Integral Dagger

Nathan the Machinist

Nathan the Machinist

KnifeMaker / Machinist / Evil Genius
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Knifemaker / Craftsman / Service Provider
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Feb 13, 2007
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This is a large integral dagger that started out as a 10 1/2 pound block of Latrobe A2 that was milled down to about 12 ounce. The blade is 10". The overall length is 15.3". It's a little over 1/4" thick at the ricasso. It has deep 3" hollow grinds. The scales are made of vintage Westinghouse Micarta.

The distal taper was controlled by twisting the grind back and forth in a shallow helix. This helped me control the distribution of mass and leave some extra meat at the base of the blade and behind the tip without being an overly heavy blade. This is not a new technique, but is less commonly seen today.

It balances at the ricasso/guard transition.


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Beautiful, Nathan - in every detail.

"The distal taper was controlled by twisting the grind back and forth in a shallow helix." Nathan, can you elaborate, if possible, on this? I'm not sure I get the picture. Thank you. Mike
 
Mike157 said:
Beautiful, Nathan - in every detail.

"The distal taper was controlled by twisting the grind back and forth in a shallow helix." Nathan, can you elaborate, if possible, on this? I'm not sure I get the picture. Thank you. Mike
Click to expand...


A typical constant hollow grind creates a weak point where the two hollows intersect at the point. This is also true of a flat grind, but to a lesser extent. You look at a lot of daggers, they're pretty flat and weak at the point. This is a result of maintaining a constant dimension between the edge and the center of the grind.


However, you don't have to let the distal taper (the taper of the height of the center section) be dictated by the natural intersection of the grinds, they can be twisted into a steeper diamond section wherever you want. This twist forms a helix. On this dagger it twists twice, starting steep at the base of the blade, going flatter towards the center, then ending steeper again at the point.

The end result is a steady and controlled taper along the length of the blade with a stout reinforced point.
 
Absolutely stunning work! Thanks for sharing.:thumbup:
 
Nathan the Machinist said:
A typical constant hollow grind creates a weak point where the two hollows intersect at the point. This is also true of a flat grind, but to a lesser extent. You look at a lot of daggers, they're pretty flat and weak at the point. This is a result of maintaining a constant dimension between the edge and the center of the grind.


However, you don't have to let the distal taper (the taper of the height of the center section) be dictated by the natural intersection of the grinds, they can be twisted into a steeper diamond section wherever you want. This twist forms a helix. On this dagger it twists twice, starting steep at the base of the blade, going flatter towards the center, then ending steeper again at the point.

The end result is a steady and controlled taper along the length of the blade with a stout reinforced point.
Click to expand...

Thanks Nathan. Much appreciated. I think I see it now. Love the tapered ridges in the tang also. Mike
 
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