My Second Leuku inspired blade.

U

Utican

Joined
Sep 18, 2010
Messages
215
The blade is admiral 1080. It is eight inches long and one eight thick. It is one and ahalg inches tall.The handle is four and a half inches long. Bolster and pommel are made from 1/4 " brass. The handle is Elk antler, Snakewood and African Blackwood. The construction of all my knives is thru stick tang with the threaded rod brazed on and pommel with a silver-brazed nut to hold it all together after it has been epoxied.

Let me know what you think!












 
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I'm not a fan of scandi grinds but if you were making a leuku style knife then it fits.

I like your handle materials. They compliment each other without being too garish. The fit of the guard looks nice and tight. To be nit picky, the grind line is not totally even, and it looks like there are multiple scratches on the flats.
 
The overall appearance of the blade is great but like S. Alexander said there are a few things like the grind lines and scratches that could be fixed. The handle is what I really like!
 
Got it, Grind line needs improvement I agree. I am still working on my finishing skills. I appreciate the handle comment. It got ten coats of CA glue. I am sticking to making Puukko's and Leuku's for now untill I perfect them. I honestly appreciate your input gents.
 
Overall, a very good knife. Scandi grind is excellent.

My critique would be the handle. It is well made, finished, and shaped, but the material choice is distracting. The three color combo is too harsh. Normally the top and bottom block would be the same material. On a puukko, that would be antler. The snakewood is fine for the center. I find the blackwood distracts from the look.
 
Copy, I completely agree Stacy. I made it for a work buddy of mine and he wanted that particular combo. I learned that any time you have more than 3 materials it is too busy looking. In this case brass, antler and two different wood pieces. I decided from now on I will make a knife for anyone but will not entertain odd ideas. I have another comming soon that would look more like what I would be making. Thank you on the compliment of the shape. Stacy what are your thoughts on the construction method (stick tank that threads together) more particulary how they hold together.
 
They work just fine. When the pommel is screwed or bolted to the tang it is just about a strong as it gets.
 
Here is prototype Nessmuk type blade. It basically a bent puukko handle. Raindeer antler and curly birch with 1/8" copper for spacer,pommel and bolster. Blade is 4.5" and handle 4.25" still Admiral 1080 in 1/8" and it is flat ground with 20 degree bevel.












 
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While the workmanship looks good, and the birch is gorgeous, the blade/handle combo doesn't work for me.

Also, there seems to be something missing in the handle's end pieces. Maybe splitting them in half and adding a thinner center spacer, or making the transitions - Copper/nickel/copper, ...or something like that would help. My friend uses the 5-layer spacer material for the wood to bone transition. He likes the R-W-B-W-R spacers.

Additional ideas:
I might suggest bringing the blade edge and spine out a bit so they are even with the handle. As it is it makes the handle look oversize.
A peened tang or a finial nut gives a nice handle like that a more classic look.
Engraving or fileworking the butt cap might help with a "finished end" look.
Another idea might be to add a small guard of some sort.
 
Thank you for you input, much appreciated. I will grind the handle at the bolster area so it is flush with the blade. The shape it self, I basically tried to go by the original Nessmuk drawing. The sketch that is. I did order some spacer material and will see how that turns out. The letters you use to describe the pattern your friend is using for a transition are colors I take it?
 
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