M.Gregory Knives/Mad Science Forge Collaboration Blade

[Matthew Gregory]

This is my second collaboration with Sam Mecha of Mad Science Forge, and I think this one came together really well.

Sam forged a profile out of his famous TiNb Titanium alloy for me (I'll let him chime in here to explain the material, if he so chooses), and I tried to work within the already super-clean profile to the best of my ability.

Once I had it rough ground to my liking, I shipped it back to him for his proprietary heat treatment. Here's what it looked like before HT:

Sam turned it around really quickly, and made sure to include his touchmark:

Love that mark.

After I had it finish ground, Sam remarked that I hadn't ground into his maker's mark. Apparently this is a big deal for him - sort of a signature. This was a bit of a problem for me, as my grinds were precisely where I felt they needed to be, but I conceded a bit and pushed the plunge back until it scrubbed the edge of his mark. I'm still not sure that he's happy with this, but that's as much compromise as I'm capable of.


From there, it was just a matter of focusing on balance. I chose to skeletonize the handle to reduce unnecessary mass. Normally, I'd taper the tang, but I was concerned about the flexibility that this material displays as it thins, and I also loved the shape as it was. Once it was skeletonized, I bolstered it a bit with a lightweight material to add bulk and shape, and covered the entire handle in carbon fiber cloth. To add a touch of class and drama to it, I added a sweet pair of sterling silver 'ryu' or dragon menuki:

Held in place with carbon fiber tsukaito:

....and the final result, a la SharpByCoop :

Specs for the package:
8” blade of Sam’s Beta-TiNb Titanium
.225” thick
5-1/2” long handle in carbon fiber tsukaito over hand-laid carbon fiber
10-1/4 ounces, with point of balance at the index finger (immediately behind turk's head knot)
Matched saya with carbon fiber

Total package weighs in at 14-3/8 ounces.


Had a blast doing this - it's a unique material, and VERY different from what I'm used to working with. Hope you like it!

Thanks for looking.

 

[Lorien]

love it!

 

[Scott Hanson]

Wow! what an incredible job you guys did on the knife.

 

[Bigfattyt]

Neato.

 

[rpn]

Very cool!

 

[Josh Rider]

You are absolutely killing the colabs right now!

 

[Mecha]

Thanks for impressing your mad skillz onto that billet, Matt! The knife turned out great, imo. Gives me something to think about regarding potential for the material.

With the maker mark thing, I tried through placement to entrap you into grinding into the mark in order to screw with your head just a bit, but alas, I failed. HEY but at least an attempt was made! XD

I hope you had good fun with the project, other than the drilling holes thing, which was quite funny.

 

[Lapedog]

This is so cool and beautiful I actually got butterflies in my stomach when I saw the pictures of it.

 

[SharpByCoop]

Wicked light and dangerously sharp. In the right hands it could outperform it's doppelgänger in steel.

A pleasure to capture, especially because I'm fond of BOTH of these men!

 

[Boggs]

Oooh...0ouch...beautiful

 

[Dawkind]

Stunning collaboration....congratulations to you both!

And of course those always outstanding Coop photos...

 

[Dusty One]

Another Beauty.....!

 

[JParanee]

Greatness

 

[Pavlos]

Matthew I just love your knives...

Paul

 

[Matthew Gregory]

Thanks for the kind words, everyone. It’s rare to work with such an unusual material, and it’s a ton of fun working, albeit long distance, with Sammy.

With the maker mark thing, I tried through placement to entrap you into grinding into the mark in order to screw with your head just a bit, but alas, I failed. HEY but at least an attempt was made! XD

I hope you had good fun with the project, other than the drilling holes thing, which was quite funny.

Oh, man - that was hysterical. HOLY SHIT this material is resistant to drilling big holes!!!