Kit knife??? (W2 fighter)

NickWheeler

NickWheeler

Joined
Dec 3, 1999
Messages
9,437
For those of us that do this stuff everyday, it's easy to forget that 99.8% of the population thinks all knives are made in a factory somewhere by machines. This has really been driven into my mind lately because of a lot of questions from family friends and youtube viewers. You know the deal...

"Wait, so you MAKE the knife? How?"

"Where do you buy the blades???"

"Where do you buy the handles???"

"Is there someplace that makes the handles for you?"

"So do you run a small factory?"

"Oh wow, those are beautiful, so where do you get the kits to make them?"

"Are they tempered? Are they REAL knives?"


These are some actual questions I've heard in the last couple months.

So I threw this together to address those types of questions... ;) :D

Nick Wheeler kit knives....

[video=youtube;PX8AfSY2fY4]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PX8AfSY2fY4&feature=youtu.be[/video]
 
In case you have the slightest interest in the knife itself, here's a more detailed look at it. ;)


BLADE- W2, nearly 11" long, 1-7/8" wide at widest, and 0.330" thick at the guard (LOTS of distal taper)
GUARD- twisted 120 layer damascus
HANDLE- primo Desert Ironwood
SHEATH- tooled, veg tanned leather

I'll put a more detailed description following the photos.... :)


Thank you for looking!!! :)


[video=youtube;q-FmsmPz0m4]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q-FmsmPz0m4&list=UUM3ezocAUFI1HtIi4V7SLmw&index=1[/video]

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This fighter was forged from 1-3/4" W2 roundstock. The differential hardening was done with time and temperature, but no clay. (Just FWIW- that doesn't mean it was an accident or easy, it's taken me about as much blood, sweat, and tears to get a bit of a grip on the no clay stuff as it did to learn to use clay). It was given a full etch/polish to show all the white, whispy, glistening stuff...:)

The guard was formed from 120-ish layer twist damascus (1084+15N20). I went for the typical sculpted guard shape I put on my fighters, but I rounded the top, scalloped the sides, and filed a 3/16" flute all the way around it. I give full credit for the scallop inspiration to Samual Lurquin! :) There's a 416 stainless, mirror polished spacer mated to the guard.

The handle was sculpted from a primo piece of Ironwood that I got from Chuck Bybee at Alpha Knife Supply several years ago. There's a domed 416 ss pin in there to "dot the i." ;)

Sheath is several thin layers of veg tanned cowhide with fully tooled front, differential dye job, and assembled with a hand-sewn saddle stitch.


Thanks for looking!!! :)
 
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And, of course, some shots to attempt to show more what the hamon looks like in hand...

This blade has more cloud-like, white and whispy stuff going on in it, than I have ever gotten before. :)

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Well worth project to highlight Nick. Thanks for all the pictures. I especially enjoyed the no clay activity you were able to generate and then bring out in your finish.

Take care, Craig
 
Come on Nick, I'm pretty sure I saw that exact kit at Jantz :D

I really like how the guard came out. It is different in a good way! Care to explain more about the time/temp method? I've slightly done it once by accident but would like to be able to nail it down better.
 
Hey where is Ray Carpentor I here he likes kits.LOL Look super awsom Nick.

Thanks for sharing. We have missed you around here.

Brett
 
Great video and beautiful knife!

When I get the "what? You made this? How did you do that?" I usually reply "I take a bar of quality steel, grind off whatever doesn't look like a knife, heat treat it, sand it until it looks pretty, attach handle material, grind off whatever doesn't look like a handle, sand the handle until its pretty, then sharpen it."
 
It's like going to the moon, you just need a big metal tube and some explosives... :D

Awesome video and outstanding knife.
 
DANG, wonder why my W2 fighter "Kit Knife" doesn't look like that??? :playful:

As always, very much appreciate your videos!
 
What kind of paint did you use for the lines on the guard? :p

Great looking knife
 
Astounding work on that sheath, Nick, and amazing knife as always. For anyone new to the forums viewing this post, THIS is what steadfast attention to detail and obsessive drive towards perfection will acheive. Take notes and feel free to strive to emulate, but realize that you are going to have to do the work. Results like this are not happenstance, and they are not given. They are acheived.

--nathan
 
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I'm. With Robert Nick, I also admire your work.

In fact, most of my stuff is heavily influenced by yours.

You are inspiring.

Greg
 
Thank you for the kind words guys... they are VERY MUCH APPRECIATED!!! :)

Nathan- that really made my day. You're giving me way too much credit, but it made my head swell and put a grin on my face all the same. ;) :)

Robert- I don't know what this Mr. stuff is, but it is confusing me! :O :)

If any of you guys are actually inspired by my work, well that's about as nice a thing as a guy could ever hear!!! Thank you!!! :)

As far as the hardening process goes--- There really isn't a set method, because it is heavily dependent on a lot of variables like steel composition, blade geometry, thermal cycles, quench medium, etc. I have, by far, had the best results doing this with W2, W1, and 1095 (just like with clay hardening). I quench in Park50 that's around 60-90 degrees.

This blade went straight from the salt bath (hung vertically by a wire) point first into a vertical quench tank that holds almost 8 gallons of oil. Agitation is accomplished by raising and lowering the blade in the oil, and the quench was interrupted at 7 seconds, and then again after another dip in the oil.

It's taken me a lot of futzing around and tinkering to get this to work, and just like with clay... sometimes it doesn't work and you go back to square one. :grumpy: ;)

I have found it's easy to differentially harden a blade without clay and get some kind of activity--- the hard part is doing everything so that in the end it looks like you did it on purpose. LOL


Thanks fellas :)
 
Is that blade from Jantz? That diamondwood handle looks neato.
 
Just tell them a child laborer in Pakistan made it in a sweat shop. They would not bat an eye.





Love this knife. I have been looking at it on the for sale forum.

I just had a custom slipjoint made by for me by J. Oeser. I have had a handful of people ask "wait, how did he 'make' it?" When I explain that he is a custom knife maker, they kind of scratch their heads.
 
Nick, of course the knife looks great, but I was especially impressed by the sheath. I would have sworn that it was done by Mr. Long. Your sheath work is as finely detailed as your knife work.
 
Bigfatty, I have to give you props for the heads up that this was in the exchange. It's not any longer ;) :D

--nathan
 
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