Last of the no power tools knives (bowie finish pictures added)

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unky_gumbi

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Aug 28, 2009
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So a little while back I was looking for some handle material suggestions for a knife I was working on. Robert Mayo was kind enough to sell me a piece of would that fit the bill perfectly, and a few people had asked to be updated on the knife. Well I am going to be shipping it and one other out for HT tomorrow morning so I thought I would share them before the went away for the next step. Both of these were filed out on my jig and should be the lat two that get made with it now that I have my grinder. these will most likely be the last two before I move back to Ontario.

This one with Robert's walnut. It doesn't show well in the picture, but this wood is really active, a thing of beauty. I think it may have been a good thing that I missed out on that piece of ironwood that got me in a panic.

13/64" 5160 overall length when finished with pommel with be 12"

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And just for a size comparison, with the little one I made on the weekend

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This one is going to a friend as an engagement present. Black Linen micarta scales on 3/16 O-1 with an overall length of 9 1/4"

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I just have to wash them down, package, and ship them out. I should have them completed in 2-3 weeks if everything goes as planned.
 
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They look good but i was hoping it was done lol. It's a whole new world when you step up to a frinder there is a learning curve so don't put that jig away to far.

Bob
 
Oh the jig is coming with me on the move, if nothing else it will be a reminder of where I started. I think it will be good to have around to make sure my grinds are flat and true.

I have a lot on my plate that isn't knife related so the knives get pushed back. I am losing the house I am renting and with nothing affordable here in Winnipeg I am moving back to Iroquois. At least there I can rent a one bedroom apartment and still be able to set up shop in my mothers garage. She actually offered it to me before I asked, she likes my knives. I do have to make her kitchen knives as the first project when I get there though.
 
I use my parents garage, unky gumbi. I am always bringing in the knives I am working on to get my dads opinion on them. lol And to show off a little bit..
 
unky_gumbi said:
Oh the jig is coming with me on the move, if nothing else it will be a reminder of where I started. I think it will be good to have around to make sure my grinds are flat and true.

I have a lot on my plate that isn't knife related so the knives get pushed back. I am losing the house I am renting and with nothing affordable here in Winnipeg I am moving back to Iroquois. At least there I can rent a one bedroom apartment and still be able to set up shop in my mothers garage. She actually offered it to me before I asked, she likes my knives. I do have to make her kitchen knives as the first project when I get there though.
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Cool:thumbup: maybe we can get you hammering some hot steel:D this summer sometime.

Bob
 
Let us all know when you get settled in.
Maybe some of us can clear the shelves of some old steel and wood to help you get going again.
 
Robert Mayo said:
Cool:thumbup: maybe we can get you hammering some hot steel:D this summer sometime.

Bob
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Well I would love to give my hand a try and shaping hot steel, and I will only be a few hours away from Renfew

bladsmth said:
Let us all know when you get settled in.
Maybe some of us can clear the shelves of some old steel and wood to help you get going again.
Click to expand...

It wont take me long to settle in, well getting a shop set up any how. I figure as long as I have material I can be grinding within the first week of getting there. The knife making shop, and possibly the bike repair shop will be in my mothers garage for the summer. I am figuring if I am in the position that I have to start over I might as well try work for myself instead of someone else. I may have to take on a part time job to get a little capital to start up with though.

Other than having material on hand I think the only thing that will hold me up is my mother having 10 years worth of odd jobs for me to do for her. That is how long it has been since I moved here, and before that I was her handy man. I was cheap labor, I worked for a good home cooked meal and usually paid for the materials for the jobs.

I still think a set of handmade kitchen knives for the use of her garage for the summer is a fine deal for me. She use to be a book keeper, maybe I can talk her into doing the one thing I have a hard time with, and give her a percentage of the profits for her troubles and use of the garage.
 
Rob at knifemaker.ca is the man:thumbup:, and Canada Post is motoring this week:eek: I sent these out on the 9th, they made it to Rob on the 14th and they are back in my hands this morning, got here about an hour ago. I am going to try to get the Bowie finished up this weekend and the bushy by the end of next weekend.
 
Getting real close on the first one, right now all I have left to do is a couple of touch ups, my mark, sharpening, and the sheath. It is the sheath that is holding me up right now, the guy that bought the knife is trying to decide what he wants. I save the touch ups, makers mark, and sharpening till after the sheath is made just in case I slip while making the sheath. I may still snap a couple of pictures and post them of the unfinished knife because I really like it. I like it enough that I am tempted to give back the deposit and keep it:p
 
Well the first one will be done tonight, everything was looking good, handle looks great, the guard and pummel fit well with no big gaps, the blade took a nice satin finish, the sheath looks and fits great, but...

My makers mark looks like crap:grumpy: First off it is nice and clean on one end, but on the other it is blurry, the next problem is that it didn't darken up at all. Well not enough to stay during the clean up. The one that is a real kick in the nuts, is that the side that is nice and clean is too deep to sand out and do it over again so I am stuck with it the way it is.

Well I am off to go sharpen it now, I am up in the air about giving my customer a discount for the ugly mark. If I had charged what I think its worth I would discount it steeply, in the range of 50%, but I already sold it to him for less than 50% of what I think its worth. If I give him more off because of the makers mark I barely make what I have into it..

Finished pictures later tonight or early tomorrow morning
 
big bummer about the mark, reguardless though the knife looks amazing. it blows me away that you did that with no power tools.
 
This one is a combination of filing and using the grinder to rough in the handle. I can't remember the exact specs on it other than it is 3/16" O-1 steel HT by knifemaker.ca with a RC of 60. The scales are black linen micarta. The sheath is very plain but the customer wanted multiple carry options so it has a standard belt loop, a dangler loop and 4 D-rings so he can lash it in just about any position. The finish is Timber Brown but he wanted an distressed look so I hit the surface with a bit of 60 grit paper before dying it. The grind is full flat as he requested.

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It was also requested that the edge looked a little rough because he likes the rustic look, so I put a few grind marks just above the finished edge
 
I really admire the Bowie. Excellent work. Are you sure you want change methods?
 
Yes I am sure I want to switch over to my grinder. I suffer from sever tennis elbow, have had it for going on 3 years now. Had release surgery on the left one back in September and it is no better now then it was before the surgery. The right elbow is almost as bad, so filing out a blade is a long and painful job that takes a couple weeks to recover from.

The Bowie styled one is thick at 13/64" and the second one is 3/16". The reason that one looks like the cutting edge is so high is because the guy that I made it for wanted grind marks above the actual cutting edge. The grind marks aren't really showing up in the pictures though..

I really like my grinder, I can profile and bevel a blade in no time compared to the file method and have a better finish to start hand sanding on.
 
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