Little Petty i just finished.

Wow! Perhaps the finest piece of buckeye I've ever seen. Beautifully finished.
 
Excellent job, Mike. there isn't anything but good words that can be said about that knife !

Now you know why a buckeye and ebony octagonal handle is one of my favorite styles.

For those wishing to try this style -
Fit the ebony block to the tang as close as possible. The tang should taper evenly toward the blade in both thickness and width. Use the same techniques as doing a metal guard....small holes, saw/drill out the excess wood, file to a close fit. A good trick is to taper the slot from the backside of the ebony block. It only needs to be a flush fit on the front, the back can have a lot of room. File from the back while looking from the front. Once the ebony fits snug, drill the main handle block to fit the tang. This doesn't need to be a perfect fit, as it will be enclosed. Sand the mating surfaces, as well as the front of the ebony piece, and check that the handle and bolster blocks fit right. Mix up some epoxy and tint it black. Fill the tang hole on the big block, and cover the mating surfaces with epoxy. Put some epoxy on the tang,too. Slip the bolster block on, and then the main handle block. Slide them up until, the bolster wedges on the tang. Clamp snugly , wipe off any excess epoxy from the tang, and let cure. After the handle is fully cured, sand to a square, aligning with the blade. Make the handle taper slightly from the butt. Now carefully sand the corners to make an octagon. I like the corners a tad smaller that the side flats.
An ebony butt cap that matches the bolster can be put on, too.
 
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Stacy, thanks for the walk through on the handle assembly. Was about to post a thread about this very thing and you just answered everything I was going to ask.

Mike, beautiful knife! I bet she's a wicked slicer! Just out of curiosity, why 15n20?
 
Because a lot of pro chefs demand laser slicers. They want this and fast. 15N20 is a good steel and will hold a great edge. Also the nickel content will help with rusting as fast as say 1095. Plus....i can get it in thin pieces for the smaller petties and paring knives with out spending a few hours grinding to get it to the thickness i need to start.
 
Mike Davis said:
Because a lot of pro chefs demand laser slicers. They want this and fast. 15N20 is a good steel and will hold a great edge. Also the nickel content will help with rusting as fast as say 1095. Plus....i can get it in thin pieces for the smaller petties and paring knives with out spending a few hours grinding to get it to the thickness i need to start.
Click to expand...

I thought the nickel content might be a factor. Thanks! Again, terrific looking blade! I'm sure your customer will be very pleased. :)
 
Please help to extinguish ignorance.;) What does the term
"petty" mean when applied to knives? Is it a form of petite,
i.e. small?:confused:

Thanks for the information.

Bill
 
Bill Hoffman said:
Please help to extinguish ignorance.;) What does the term
"petty" mean when applied to knives? Is it a form of petite,
i.e. small?:confused:

Thanks for the information.

Bill
Click to expand...


I had to look it up too,

It's a japanese thing - it seems also tied to french

"Petty ( ぺティ )
- Also Petit, also petti naifu. Japanese equivalent of paring knife. Up to 150mm blade.
Heel also is more prominent compared to traditional western paring knives. Can be used on cutting board as well vs. hand only."

http://zknives.com/knives/kitchen/misc/usetype/all/index.shtml
 
Mitchell Knives said:
Outstanding!

How do you get the octagon shape so even?
Click to expand...
Lots of time spent on the grinder with a 320 grit belt and the vfd turned WAAAY down lol.
Thanks for the comments guys! I really appreciate it. Now to get the next ones done :)

P.S. Count, thanks a ton for the link and info!!!! Awesome!

Mike
 
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