- Joined
- May 10, 2000
- Messages
- 3,351
A few months ago I shipped my little grunt knife out to a paratrooper proudly serving his nation with the 173D Airborne Brigade. When I sent the knife out to him I also informed him that, whether he liked it or not, he had been enlisted as my official field tester. Well he rose to the challenge and has since found ample opportunity to carry and use the knife in the field in fact, hes out on a training mission in Germany as I write this and Im pleased to report that he has been very happy with the knifes performance thus far. He has also provided me with extensive and valuable feedback, much of which I am incorporating into a new knife that Im finishing up for him right now.
And here it is, Nick's new deployment knife:
I forged this blade from a bar of 1095 high carbon steel and gave it a Japanese style clay-coated heat treatment, then polished it out to 600 grit and gave it a light acid etch to reveal the hamon. I also etched Nicks last name onto the blade and etched his unit insignia onto the ricasso. The blade is a quarter inch thick at the ricasso, has a primary cutting edge of about 4 inches and a raised, sharpened clip that extends back a little over 2 inches from the point. The tang extends all the way through the handle and protrudes slightly from the butt, creating a handy glass-breaker, or cranium-cracker, depending on the situation. The handle is tan G10 with a notched epoxy composite inlay in front of the thumb ramp to provide purchase, and it's held on with epoxy and two slightly flared stainless steel hollow tubes.
Next Ill make a sheath, and then it heads overseas
Meanwhile, a few of the other soldiers in the unit have also contacted me requesting deployment knives. One of the soldiers - well call him SGT "H." asked me to build him a knife that will serve him both on the battlefield and out in the woods in his home state of Kentucky. In addition to being a paratrooper, SGT H. is a skilled bowhunter, which is another activity where a good knife is essential to have. He requested a mid-sized knife with a comfortable, ergonomic handle and an as-forged finish on the blade, so, after we exchanged a few emails discussing various other design elements I sent him a sketch, which he then approved. Shortly thereafter, I started forging.
I brought my camera out to the shop and snapped a few photos along the way so that SGT H. could get a glimpse of the actual process and some of the various steps involved in making his custom hand forged knife. So I figured I might as well publish the pictures my website as well. Feel free to check it out here as the project progresses.
I'll post an update in a few days, but in the meantime, please feel free to post comments, critiques, or suggestions.
And here it is, Nick's new deployment knife:
I forged this blade from a bar of 1095 high carbon steel and gave it a Japanese style clay-coated heat treatment, then polished it out to 600 grit and gave it a light acid etch to reveal the hamon. I also etched Nicks last name onto the blade and etched his unit insignia onto the ricasso. The blade is a quarter inch thick at the ricasso, has a primary cutting edge of about 4 inches and a raised, sharpened clip that extends back a little over 2 inches from the point. The tang extends all the way through the handle and protrudes slightly from the butt, creating a handy glass-breaker, or cranium-cracker, depending on the situation. The handle is tan G10 with a notched epoxy composite inlay in front of the thumb ramp to provide purchase, and it's held on with epoxy and two slightly flared stainless steel hollow tubes.
Next Ill make a sheath, and then it heads overseas
Meanwhile, a few of the other soldiers in the unit have also contacted me requesting deployment knives. One of the soldiers - well call him SGT "H." asked me to build him a knife that will serve him both on the battlefield and out in the woods in his home state of Kentucky. In addition to being a paratrooper, SGT H. is a skilled bowhunter, which is another activity where a good knife is essential to have. He requested a mid-sized knife with a comfortable, ergonomic handle and an as-forged finish on the blade, so, after we exchanged a few emails discussing various other design elements I sent him a sketch, which he then approved. Shortly thereafter, I started forging.
I brought my camera out to the shop and snapped a few photos along the way so that SGT H. could get a glimpse of the actual process and some of the various steps involved in making his custom hand forged knife. So I figured I might as well publish the pictures my website as well. Feel free to check it out here as the project progresses.
I'll post an update in a few days, but in the meantime, please feel free to post comments, critiques, or suggestions.
