Is this knife a success?

M

Magnum22

Joined
Jul 6, 2006
Messages
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Not sure if I can declare victory yet. A few of you know I've been making knives, and this is my most performance oriented design. Not very pretty, but all business. Weight comes from being broad, not thick. Leverage comes from the multi-position grip. Hold it from the back and your 7" knife becomes a 9" chopper. At 1/8" thick, it's still thin enough to make deep cuts rather than the surface cuts that most thick choppers are limited to. The edge is a single, high convex bevel. Hardened and tempered in my backyard.

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Most of my knives so far have been O1.
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This is my first in 1080, a tougher steel and better for this application. On the right end for size comparison.

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Tonight's test included a three pound mallet and some thick log splitting.

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We went through a few knots. More to come.
 
Halved and quartered through the knots:

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Then tested the remaining utility of the edge:

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looks like a pretty solid blade, it looks like you and i agree on a few things design wise...

i imagine it's pretty hefty but still nimble, based on the size vs thickness.

the handle looks a bit narrow to me, as i found that the sarsquatch handle is just about the right width if the scales aren't too thick, but i would prefer slightly narrower if the scales were heavy and contoured. i think that unless you used very thick and heavily contoured scales i might have trouble grabbing the handle comfortably, but its really tough to judge without seeing it in person.

and i like more of a constant curve to the blade, more like the bushmoro. i think that it helps chopping penetration.

but this one looks promising, i would guess it could be a real hit.
 
The only steel I have is an old saw blade, about 24 inches across and 1/8 inch thick, I was going to make a few smallish blades out of it but I may try and do what you did and make a chopper.
It makes sense what you are saying for sure, one of my best choppers is my 12 inch tram, and thats thinner then that.
Great work on the blades, I hope mine turn out that good. What kind of system did you use for the heat treat?
 
I made this one today. It's a all hardened, shatter proof Power Hacksaw blade. It's 18 inches long over all. Two inches tall and about 1/8 inch thick. I was going to make two knives out of it and I still might. Gonna try it out first. I am not quite done with it yet. The grips are probably temporary They are oak from an old pallet.

I like your knife, looks darn good.
 

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they all look like winners to me. good job!

udtjim, that knife looks cool. keep us updated on its performance.
 
Magnum! I like that knife a lot. 01 is a great steel to learn on. I like that you went away from having a choil.

Be careful grinding pallet wood Jim. If its been overseas at all, its probably been fumigated. I like recycling too, but the chemicals they use are dangerous. Probably best to just use broken furniture, or buy a small stick of Oak.

Where do you get that power hacksaw blade steel?? Neato.
 
Plus one on Siguy's comment. Might work great with a dbl. layer cord wrap though. Overall looks great, good testing too. Looks like it came through all the tests quite well.
 
That is an interesting tip/curve that you put on it. It looks like it would be a good user.
 
The local hardware store had a table full of different Power blades. They were all new and he was selling them for 2.00 each. I got about a dozen of them. When they were gone, he never got anymore. This one was 20 inches and the rest were about 16. Some had teeth on both sides.
 
For anyone who was wondering about the handle, it will be thicker. I pad the flats with anything (foam, weather seal) then coat with plasti-dip.

works great on the tramontina bolo. durable and comfortable, though not beautiful.

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Good idea on the plastic -grip. I really like that stuff. I dipped a couple of my hatchets in it, sure makes for a secure feel in the hand. Looks like you have a darn functional tool.
 
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