- Joined
- Oct 18, 2001
- Messages
- 20,978
This is the knife I designed, forged and finished up to take to the cutting competition last weekend. Fine lil' rope cutter...
Specs:
15" OAL
10" Blade, 5160, forged by me
5" Handle, Ipe Ironwood
The design is complex, but once you hold it, it grows on ya.
The blade is fully convex ground, spine to edge. It's nearly 1/4" thick in the middle and tapers to 1/8" at the spine. There is also a distal taper in both toward the tip and the tang. It's 1/4" solid where it meets the handle. I left the forging marks in the middle for several reasons - to prove I did indeed forge it, to leave it at its full thickness, and because it reminded me of the barnacles you see on ole-timer whales.
The blade shape is like a bolo, or heavy machete. It cuts back near the finger guard for a nice choil. There are 2 thumb indents on top. These 2 things allow for multiple grips on the blade - makes it versatile.
The handle has a palm swell and a "bulb" on the end for counter balance. This thing is heavy and the balance point is about 1/2" in front of the choil.
Braggin rights = the first handful of competitors to try their hand at the 2x4 chop took 40-50 cuts on average to get all the way through it. I got through it in 23. And I missed 4 or 5 hits....
Anyway, on to the rope cut. 1' sisal rope - sailed right through with just a faint "tih" (for those who attended the MWKK, it was less noise than Bruise's made). Later that day I was able to go through 2 - 1" sisal ropes taped together, then 3. After we ran out of rope, I got some heavy, oily, nasty 1" sisal rope and went through 1, then 2, then 3 again. (admittedly, it did take quite a few tries to get through the 3 - 1" ropes. I kept getting all the way to halfway through the last strand [3 strands per rope] - drove me crazy
)
Last, the soda can test. I totally botched it, big time. Poor technique. The guys showed me how to do it right (I've never been good at it, always a little chicken) and I was able to cut the can cleanly in half, leaving the bottom half on the stand.
This was my first real competition and it certainly won't be my last....
Enjoy the pics. This one's a keeper.
Dan
Specs:
15" OAL
10" Blade, 5160, forged by me
5" Handle, Ipe Ironwood
The design is complex, but once you hold it, it grows on ya.
The blade is fully convex ground, spine to edge. It's nearly 1/4" thick in the middle and tapers to 1/8" at the spine. There is also a distal taper in both toward the tip and the tang. It's 1/4" solid where it meets the handle. I left the forging marks in the middle for several reasons - to prove I did indeed forge it, to leave it at its full thickness, and because it reminded me of the barnacles you see on ole-timer whales.
The blade shape is like a bolo, or heavy machete. It cuts back near the finger guard for a nice choil. There are 2 thumb indents on top. These 2 things allow for multiple grips on the blade - makes it versatile.
The handle has a palm swell and a "bulb" on the end for counter balance. This thing is heavy and the balance point is about 1/2" in front of the choil.
Braggin rights = the first handful of competitors to try their hand at the 2x4 chop took 40-50 cuts on average to get all the way through it. I got through it in 23. And I missed 4 or 5 hits....
Anyway, on to the rope cut. 1' sisal rope - sailed right through with just a faint "tih" (for those who attended the MWKK, it was less noise than Bruise's made). Later that day I was able to go through 2 - 1" sisal ropes taped together, then 3. After we ran out of rope, I got some heavy, oily, nasty 1" sisal rope and went through 1, then 2, then 3 again. (admittedly, it did take quite a few tries to get through the 3 - 1" ropes. I kept getting all the way to halfway through the last strand [3 strands per rope] - drove me crazy
)Last, the soda can test. I totally botched it, big time. Poor technique. The guys showed me how to do it right (I've never been good at it, always a little chicken) and I was able to cut the can cleanly in half, leaving the bottom half on the stand.
This was my first real competition and it certainly won't be my last....
Enjoy the pics. This one's a keeper.
Dan
:footinmou
