Matched pair progression

Bailey Bradshaw

Bailey Bradshaw

Joined
Sep 13, 2001
Messages
816
OK, couple my photography skills (lack there of) and an order for a pair of matched knives, and you get ......well...THIS :D

I couldn't find my camera before I started, so the blades were already forged and finished by the time I recovered it. The blades are both forged from 1084/nickle damascus in a gordian's knot pattern. The large blade measures 10 1/4", and the smaller blade is 4 1/2" in length.

As the pictures progress, I began shooting as I made the handles. The burl slab I cut the handle blanks from is a piece of Maidou burl. It is a close relative to Amboynia burl, and works and smells similar as well. It is a little lighter in color, but as you can see from the slab, it doesn't lack for figure.

2nd pic is of the blades and the handle blanks followed by pic 3 of the hunter handle being drilled. I mark the tang location on the side, front and rear of the handle. I alighn the handle so the drill will be centered in the tang location, and drill my hole. I had to drill from each end, but it isn't a problem to have the holes meet if the layout is correct.

Pic 4 shows the tool I use to make the tang hole rectangular, and the hole in progress. I make these tools ( I call the tang pulls) specific to the thickness of the tang to ensure a good fit. I have several, and 90% of my blades fit the sizes I have made over the years. They are easy to use and do a very good job on the handles. I set the hole so I have to tap the handle on to get it in place. This sets a little bit of tension on the fit, and negates the need for alighnment pins. It also cancels the need for epoxying the handle on to take up slack in the handle fit. Pic 5 shows a good fit of the tang in the handle.

These knives will be "take down" construction, so the need for good fit is critical. The process is to make all the parts, fit them to the knife, take the knife apartand finish each piece, then assemble the knife and PRESTO!!!! it's finshed.
 
Moving along, both knives are pictured with the handles fitted.

Next is the layout of the octogon handle. I do a lot of it by eye, with the blade in place to make sure it is alighned properly. It's not a dificult task, but if it isn't correct, the flaw glares at you. Once the handle is ground to shape, I sand it to 320 and seal the wood with sanding sealer. The sanding sealer keeps the wood from feathering when the first coats of finnish are applied, and makes final sanding much easier.

Next is to make the finials. I didn't get a pic of the finials finished off the lathe, but did get on in progress. The finial is inserted into the rear of the handle, and engages the threaded end of the tang by about 1/4". The rule of thumb is to have a minimum of the diameter of the treads enguaged into the finial. This ensures the thread engagement is equal to or greater than the tinsel strength of the threaded portion of the tang. I also cup the underside of the finial flange. This enables the outer rim of the finial to seat on the handle, and not put pressure on the rear hole of the handle. If I made the finial flat on the flange and there was a radius where the finial stem connects, or the hole in the handle was tight, it could put an expanding pressure on the handle and make it crack. With the finial cuped, it exerts a compressing force and will resist any handle expansion or cracking.

Next is a picture with the handle, finals and guard blanks fitted. From here I mark the handle footprint on the guard and grind the guards to shape. I actually grind the guards just a little below the handle material. This is a trick I borrowed from the stockmakers reptior. By having the handle material just a bit high, I can refinish the handle in years to come without making the edge of the guard proud. It also accounts for any shrinkage that might occur in materials like stag or ivory. I HATE to feel the sharp edge of a guard after the handle material shrunk.

From here, it is a matter of finishing the guard enough for the engraving bench, and applying the oil finish to the wood. I use teak oil. It penetrates hard woods very well, and dries fast. Once it dries, I apply a hard finsihing wax.
 
Last couple of pics are of the finished knives. My customer wanted leaves engraved on the guards and finials. I used 22k gold, silver and copper for more color and inlaid gold borders as well. To finish them off, I heat colored the parts. Nothing like gold on a blue background.

Hopefully the new owner will post beter pics soon.

Let me know what you think!!
 
Those knives are just fabulous! Wonderful steel, the wood looks great and just the right amount of embelishment.
 
The handles are really awesome!

Best Regards,

Steven Garsson
 
Beautiful work, and your descriptive info and photos could give one the impression this work was almost "easy", the finished result shows the result is art of a rare kind...

Thanks for sharing the journey that brought these knives to the art they are, very very nice...

Frank H.
 
Oh yea, that was awesome! Great knives bud, thanks for showing us your process, it certainly was a lesson for me :).
 
Two more stunning examples of your craft! Thanks for the tutorial as well. Have you been fitted for the crown yet? :D
 
Crisp, hard lines with no apologies. Nicely done. Congrats!

Coop
 
Yet another good example of why you're considered one of the best, Bailey. I love both of these knives. :)
 
Bailey Bradshaw said:
Let me know what you think!!
Click to expand...

I think they are stunning, and really magnificent set ....... you are absolutely on fire at the moment! Look forward to seeing more ;)

Stephen
 
Bailey,

IMHO, your best work to date.

I am very much looking forward to seeing some more photographs.

Unfortunately, my suspicions have been confirmed by a fellow Blade Forumite and he hopes to have these beauties in his possesion shortly.

We may have to have Congress enact EXPORT controls!

Best,

Peter
 
I ask you folks, look at these 2 knives, who out there is making stuff like this besides Bailey? And, don't forget, with world-class engraving by the maker. These 2 knives are so elegant, so classic, and still distinctively Bailey. . I bet a lot of you would be shocked at how reasonable his prices still are, not that I'm complaining. :) In fact, often is seems that with Bailey, you get the knife for what the engraving alone should be worth! :)

I have said it before, but it bears repeating, Bailey is one of the best values out there in high-end forged pieces, and with amazing range, and even if you take price completely out of it, he's still at the very top.

I sure wish this gorgeous pair were headed my way. :)
 
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