My first completed knives

P

psycho78

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Jun 17, 2006
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Been practicing on the ol' Coote for awhile, and this is what I came up with. I'm experienced with tsukamaki, so Japanese styles are going to be a natural choice for me to make.

The inspiration for these knives came from a trip to the Wright Patterson AFB in Dayton. I love aviation, and my hands down favorite plane in the world is the SR-71 Blackbird. I became emotional when I saw it for the first time in person. The local people in Okinawa, upon first viewing this plane at the AFB there, nicknamed it the "Habu" after a venomous snake. I had just ground out these two knives a day or two before. I wanted them to be wicked, stealthy, fast, concealable....and it hit me right when I was in the museum. I decided to name them after that plane. I thought it was appropriate.

Heat treat and cryo was done by texas knifemakers supply. Both are chisel ground (for a lefty....I didnt know any better...lol :p) The knife on the top is a strange one. I initially ground the bevel too high, which left the edge thick. I tried grinding a small secondary bevel, but that got botched up too.....The result is a double bevel, which I think looks pretty interesting. Almost like a weird hamon. I'm happy with it. :)

I wanted to give a special thanks to Pohan Leu for helping me out and answeing all my n00b questions. What a man :thumbup:

Hope you guys like them. Criticisms and comments are always welcome.

FINISHEDHABU1.jpg


FINISHEDHABU2.jpg


FINISHEDHABU3.jpg
 
what kind of tools do you use do grind the edge and finish it? ive been using a wetstone,bench grinder and file. i cant seem to keep my edge straight flat or anything.
 
I love both but your so-called "botched" one is super cool. So a right hand knife would be ground on the opposite side, right?
 
Wow, I tell ya, I would buy those! Don't you love it when a mistake turns out to be something cool? I really like the style. Keep them coming.

Kaleb
 
wow! Thanks for all the nice comments guys!

Materials are: ATS-34 heat treated by TKS to 58-60 rockwell, then cryo treated. Both blades are chisel ground and razor sharp. Black stingray wrapped with nylon ito.

pyro9001 - The way I did these knives is on the flat platen of the coote belt grinder. I started with a 60 grit Norton Blaze belt for rough grinding, then went to 120 grit, then 220 grit, then 400 grit. I finished the blade with a super fine scotchbrite belt after 400 grit. I like this finish. I'm a satin finish kinda guy.

Bruce - Thank you so much. You are one of the very best knifemakers and craftsmen in the world, and that means alot to me what you said. On the chisel grind, yes you're right. It made more sense to me to grind them the way they are seen.... Someone told me that this was wrong, and that some makers do that for photographic purposes. That grind doesn't feel "wrong" in the hand by any means. The "botched" one is my favorite knife in the world. It has taught me alot. It's very symbolic. I got so far...and then messed it up right after HT. Almost cried about it. I decided to keep going and make a way for it to work, which turned out to be really cool to me. It's different. Taught me to not give up.

Platypus - Definitely going to keep them coming. Just ordered a couple of giant bottles of west system epoxy which will keep me busy for like....the rest of my life...lol.
 
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Great looking knives and a book I've been meaning to read! They look a little faster than the SR-71 imo. -K
 
I dont understand the style of the two knives you've made but they are both outstanding. What is the advantage of this style?

Steady lines, evenness of material and great wrap(by you?) tell us you have solid skills.

What sort of sheaths would go with those?
 
Killa - It really is a great book. I'm probably gonna give it another read now that I dug it out for these pics. Another recommendation is Gracian's manual. Written in the 1600s, but still very applicable to these times. I don't know man....that old Habu is awful fast. It's only defense is to ACCELERATE....lol. How badass is that?

PBJ - I guess you would call these a modified angular warncliffe. Kind of like a reverse tanto. I'd say this has the advantages of a warncliffe style. I've not tested it, but I would say that this knife would penetrate soft targets with ease. behind that point is a chisel grind that is insanely sharp. I would place this knife in the category of self defense/neck knife. The chisel grind and blade shape would serve well as a light utility blade.

Everything except the heat treat is by me. Tsukamaki was a way for me to pay my dues for my Aikido training. I've wrapped numerous katana and wakizashi for my sensei, and fellow students.

I'm way more experienced with sheathmaking/leatherwork than knives. I have made about 10 leather sheaths and about 4 holsters. My first sheaths for this style of knife is going to be leather, since that's all I have at the moment. Horizontal carry. This type of modern, angular, tactical, neo Japanese knife screams for a kydex sheath.

Thank you very much for your kind words.

Chouse - A batch of botches....I think I will actually do that. The double beveled one is definitely more popular. That was my first attempt at a chisel grind. Went too damn far up the spine....lol
 
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I agree, they do look really good.
 
Thanks Pohan, you have helped me a ton. :thumbup:

I've been making knives in my head for years...lol.

Thanks Lorien, i followed your knifemaking WIP thread, and you do great work.
 
Those are just amazing for first knives. Very difficult to grind that shape. The plunge is perfect, the edge and points as well. Outstanding work!
 
Jerry, i am a huge fan of your knives. To hear words like that from one of my favorite knifemakers is amazing. Thank you so much :D
 
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