My knives are getting smaller and stiffer

That Pendleton turned out nice. How much tang is underneath the wrap?
 
I was trying to upload a picture of my favorite EDC fixed blade, an Ahti Tikka, but PhotoBucket isn't letting me. Anyway, it's a bit bigger than your Roselli Bear Claw, but I have big hands so it works better for me. That's the problem I have with a lot of small, pocketable fixed blade, they are too small to be comfortable for my size hands (folders too for that matter). I would like to try out Roselli's UHC though. I've heard good things. And I do like the blade profile of that Bear Claw!
 
Sulaco said:
That Pendleton turned out nice. How much tang is underneath the wrap?
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Thank's. The lenght of the tang is about 75 millimetres, all of it under the wrap. That is why I made a "choil", to give the hand some more room. All included the lenght is 155 mm, the blade is 75 mm, minus choil 62 mm. Small knife, fit to carry in the front pocket.
 
Quess I am (again) a bit too eager, but.. I just had to visit the stand of Kauhavan puukkopaja at christmas market again :D Pictures coming forth. Anyway, the point is that small scandi knives make great pocket fixed blades. Because these days many of the knives are made by gluing the tang in the handle, it is possible to shape and shorten the handle to size. Like with this one. The cost of these experiments is also low enough.

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The overall lenght is 150 mm, the max for pocket carry. I made the pocket sheath of a folder sheath, I glued a folded piece of leather inside to act as a liner for the blade. The handle has been shortened slightly and sanded a bit slimmer than original, then burned, sanded and dipped in oil.
 
Pauli - You are really doing some interesting things in the pursuit of pocket carry happiness. If you don't mind me saying though, you really ought to consider investing in a blade and some handle materials, or even a kit, so you can tailor the knife from scratch.
 
scruffuk said:
Pauli - You are really doing some interesting things in the pursuit of pocket carry happiness. If you don't mind me saying though, you really ought to consider investing in a blade and some handle materials, or even a kit, so you can tailor the knife from scratch.
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No, I dont mind you saying that. I have been thinking of another Enzo blade, a slightly bigger one than the necker. Brisa has also all kinds of handle materials.
 
And following the advice given by scruffuck I have taken the first steps to this project. I have in mind to to make a more gentlemanly version of a pocket fixed blade. I will start with a 70 mm Brostrom damascus blade and some curly birch.

Wish me luck...

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What I had in mind is to make flat handle with a rounded butt of the handle slabs I decided not to use with my enzo necker, so the handle will be glued and pinned together. Also there will be a bolster between the handle and the blade.
 
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Long time no hear. I have been tinkering with the first knife I have made from a scratch. I started with a Brostrom damascus puukko blade and a brass spacer by Brisa, some curly birch left over by the Enzo necker project that turned in to something else and basic tools. I will show it when I am ready.

So far: some things I should not have done, some things I am pleased of. There is still work to be done, but I will take pictures when ready. The knife has a 70 mm blade, overall 155 mm long.
 
So this is what I came up with. There are some visible flaws, like the pins dont line up because my messing up. First try in knifemaking. Still I would like to try again. I have some mountain ash I harvested from our summer cottage, that should work as handle material.

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Not too shabby, for your first time!
My question is this: how come you used pinned slabs on this blade, which appears to have a stick tang, instead of using a one-piece wooden handle and passing the tang through the handle material to the pommel end?
 
puukkoman said:
Not too shabby, for your first time!
My question is this: how come you used pinned slabs on this blade, which appears to have a stick tang, instead of using a one-piece wooden handle and passing the tang through the handle material to the pommel end?
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Because I like to confuse people :D

The handle is in fact made of 4 pieces. The handle slabs are leftovers of the Enzo necker kit I decided not to use (I made a cord wrap and glue - thing). I took some thin plywood and made spacers that almost fit the thickness of the tang, then drilled and filed the channel to final size. Then on a whim I decided to add the pins.

I just am like that, I guess :o
 
A friend suggested that I could make a pocket sheath of similar birch in the same way. The idea could work. This sheath would cover only the blade and I have to think of a way to retain the blade in the sheath. He suggested I could cover the inside of the sheath with leather for a tighter hold.
 
Had an idea. I ordered an Boker Plus Rhino with stag handles. If I really get into it I might change it to look like this:

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HFinn said:
Had an idea. I ordered an Boker Plus Rhino with stag handles. If I really get into it I might change it to look like this:

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That looks like a handy little knife!
 
I got the Boker Rhino Stag really fast! Got it last friday so I put it to work during the last weekend. Here are my impressions.

The knife is nicely finished and really sharp, so no complaints there. Stag handles don't really match, which is a bummer, but this is what you get with such a reasonably price. Red liners under the stag are a nice touch.

The blade shape is peculiar, like a small meat cleaver. I have seen some reviews of this knife and according to them this knife shines in food preparation, so this is what I did mostly so far. It is true, this is an excellent food prep knife. The broad blade helps in moving foodstuffs from the cutting board to the pan. Even though the blade has some serious spine, the high hollow grind makes this a good slicer. Not as good as the nr 10 Opinel, but that would be asking too much ;) Of course this is strong fixed blade, not a folder.

Ergonomically the designer really nailed it with this knife. My former Boker was a Fitz and after some use I gave it away. The handle just did not work. Not so with this knife, even if this is a pocketable fixed blade I can get a good grip. The shape of the handle is comfortable. Putting my thumb on the spine gives great power to cutting and excellent controll.

Onions, garlic, pepper and so forth were cut with ease and comfort. I also cut some heavy plastic rope to make a loop to hang my boxing bag from the roof. Easy.

So I am quite happy with this knife. It looks nice and cuts well. Only thing I miss is a point. Therefore I had in mind to start carefully grinding the blade to a Nessmuk style (see picture above). Wish me luck, I dont want to ruin this.

The sheath, by the way, is a well made thick leather sheath and has clip. To use it as a pocket clip is a bit awkward, it is designed to be used as belt clip. I might make a dedicated pocket sheath for this knife. Pictures of the knife are on the next page.
 
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