lets see your big knives

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Other than my BK9, all I have is a SRKW Waki and an 18" Condor El Salvador machete (not knives though). One of these days, I'm going to pick up a Battle Mistress. I've always wanted one of those elusive Himalayan Import Bolo's as well.... :)

ETA: I forgot, but I had this beast for a little while too. Sold it because I couldn't quite get comfortable with it...maybe I'll pick up another in the future and try again...

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This has been my go to big blade for quite sometime. The only difference now is that I changed the scales to micarta.
Scott

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ob1 said:
M2 is a tool steel that is very tough and can be hardened to well over 65* HRC. It retain it's tougness even when red hot, so it is extensively used in meatl cutting tools- saw blades, end mills, drill bits, lathe bits etc. A blade made from M2 is easy to sharpen to a hair splitting sharpness, and it will hold that edge for a very long time. Proper heat treating requires a lot of experience. I do not heat treat my knives. I grind them out of full hard stock that is around 63-65* HRC. Even with the best belts in the market it takes for ever to grind one, especially the finer grits. Due to the extreme hardness I need to be very careful about the edge geometry. Heavy choppers need to have some meat at the bevel to prevent chipping. There is a lot more info available on the internet, if you look it up.
Mat

I love this stuff (M2). Read about it on rec.knives years ago from Alvin Johnson and Cliff Stamp. Got a couple of hacksaw blades and ground out a 5" clip point convex bushcraft style knife from one of the 0.05" thick 1" wide blades. Bar none the best edge holding knife I have. I cut cardboard for 45minutes and it would still shave hair off my arm well above the skin. It's rough on grinding belts in the hardened condition, but that's the only way I have to work it, since I have no way to reharden it. In the bushcraft blade style, (10 degree convex cutting edge, no primary bevel) in can be batoned and will dig holes in 1x4 wood if you're careful.

My biggest issue is getting holes in it to attach handles. How do you do that? I've only made stick tangs and half tangs so far.
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Please tell us more about that kukri MW. What is the tang like? How long have you had it? Where did you get it from?

I'd also love to learn more about what the dense jungle is actually like in southern China if you ever have the time to write about it and post pictures.

Thanks and best wishes.... Coote.
 
coote said:
Please tell us more about that kukri MW. What is the tang like? How long have you had it? Where did you get it from?

I'd also love to learn more about what the dense jungle is actually like in southern China if you ever have the time to write about it and post pictures.

Thanks and best wishes.... Coote.
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Hi Coote, the handle is made of some very strong and durable wood, no idea of the name of that wood but it is quite comfortable to me.As for the tang,it is a half tang (but i like to call it a 2/3 tang since it extended ALMOST all the way through the handle):D.Very strong indeed, once chopped a 8 inches pine tree with it in 59 sec:D. Had it for almost a year as a gift from my friend here in China. It is made of 440C steel and has a HRC 58 rating, the overall length is around 19 inches and weights about 1 pound. Quite hush hush here since the GOV could arrest anyone who has a knife longer than 6cm.........:(

As for the pic, i have one for Hainan and some for Wuhan.you can see from the pix the density of the vegetation there.

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This is the one for Hainan.:D

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This is the area i used to camp or drill my survival skills, which is located in the Hubei province.

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Friend and me try to make our way to our next destination. Pic taken in Hubei.

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I have never used a tent or stayed in one so far and this is what i usually use when i go out.

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Another pic showing the dense vegetation there.

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Me chopping some bamboo with my trusty Kukri~
 
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me2 said:
The only way to drill holes will be with diamond bits.
If you are using the power hacksaw blades the area near the end holes is softer than the rest of the blade. The holes can be used as lanyard holes at the end of the handle. I usually cut a slot at the center, starting from the end hole and going about 3/4 length of the handle. This slot gets filled with epoxy later, when you attach the scales. You can use a metal cutting disc on an angle grinder to cut the slot.
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Thanks MW. Very interesting. It must be great to live in a place where there is so much bamboo growing wild. When I want a straight stick it can be almost impossible to find. If I lived there I'd be keen to try making a bow out of that bamboo.

I'm hoping that your law enforcement people have some judgement and that if they saw you with that big blade they would realize that you were simply an outdoors enthusiast and not a threat to society. I think we have rules about knives down here too.... but having a big one in a camping or hunting situation seems to be tolerated. Nevertheless... I do try to keep mine out of sight a lot of the time.

Best wishes.... Coote.
 
Thanks guys~:D

Ah,about the law here.......what should I say......er.......they will just take my blade,throw me into a cell and leave me there for days....well,if you have a few connections you will be fine but nevertheless i dont wanna try my luck on that.

AND that why i bought a TAD2 backpack and hide all my cutting gear in the water bag compartment between two layers of foams.:D and when people from the local area see me i will just tell them i am from the army doing some field training and most of the time i will be just fine, haha~

I also have a airsoft gun i sometimes take with me for wargame, but it is also hush-hush here so i have to be very careful.......:eek:
 
ob1 said:
The only way to drill holes will be with diamond bits.
If you are using the power hacksaw blades the area near the end holes is softer than the rest of the blade. The holes can be used as lanyard holes at the end of the handle. I usually cut a slot at the center, starting from the end hole and going about 3/4 length of the handle. This slot gets filled with epoxy later, when you attach the scales. You can use a metal cutting disc on an angle grinder to cut the slot.
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Brilliant. I was talking to someone about doing it with an EDM machine, but this way is free. I tried using a 1/8" chainsaw bit in a drill press and couldn't even get one hole in a 0.05" thick blade after 30 minutes. I'm working on A2 now, but once that's done, I see a scalper pattern in 3/32 M2. See the old Cold Steel Carbon V scalpers for my favorite fixed blade pattern.
 
Just bought an NMFBM LE. I can't wait for it to arrive and beat the hell out of it. Pics when it gets here, both before and after I chop down the neighborhood.

Had to sell this one to buy it though:

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Iboschi said:
Just bought an NMFBM LE. I can't wait for it to arrive and beat the hell out of it. Pics when it gets here, both before and after I chop down the neighborhood.

Had to sell this one to buy it though:

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You're gonna love that LE!
 
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