Knife #8a Finished - First of three

Erin Burke

Erin Burke

KnifeMaker...ish
Joined
May 19, 2003
Messages
1,330
This is Knife #8a. It is the first of three of this design. They are intended to be given as gifts: one for my father-in-law (this one) and one each to my two brothers-in-law (still to come).

Some Stats:
Length: 12-1/2"
Blade: 6" (tip to choil?)
Steel: 3/16" 1095 (from Kelly Cupples)
Clay-Treated w/ hamon, Flat-Ground w/ tapered-tang
Handle: Stabilized/dyed California Buckeye Burl w/ mild steel pins
Guard: 1080 & copper w/ copper/steel mosaic pins.

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I know there are several problems... but overall, I'm fairly happy with the results. What do y'all think?

Erin

Note: I posted THIS WIP over in the Shop Talk sub-forum of Knife Dogs for anyone who is interested.
 
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Wade Jones said:
Beutiful use of materials! Really pleasing to my eyes.
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Wade... Thanks. It's funny, but I really just used the materials that I had at hand (with the exception of the mosaic pins). I think part of the trick is taking the options into consideration and trying to imagine what things will look like when they are done. I'll probably sound like a rap artist at the Grammys, but really, that any of my knives end up looking remotely cool is by God's grace :thumbup:. If you read through any of my WIP threads it becomes immediately obvious that none of it is due to my knowledge or skill. :D



JasonSCarter said:
I dont see a single problem... That knife is AWESOME!:thumbup:

Jason
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Jason... I appreciate the sentiment, but believe me, they are there:(. The blow-up of the guard/ricasso area pretty much shows all/most of them large-as-life. The only flaw that didn't end up showing clearly in the photos is the light "halo" around the etches.

Nevertheless, I am pleased with the results, and I will do my best to make sure that the next two knives of this series are improvements on the first.:thumbup::D.


Sticky & coolhandluke4... thanks for your kind words.

Erin
 
That is incredable! Hard to take your eyes off that handle. Crazy good. Thanks for sharing. John
 
SWEET! Design, materials, workmanship all flow together. IMHO most buckeye burl wouldn't work with that design but the piece you picked is perfect.
 
Very cool shape and I love the combination of materials. Looks like it'd be wicked fast in the hand.
 
Thanks again for the kind words all. It's nice to hear that a design resonates with others.


Bruce Bump said:
I like everything about it. Nice work.
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Thanks Bruce... I've followed your posts for several years now (like a creepy stalker) and am constantly floored by your work. While I enjoy positive feedback wherever I can get it, there are just a handful of makers from whom it carries a little more weight. Kind of like Joe Louis telling you you have a nice jab. :D Thanks again.



Dan Pierson said:
SWEET! Design, materials, workmanship all flow together. IMHO most buckeye burl wouldn't work with that design but the piece you picked is perfect.
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Dan... I think you've really hit on something here. I have two more knives of this design that I need to finish up. Problems are as follows:
  • This design requires longer scales than any I have built before. To fit on this knife, scales have to be at least 5-3/4" long.
  • When I was searching through my boxes of handle materials, I realized that I only had one set of scales that was long enough and "worked" with this design. They are the buckeye scales pictured.
  • I contacted several suppliers to see about getting some other stabilized scales (that would fit)... and Pat (of Ankrom Exotics) custom-cut and stabilized a couple more sets of buckeye for me. These scales are REALLY NICE, but I am just not sure whether they will work with THIS knife design.
  • I don't want these three knives to be exactly the same. I really want to try dressing the other two up in different clothes ;).
So what other materials do y'all think would look good on this knife? I'm thinking some sort of smooth/dense bone or antler might look good... but I've never worked with either before and I don't want to break the bank on material that I could very well screw up. I also have some Amboyna and Camphor burl blocks that I need to send out to WSSI. I'm thinking that one of those might work as well.

Any ideas or recommendations?
 
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