- Joined
- Jan 20, 2015
- Messages
- 24
What's up guys just recently joined the forum after some time lurking around.
I'm from Monterrey, MX where it's hard to get decent cutlery without paying premium prices, I even got a mora robust impounded by the local customs as it was considered a weapon by the not so brilliant customs officer.
Undeterred by the lack of options I decided to hit the local market and got my hands on a 6" butcher knife not unlike an old hickory, here are the specs:
1/16ish inch blade thickness
6" blade
10ish" overall
High carbon steel, probably 1095 or 1075
Wood handles, don't know what kind but smells nice
Steel pins
Right of the bat the knife had no edge at all, it seems like they aimed for a full flat with some sort of utilitarian bevel but failed miserably, I guess that's what you get when you get your cutting tools from a produce market lol, still, I put an edge on the thing and tested it a little, it felt unwieldy and too springy to use as a bush knife so I decided to follow some youtube videos and bring them down to my tools and resources.
Since I don't have a belt sander nor a forge, the only practical way to shorten the blade I found was to score it with a sharpening file to size and break away the excess with a pair of pliers and mace. The freaking thing was tough as nails and sparked crazily when hit with the mace. First I tried to cut it away with a hacksaw but the knife was too hard and stripped the teeth.
I shortened the blade to about 4 1/2" and shaped it to a spear point, my aim was to put a scandi grind on it but it ended up somewhat convex due to my lack of skill with the sharpening stone, I filed the back of the knife to a nice 90 degree angle, I'm extremely impressed with how well it strikes the ferro rod, certainly better than my Condor rodan.
The sheath I had it made in a souvenir shop, it costed me the same as the knife D:, I had it wet formed to the original shape of the knife and will probably have to do it again for a better fit but is still serviceable as is, if somewhat ugly looking because as the knife seats deeper in it the handle lifts a little the leather and forms a bump.
Anyway, I'm not even close to done with this knife, my plan is to make a finger groove or half hilt to protect from slipping, as the edge runs all the way from the tip to the handle, I'm also rounding off the butt of the knife for comfort.
What I need help with is the following:
I can't remove the scales, they are attached with steel pins and haven't found a place where to buy new pins if I pop them off
I want to remove or at least reduce the black carbon staining in the blade, I'm assuming they are forging marks but they are ugly AF
The blade rusts really bad, I have 80, 120 grit wet/dry sandpaper and fine, medium and coarse steel wool, which would work best for general maintenance?
Pointers on how to put a patina on the knife? I have white vinegar but have never done it before (never modded a knife before either
)
*edit* The actual edge is about 1/4" deep, shall I shape it even further? Right now the knife is hair popping sharp!
Overall I'm quite pleased with my knife, now that it's shorter feels better in the hand and is stiffer, won't flex as easily.
Thanks for your help and your time, I hope at least you got a chuckle out of my caveman methods lol. I don't know which image hosting service works with the forum so I'll try dropbox
*edit* used a different image hosting since dropbox didn't work.
Kaizenator
I'm from Monterrey, MX where it's hard to get decent cutlery without paying premium prices, I even got a mora robust impounded by the local customs as it was considered a weapon by the not so brilliant customs officer.
Undeterred by the lack of options I decided to hit the local market and got my hands on a 6" butcher knife not unlike an old hickory, here are the specs:
1/16ish inch blade thickness
6" blade
10ish" overall
High carbon steel, probably 1095 or 1075
Wood handles, don't know what kind but smells nice
Steel pins
Right of the bat the knife had no edge at all, it seems like they aimed for a full flat with some sort of utilitarian bevel but failed miserably, I guess that's what you get when you get your cutting tools from a produce market lol, still, I put an edge on the thing and tested it a little, it felt unwieldy and too springy to use as a bush knife so I decided to follow some youtube videos and bring them down to my tools and resources.
Since I don't have a belt sander nor a forge, the only practical way to shorten the blade I found was to score it with a sharpening file to size and break away the excess with a pair of pliers and mace. The freaking thing was tough as nails and sparked crazily when hit with the mace. First I tried to cut it away with a hacksaw but the knife was too hard and stripped the teeth.
I shortened the blade to about 4 1/2" and shaped it to a spear point, my aim was to put a scandi grind on it but it ended up somewhat convex due to my lack of skill with the sharpening stone, I filed the back of the knife to a nice 90 degree angle, I'm extremely impressed with how well it strikes the ferro rod, certainly better than my Condor rodan.
The sheath I had it made in a souvenir shop, it costed me the same as the knife D:, I had it wet formed to the original shape of the knife and will probably have to do it again for a better fit but is still serviceable as is, if somewhat ugly looking because as the knife seats deeper in it the handle lifts a little the leather and forms a bump.
Anyway, I'm not even close to done with this knife, my plan is to make a finger groove or half hilt to protect from slipping, as the edge runs all the way from the tip to the handle, I'm also rounding off the butt of the knife for comfort.
What I need help with is the following:
I can't remove the scales, they are attached with steel pins and haven't found a place where to buy new pins if I pop them off
I want to remove or at least reduce the black carbon staining in the blade, I'm assuming they are forging marks but they are ugly AF
The blade rusts really bad, I have 80, 120 grit wet/dry sandpaper and fine, medium and coarse steel wool, which would work best for general maintenance?
Pointers on how to put a patina on the knife? I have white vinegar but have never done it before (never modded a knife before either
) *edit* The actual edge is about 1/4" deep, shall I shape it even further? Right now the knife is hair popping sharp!
Overall I'm quite pleased with my knife, now that it's shorter feels better in the hand and is stiffer, won't flex as easily.
Thanks for your help and your time, I hope at least you got a chuckle out of my caveman methods lol. I don't know which image hosting service works with the forum so I'll try dropbox
*edit* used a different image hosting since dropbox didn't work.
Kaizenator
Last edited:
