Just Finished. . . Customer Commissioned

J

Javelina

Joined
Dec 15, 2003
Messages
36
Gentlemen,

I just finished this knife for a customer, who sent me a Warthog tusk that his late father had taken on a trip to South Africa. He saw a couple of other knives that I had done utilizing Warthog tusk, and wanted something similar, however, he said that he wanted a flat-ground blade instead of my usual hollow grind, and that he also wanted a hand finished blade as opposed to bright polish or bead blast finish. So this is what I came up with for him, I hope that he likes it as much as I do. This one is going to be hard to part with, it feels so good in the hand, it seems that these tusks are just the right shape to fit the hand perfectly.

Anyway, comments and suggestions are welcomed.

Thanks for looking,
-Mike

custom23.jpg
 
the knife and sheath look outstanding. Nice work.:thumbup:
 
kbaknife said:
Sweet.
I like your use of the tusk "Conchos" on the sheaths!
Really nice professional touch.
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Karl, thank you very much for the compliment. . . re the concho, I had a good sized piece left over that I cut off the root area of the tusk, and I thought sliced thin, it would make a nice concho. . . that stuff polishes up so nice!! :D

Robert Mayo said:
I'll second that i like the whole package nice work!
Bob
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Thanks so much Robert, I really appreciate it.

Kerry Hampton said:
the knife and sheath look outstanding. Nice work.:thumbup:
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Thank you Kerry!!
 
Raymond Richard said:
When I read "wart hog tusk" I was expecting to see one with a huge radius. I like the whole package!
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Raymond,

Thanks so much for the compliment. . . I'm with you, some of the Warthog tusks have a pretty wicked curve to them. However, this one and the last two I worked with were fairly straight. It helped that I cut the tusk on an angle then took the large "hump" off the top when shaping the handle as well. It takes a tusk that's in the 9¾"-10½" range to be able to do it though.

Again, thank you for the positive comment,
-Mike
 
Javelina said:
Raymond,

Thanks so much for the compliment. . . I'm with you, some of the Warthog tusks have a pretty wicked curve to them. However, this one and the last two I worked with were fairly straight. It helped that I cut the tusk on an angle then took the large "hump" off the top when shaping the handle as well. It takes a tusk that's in the 9¾"-10½" range to be able to do it though.

Again, thank you for the positive comment,
-Mike
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Mike, With a tusk that large you sure it wasn't a hippo? :D I've had both but never got around to using either. Fire I had 2 years ago got both types before I had a chance to use them. Are you saying this tusk is two pieces? Again fine looking knife!
 
John R. Fraps said:
I think you are going to have a very very happy client. Easy to see why you don't want to part with it!
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John, thank you so much for the comment. . . I just sent the customer this photo of the knife via email, and as you suggested, he is very happy! :)

Raymond Richard said:
Mike, With a tusk that large you sure it wasn't a hippo? :D I've had both but never got around to using either. Fire I had 2 years ago got both types before I had a chance to use them. Are you saying this tusk is two pieces? Again fine looking knife!
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Raymond, hehe, no, it isn't a Hippo tusk, they're MUCH larger!! :D Actually, when I look for these tusks, or when I talk to clients who are going to supply their own, I tell them that a tusk 9½" to 10½" is ideal, especially if they do NOT have the typical deep curve in them. I guess that I've been lucky so far. . . the other thing is, since it's being used on a hidden tang knife and I put spacers in front of the tusk, between the tusk and the guard, I'm able to shorten the tusk considerably, which really helps getting it to look a little straighter. The piece on this particular knife is only 5" in length, I cut off a sizable chunk on the root end (which is what I use for the concho on the sheath), mainly because it's really hollow out there, and then I also cut off some of the tip as well. It still leaves a bit of a hump or arch on the top of the handle, but some of that is taken off when shaping the handle and getting to match the contour presented by the guard and the spacer material.

Thank you again for the compliment,
-Mike
 
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