Joss's pack knife in progress

NickWheeler

NickWheeler

Joined
Dec 3, 1999
Messages
9,437
Hey folks-

This is an in progress thread for Joss's pack knife. He posted the picture of it rough-ground and heat-treated in the other thread.

Here it is finish flat ground to a 320X belt-

joss22oa.jpg


I like thin edges. I use a Starrett outside mic, but this cheap caliper makes for a better picture. The edge is at 0.010" after finish flat grinding-

joss36bl.jpg


I then take the blade down to sharp, and feather in from flat to the sharp edge with my Rob Frink rotary platen. I couldn't get very good pictures of that though.

Then I start testing.

First I do the typical hair shaving and paper slicing, and then move on to wood and such. Ultimately though, if a blade will hold up to the antler chop you have a winner. I start off with light blows, and then work up to all out chopping on the antler.

This first pic is on the bench-top with light blows-

joss350tr.jpg


Here I've got a block under it and am full-out whacking away at it-

joss48ex.jpg


And this last image shows that there is no edge damage-

joss59wx.jpg


More to come later. Thanks for looking! :)

-Nick-
 
Awesome knife dude! I'm still blown away by the oil "modified" profile. Your geometry is right on too. Very impressive piece.

~Great grinding too :).
 
I got some more work done on Joss's blade today.

First shot is the beginning of hand-sanding. I'm using 320X here-

joss68jh.jpg


Here I'm using a 220X EDM stone to put a radius on the choil for more comfort while in use-

joss73vv.jpg


After I got the blade hand-sanded to a very clean 600X, I decided to do some light etching with vinegar just to bring out the hamon a bit. Joss will use this knife, so I won't spend a great deal of time bringing it out with a super fine finish.

joss81wm.jpg


Here's a shot of the blade... sanded to 600X with rounded choil and spine-

joss92my.jpg


And here is a very poor attempt to show the hamon. Even though I didn't spend a lot of time on it, it looks much better than this in person (trust me! ;) ) -

joss105oo.jpg


Thanks :)
-Nick-
 
Another great blade!!! Thanks for showing the "progress" pics.
 
Beautiful work--what's the projected blade length and OAL?

The grinds on that blade--especially as they terminate in a .010" edge--are pure joy to behold. And the edge testing you show is a real eye-opener. Thanks for sharing pictoral evidence of some masterful talent. Not many showing that kind of development would have the humility to postpone Journeyman Smith testing in order to become even more prepared. To me at least, that shows very impressive commitment.

Thanks again for the photos,
Will
 
Thanks again guys :)

I was holding off on the knife until I heard back from Joss on some handle details.

This will be a carry knife and Joss wants it light and very user friendly. I've used micarta for guards before, and something nice about it, is it doesn't really get cold like steel furniture.

So I'll be making the guard and handle out of green canvas micarta.

Thanks! :D
-Nick-
 
Doh! Sorry Will, I meant to answer you and just plain spaced it I guess.

Blade Length is around 7-1/4" and OAL will be right around 12" :)

-Nick-
 
NickWheeler said:
Blade Length is around 7-1/4" and OAL will be right around 12" :)
Click to expand...
Just right. Man, that IS a keeper. Can't wait to see it with the micarta.

I've looked back through this thread and the one Joss posted, and I can't seem to find the type of steel in this blade, Nick. Could you post that, and also ballpark what Rc hardness you expect at the edge and spine when you're all done?

Thanks again,
Will
 
Okay, more pics :) I took quite a few, and first wasn't going to use them, but then decided to go ahead. It shows that there are a lot of steps required even in a very simple knife like this one.

The filing fixture has been clamped down, and needs to be checked with light behind it to make sure it's tightened down square and flat all the way around-

joss119kr.jpg


Filing the guard shoulders in-

joss125co.jpg


Shoulders cut, now the tang needs to be taken down a bit-
joss134wy.jpg


Tang taken down, ready to start on guard-

joss141dp.jpg


Here's a shot of the blade and micarta pieces for the handle-

joss152ty.jpg
 
Using the Starrett outside mic to check blade thickness-

joss162lp.jpg


Milling the guard slot-

joss175qa.jpg


Filing it in-

joss187wz.jpg


Sanding guard face on granite plate and paper-

joss198tx.jpg


Starting to fit the guard-

joss208ae.jpg


A close-up of the same step-

joss213rk.jpg
 
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