just completed.

[Lorien]

This is knife #4 or 5. I guess it's number 5 if I count a handle mounting I did to a blade forged, ground and heat treated by Ray Richard. Anyway, I started it a really long time ago, and I'll be glad to hand it over to its owner.

The knife is designed for use around water in remote places in British Columbia. It will be the companion to a fellow I know who likes photographing bears in their natural habitat. Bears are drawn to rivers, especially when the salmon spawn, and that's when he usually gets out there. Floating around with a camera, sounds not too bad!

There is a line cutter on the back of the blade, and you'll notice the pry tip. It is sharpened, but I originally intended it to be blunt. The steel is 154CM and its has a sturdy one sided bevel, which has a convex shape. The serrated portion is very thin and fine and cuts rope, straps and that kind of thing very effectively.

The handle is all G10, which I laminated together. The pins are made from 7075 aluminum, which I harvested from bicycle parts. It was pretty complicated and it took awhile to figure out how I was going to achieve what I had in mind.

Sheath is heavily waxed for use around water, and has a brass drain hole grommet, which looks pretty terrible now but will hopefully blend in better when it develops some patina.

I used a 2x72 grinder for some basic handle contouring, but the rest of the work was done with files, hacksaws, sandpaper and a drill press.

Thanks for looking!

 

[WValtakis]

That's pretty cool Lorien, looks like it should be awesome for anything that comes up for your friend

 

[Dawkind]

Very well thought out for its intended uses....great job buddy!

 

[betzner]

I'll ditto buddy Dudley's comment above, because it completely duplicates what I had intended to say. Plus, it's cool...

 

[Lorien]

thanks very much for your kind words

there's a lot about this knife that I'm dissatisfied with, to be honest. I'd like to fix all the little mistakes and make it more perfect, but there comes a time that I just have to let go and move on to the next project, and aim to do better from the outset on that one

this knife was a great lesson for me, and I have no doubt that making each subsequent knife will feel similar for some time yet. I still have a way to go, and this one marks the beginning of a new journey

 

[Lorien]

well, bud picked up his knife today and was STOKED!!! That made me feel great. I think I'm addicted

 

[RayseM]

It's fugly but with wicked character and jazz. I hope you get some feedback from the owner, once it gets used in the wild, that you can share with us. Looks very purposeful. Nicely done.

 

[Lorien]

fortunately, he's a wildlife photographer and he offered to take some shots of the knife in the field- he already has shots planned out in his head- so I will be updating this thread with some nice pictures. It won't be long, he's got a trip planned next month

as for the design, I agree. If I were ever to make another knife of this type, I can't really think of what I'd change apart from doing a better job. Everything generally works as intended, and the way the handle feels in a 4mm neoprene glove is pretty amazing