My new knife model, your thoughts...

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olaf_yahoo

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Apr 25, 2005
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This is the second model of the knife from my previous thread. As with all my knives the features are negotiable between myself and the customer. This one is 5'' long, 3/16'' thick of D2 steel. Two finger grooves, double bevel tanto design with thumb ramp and top edge, hardened to 60-62. Four 3/8'' holes will be drilled in the handle. The mirror polish is not yet complete but I wanted to show how it is coming. This piece is all hand made, the production models are waterjet cut with hand ground edges and a hand rubbed mirror polish. Each knife comes with a custom molded Kydex sheath and buyers choice of naked steel or the following for handle scales: carbon fiber, G-10, Linen Micarta, soon to come cordwrap.

Photos...


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I think it's an improvement, particularly the tip. The double finger groves combined with the thumb friction area have a certain flow that the earlier prototype lacked. I'm not in the market, but if I were buying something like that, I'd want a lanyard hole. I assume that your customers could specify one.

Best Wishes,
Bob
 
I like it for sure. I would prefer (for me personally) that it had a longer cutting area, and was about 1/16" thinner.

Looks very neat. I like it. It's not the same as what everyone else makes and that's why I like it more.
 
love the knife but for some reason the front finger grip looks a little too close and a bit too shalow to the blade for comfort
 
Bob, the knife will come with holes in the handle to reduce weight, the one nearest the butt will function as a lanyard hole.

Sledgehammer, the knife is 3/16'' thick but if you prefer I can sand it a little thinner for you, the blade comes in different lengths.

Shifty, I have experimented with this and found the grooves to be more than adequate but if you like I can grind yours deeper if you want one.

Also all the features are customizable, finger grooves, thumb ramp, handle holes, blade length, steel choice. I make this as the base model and modify according to each customers wishes. Thanks for the compliments so far, I'll have photos of the fighter model up in a week or so.
 
I like that a lot!! Very cool!! What kind of sheath does it come with? What steel choices? How much?
 
Comes with a custom molded Kydex sheath. Right now I am only offering 440C and D2 but others will be avaliable in the future. The model you see in the photos is $80 standard, all the visible features are negotiable which can either raise or lower the price.
 
hi olaf,
I would either leave it a brushed finish or get all of the scrathces out before you polish. Other than that, work on designing a larger version with a longer cutting area. For a small knife like that I like the spine flat to put a finger on if needed. I'd loose the top grind on one that small.

Nice grinds by the way!!


Who heat treated it?
 
Yes as I said in the original post I was not finished with the polish when I took the photos. I wanted to get them up though to show how it was progressing to those who had inquired. The customer can request a longer blade length with or without the top edge. I sent it to a custom heat treat facility near here for that part.
 
Good choice on the D2. I hope that will bring the cost down quite a bit. I imagine it would be cheaper to heat treat, as it is an air-hardening steel. Be sure to put up some pix with a handle on (micarta or something.) I'm interested to see what that would look like. Also, on such models with handles, are you going to offer a tapered tang? That would look pretty cherry!
-KC
 
Actually the D2 is more expensive than the 440C when I am ordering materials, almost double the price. I had not thought of tapering the tang like you suggested, I want to keep it fully thick throughout. Yes when I have photos ready of the different models with handles and sheaths I'll post them here. I will probably use carbon fiber for the photos.
 
Well, still cheaper than S30V, I should hope. I'm pretty sure that you can keep the same integrity with a tapered tang, especially on a knife that size. The downside is that will require more work and likely make it cost much more. It's all a balancing act, but I'm sure you'll get it worked out.
As an aside, perhaps you would like to use a different finish than a mirror polish? A stonewashed blade would still look very atractive with CF scales. Also it would not show wear as much.
But it's looking very good. I like the new lines. Is that a sharpened edge on the top, or is that a swedge? I might be concerned about my thumb moving forward and getting a little slice. Even though your thumb grooves are pretty secure looking!
 
Thanks Clerk, no actually CPM S30V is a bit more expensive even than the D2. I buy from Admiral Steel and while I have not purchased any S3V yet the pricing chart shows it to be more than double the cost of the D2 which is more than double the price of 440C. Later on I will experiment with the more expensive alloys but for now I'll stay with what I can have heat treated locally and won't raise the cost of my knives too much.

Comparison

440C- 72'' x 3/16'' x 1'' = 49.30

D2- 36'' (not avaliable in 72) x 3/16'' x 1'' = 64.75

CPM S30V- 72'' x 3/16'' x 1'' = 105.32
 
my source for 36" x 1" x 3/16" D2 is $48.42. Cheaper if you get 2 or more.

Just my .02 cents....cost is always a concern at my house. ;)
 
Neat little knife, but you should perhaps look into getting a "knifemaker" level membership, as this thread is starting to look an awful lot like "advertising".

$.02
 
This thread isn't about advertising it is about hearing what other people think of my ideas, good or bad. I'm not going to pay for a membership just so I can post the same threads I am posting now.

USA- I'll be the first to admit I do not know everything and I have no idea how to gunblue steel. The polished micarta scales are easy though, I've never used spacers as of yet so that would be kinda touch and go for me. What length blade would you want, it has a lot to do with the price?
 
a number of tooling supply companies carry hardenable steels. Getting $200 for that knife, I dont see why you shouldnt pay Admirals price to be honest.
 
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