done!
 
There isn't much left to say after that, is there? Cool idea Ray, I like the color combination too, and the way you filed your guard. That really looks cool. Thanks for sharing, you're a font of ideas!
 
Holly Cow!!!!!!!!!

The evolution of Mr. Raymond Richard!!!!!!!!!!
The old dog still has a few new tricks....

That is awesome Ray... I hope you still have it at Blade West.. I can't wait to see it..
 
Steven Kelly said:
Holly Cow!!!!!!!!!

The evolution of Mr. Raymond Richard!!!!!!!!!!
The old dog still has a few new tricks....

That is awesome Ray... I hope you still have it at Blade West.. I can't wait to see it..
Click to expand...

Steve, I can't say the knives are flying off the shelves so there's a good chance I'll still have this knife at Blade West. I really do like this bone. Really tough stuff and isn't brittle. Good combination! New tricks are what they are......
 
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