Integral fixed blade...

You know about Todd Begg from your other post.

Dietmar Kressler is famous for his (from the KnifeArt.com website):

knifeart_1926_124573825
 
WOW what a beauty that is Gabe. I have handled the knife Dietmar did for AG Russell and was blown away. Amazing fit and finish doesn't even begin to describe his work.

alejandrino I don't know of any makers off the top of my head though knifeart.com would be a great starting point to look for them.
 
KM: I looked at the too links you posted!! WOW!! Both those makers have incredible knives!! I liked the Ricardo Velarde knives the best though.
 
Ricardo Velarde is a student of S.R. Johnson and Dietmar Kressler. He learned well. He integrated what he learned from them into developing his own style. I like his knives very much.
 
I can see the Dietmar Kressler influence. Yes, he did learn well, and did an awesome job develeoping his own style. I REALLY liked his knives very much.
 
I like forged integrals much more than the machined ones. I just see alot more skill involved in moving steel for an integral pattern than simply starting with a 2"x1" block and milling it all away. Different skillsets involved....but one can be computer programmed while the other relies on handwork.
 
The guys you mentioned are all excellent, particularly Kressler and Velarde, who's work is stunning.

I also make integral knives, you're welcome to have a look at my website.

BTW There is an incredible amount of handwork that goes into a machined integral knife, as well as the design, programming, machining, finishing and grinding involved. Some Makers have their integrals rough machined by an outside vendor, I do all of the work myself. Either way, decribing the process as "simply starting with a 2" x 1" block and milling it all away" is as inaccurate as describing the forging process as hammering a lump of steel until it sort of looks like a knife... both are inaccurate over simplifications.
 
Funny you mention this right now. This one has been out of my EDC rotation for awhile so just this morning I got it out, ren wax on the ironwood, a swipe or two on the sharpmaker, and got it ready to carry. Then I sat down and saw this thread. Part-time maker and jounreyman smith, John Parks, about 7 inches overall.
IMG_1431_2.jpg
 
Kevin Wilkins said:
The guys you mentioned are all excellent, particularly Kressler and Velarde, who's work is stunning.

I also make integral knives, you're welcome to have a look at my website.

BTW There is an incredible amount of handwork that goes into a machined integral knife, as well as the design, programming, machining, finishing and grinding involved. Some Makers have their integrals rough machined by an outside vendor, I do all of the work myself. Either way, decribing the process as "simply starting with a 2" x 1" block and milling it all away" is as inaccurate as describing the forging process as hammering a lump of steel until it sort of looks like a knife... both are inaccurate over simplifications.
Click to expand...


I agree both are over simplifications. I didnt mean to imply that either is "easy", simply that i find the skill involved in hammering an integral from stock to be higher bladesmithing-wise than the technical aspect of milling an integral. Surely, the technical aspects to machining an integral arent easy at all, but its a skillset shared by mechanical engineers, toolmakers, diemakers, basically anyone with knowledge of autocad and access to the right machine and schematics of a knife design. Someone could go to emachineshop.com and with some time, end up with a 75% finished integral to exacting specs. I personally am drawn to the fact that someone can take a much smaller piece of stock and forge it into an integral with little or no waste produced. IMHO, that takes more skill than the technical training involved in machining the same knife. The fact that many aspects can be outsourced is the same reason I am drawn to the forged pieces. I dont know any smiths having other smiths forge out ingeral blanks for them.

After a few semesters of autocad training not related to knifemaking, I could now certainly design and have an integral cut out by a CNC to maybe 75% total work complete, and finish it with grinding and HT. Given the same time training on blacksmithing, i doubt one could properly forge an integral, but maybe thats just me....to me the drawing skill is in creating the same precision using forging, inherent blade knowledge, and hand skill that otherwise are handled by the computers making the cuts. I am drawm to fully handmade blades the same way, created with files and hand work over jigs.

This is the same argument against Jigs. Surely, one can use a jig, spent hours perfecting that jig, then mass produce ground blades to perfect specs....but that doesnt mean you are any good at grinding knives, just good at making a jig and knowing how to use it. You are limited to your jig, your tooling...the skillset of integral forging allows the same person the ability to do ANYTHING with a single skillset which is limited only by imagination rather than needing to redesign the wheel/program each time you want to change a design. This is why new makers are always encouraged to learn freehand grinding rather than being taught to make jigs that hold their blades at the perfect angle, but thats a big debate, too!

This is just my opinion...some may feel that writing a CNC program for endless hours, then having the machine cut it out is equally difficult due to the required technical expertise and time involved. Like i said, different skillsets, i just prefer one over the other when it comes to handmade knives. That line is blurred, IMHO, when 75% or more of the stock reduction and profiling work is done from behind a computer screen and the precision is left to the tooling and machine.

Off your site, a perfect example:
Machining: Look at all those knives caught in the waste scraps just waiting to come out!
ih_bern_2.jpg

Forging:
Before:
1.JPG

After:
12.jpg

Zero steel wasted, just moved. Entire knife made from a 3"x1" round section. I would need about 5X as much steel to cut it from stock.

I hope this isnt taken as an insult at all, its just my personal preference and I wanted to clarify why it appeals to me more. I dont claim to be any expert in either, but have worked on both sides of the fence...
 
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