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my 4th finished knife!

T

Trout Tamer

Joined
Jan 20, 2004
Messages
1,526
I posted this over in the general forum but wanted to show y'all, too (in case some of you don't mosey out of here too often ;) )

Here are 2 pics of the 4th knife I've made. Of the 4, it's my favorite one yet :)
http://viewmorepics.myspace.com/ind...&MyToken=137280e4-8232-46ad-b710-d8c16b8068d1
http://viewmorepics.myspace.com/ind...&MyToken=137280e4-8232-46ad-b710-d8c16b8068d1

Sorry for the long-old link. The pics should load easily, though.
Knife specs:
-1095 carbon steel, triple heated/quenched
-green canvas micarta scales
-stainless steel pins and thong tube
-blade finish is a mustard patina which helps inhibit rust
-blade length (tip to finger guard/ricasso underneath scales): 2.75"
-handle length (finger guard to butt): 3 7/12"
-OAL: 6 1/12"

I don't have pics of the spine, but the handle slabs are contoured, being thinner up front and in back, where the forefinger and pinky hold the handle. I have medium-large hands and get a close-fitting, 4-finger grip on this knife. Next up, I need to learn how to make sheaths! :D
 
It looks sweet. Tell me more about the mustard patina. What is it? How is it applied? Where would one go to get some?
 
The mustard patina is just that - mustard on the blade. I got the idea from Wayne Goddard's chapter in Blade's Guide to Knifemaking (I think that's the book's title). I find that different types and brands of mustard give me different colors and patterns. This knife used Plochmann's plain yellow mustard (just like French's mustard, but I think it has slightly different ingredients). Grey Poupon gives me a more subtle, gray coloring, without the darker, blotchier finish.

To apply the mustard, what works best for me is to take the knife to a 400 grit finish and, as per Goddard's recommendations, do a 400 grit scratch 'n swirl pattern on the blade (the blade looks cool just like this!). Then, I wash the knife clean and dab on whatever chosen mustard I'm using. I put bigger dobs on with my fingertip, but I make sure that the whole blade has at least a slight film spread on it. Goddard says this doesn't work for him in the book; I tried his way and it didn't work well for me! :p So, experiement. I let the mustard sit undisturbed for 8 hours, then I wash it off, wipe the blade with fine steel wool (anywhere from 0 - 0000, depending on what I have on hand). I repeat the process 2 more times.

I've found that taking the mustard off before the 8-hour mark gives me a slightly less rich coloring. Leaving the mustard on for longer than 8 hours doesn't do any harm.

I experimented with a bunch of junker blade blanks before putting any on a real knife. This gave me a basic idea of the various colors and textures that different mustards give me. I also found that buffing the patinad blade doesn't make the patina shiny; it wipes the patina right off! Lesson learned :cool:

Let us know what your mustard finding are and thanks for taking a look at my knife.

Zack
 
I really like that knife Tamer...I gotta learn how to make knives one of these days..

Keep up the good work, and if ya need some help making a sheath then PM me and I will try and set ya on the right course
 
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