Erin Burke
KnifeMaker...ish
- Joined
- May 19, 2003
- Messages
- 1,330
Good morning dudes. After much pain and suffering, I am offering up photos of knife #17.
Some Stats:
Length: 9-15/16"
Blade: 4-3/4" (Tip to Choil)
Steel: Differentially heat-treated 1095 (from Kelly Cupples) Flat-Ground
Handle: Stabilized Camphor Burl
Guard: 416ss w/ mild steel spacer
This knife may just have been my biggest PITA project to date. I had to re- heat-treat it twice. The first HT had a lousy hamon, but I ground and polished the edge too thin before I found that out. So when I did re-HT #1 I ended up with ripples in the edge. I did some reprofiling to get back to a straight edge and ended up with a recurve shape in the process. The third HT is the one that stuck.
After cleaning up the grinds from the final HT, I ended up Elvis-ing the grind on the back side of the blade (not shown in this photo). The edge also thins out more than I would have prefered at the belly of the recurve. Finally, I found out that one of my 400-grit trizact belts is frayed a bit and ended up adding some fine scratches just behind the edge bevel when I was sharpening.
They are fairly visible if you zoom in.
This is the first time that I've tried a curved guard... it seems to have turned out OK.
The handle is stabilized camphor burl finished with tung oil. It is actually the second handle fitted to this knife. I pooched the first handle trying something new and ended up making it too thin. I didn't like the look or feel of the old handle, but just couldn't bring myself to start over. Fortunately, during one of the dry fits of the old handle, I forgot to add the guard spacer when hammering everything together and ended up with a several pieces of shattered camphor all over the shop. No choice but to start over. :thumbup: It's much nicer than before, but if you look close, you can see a small divot in the handle just behind the steel spacer. Grrrr.
I'll be happy to not have to look at this one for awhile.
Erin
Some Stats:
Length: 9-15/16"
Blade: 4-3/4" (Tip to Choil)
Steel: Differentially heat-treated 1095 (from Kelly Cupples) Flat-Ground
Handle: Stabilized Camphor Burl
Guard: 416ss w/ mild steel spacer
This knife may just have been my biggest PITA project to date. I had to re- heat-treat it twice. The first HT had a lousy hamon, but I ground and polished the edge too thin before I found that out. So when I did re-HT #1 I ended up with ripples in the edge. I did some reprofiling to get back to a straight edge and ended up with a recurve shape in the process. The third HT is the one that stuck.
After cleaning up the grinds from the final HT, I ended up Elvis-ing the grind on the back side of the blade (not shown in this photo). The edge also thins out more than I would have prefered at the belly of the recurve. Finally, I found out that one of my 400-grit trizact belts is frayed a bit and ended up adding some fine scratches just behind the edge bevel when I was sharpening.
They are fairly visible if you zoom in. This is the first time that I've tried a curved guard... it seems to have turned out OK.
The handle is stabilized camphor burl finished with tung oil. It is actually the second handle fitted to this knife. I pooched the first handle trying something new and ended up making it too thin. I didn't like the look or feel of the old handle, but just couldn't bring myself to start over. Fortunately, during one of the dry fits of the old handle, I forgot to add the guard spacer when hammering everything together and ended up with a several pieces of shattered camphor all over the shop. No choice but to start over. :thumbup: It's much nicer than before, but if you look close, you can see a small divot in the handle just behind the steel spacer. Grrrr.
I'll be happy to not have to look at this one for awhile.
Erin
Last edited:
