In the Shop - Lots of Kitchen, Hunting and Fillet Knives with plans for Jade!

I have added Fillet knives to the fixed blade knives I will be working with and plan to add the Boker Magnum Skinner to the next order I make with Blue Ridge knives.

The fillet knife I have finished is an old stock USA made Schrade - the Uncle Henry model.

This Jade is full of feathers. Feathers are a structure in Jade that looks something like a feather and is a "layer" that developed in the process of the stone becoming Jade. If these structures are larger they are often referred to as a "root" structure. They are a somewhat weaker area in the Jade but remain VERY strong.

In fact here is a link to an article I wrote about Jade and just how tough the internal structures are! See page four of the article.

http://gemstone.smfforfree4.com/index.php/topic,14545.msg172045.html#msg172045

 

I am working on a group of Jade kitchen and fillet knives that may be the best group I have done. The Jade used on all of these is AA (Jewelry/gem) grade and when polished sells by the carat. The custom/requested knife is going to be a bargain as it is looking incredible.

One of the fillet knives is a custom order and the other is an old stock USA made Schrade from 2004 with jewelry grade Polar Mine Jade. The seven knife set of Kitchen knives is for my wife on her birthday. She has told me that if someone wants to buy them for $2,800. to take the offer as she also wants a new oak hardwood floor in our living room and the sale would pay for the wood. Cheryl knows I will do another set for her. We actually have a set of custom knives from my works and others such as Bruce Bump now so she already has great knives to use.

The first photo is of the knives after initial rough sanding. Each knife has about 3 hours of sanding and polishing left to go. I thought it would be interesting to show the knives after just sanding to 280 grit. The last two are photos after I sprayed the knives with water.

 

Today may be the best day ever in my shop for polishing Jade! Some days things go very well and today was that day! The set I am doing for my wife may be the very best Jade I have ever worked. It took a mirror polish as did the Polar Jade and the Snowfield Ogden on the two fillet knives. My wife would still go with $2,800. for her kitchen set and frankly it would sell for $5,000. plus retail.

The requested fillet knife in the "2013 Snowfield Ogden" is turning out to be totally jewelry grade Jade and retail will be at least double what I agreed to do it for! He is going to be a very happy camper when he gets this knife!

I still have the metal polish to do on these so that is why they are still taped. I just could not wait to show Cheryl what her knife set was looking like in the block.

 

I finished another four knife Kitchen set today for a member of this site. I have not sent him the photos yet so you may be seeing these four before he does.

The Jade is from the 2013 find of apple green Jade from the Jade West Ogden Mine in British Columbia. This is just incredible Jade and this is the last I have that is cut thick enough for Kitchen knives so this may be the last set in this Jade unless I am lucky enough to be able to obtain more from Jade West.

 

Today I also finished the last USA made Schrade fillet knife I will be able to do in the "Snowfield" Ogden mine Jade as it too is the last I have of this piece cut thick enough for a fixed blade knife. Again, the Jade is from the 2013 find of apple green Jade from the Jade West Ogden Mine in British Columbia.

 

I had the camera in the shop and took a few photos of some fillet knives that I am just about finished with and two new designs I plan to do in Jade. The two new knives are USA made Bear hunting knives. If you look at them closely you can see the modifications I will be doing. I am changing the bolster and tang to be both compatible with my sanding and polishing wheels and to narrow the bolster enough to allow a slight curve in it to give a polishing area suited to properly polishing Jade.

 

Here are individual photos of the four old stock USA made Schrade Fillet knives. This is a pretty darn good set of knives. The two that look black are Wyoming Jade; the bright green is Polar Jade and the near white is pre-embargo jadeite from Burma.

 

Bruce - We had a MIXED set of custom knives with one knife being from you!

Thank you for the kind comments about my works. It means a lot to me coming from you.......

 

Bruce,

Do you have a link to the Seattle show? I have NEVER attended a show so perhaps it is time for me to actually go see one and mingle. I usually do rock shows!

 

I have finished the first set of true hunting knives and thought I would share a few pictures. All of these are done with Jade so they are not fragile showboats. These are made to use.

 

One more from the group of six as I can only attach five photos to a posting....