New knife WIP

[John Katt]

well kind of a WIP, like a dummy I didn't think to take pictures when I was forging the blade and rough grinding, the pics start at around 80 grit, and also include my first attempt at file work, which I am super happy with

comments and suggestions welcome ;0)

 

[jll346]

Looks good so far. Can't wait to see more.

 

[Petiepablo37]

Dude I want that knife. Let me know when your gonna sell it.

 

[John Katt]

Dude I want that knife. Let me know when your gonna sell it.

unfortunately I am not a paid member and I cant sell anything here, but keep your eye on my name it might turn gold someday soon

 

[John Katt]

well I did the heat treat today, sure does suck to take something nice and shiny and turn it black on purpose ;0)


before, sanded to 120 grit

during

grandma's Sunday chicken will never taste the same, this is the biggest knife I have done so far and I needed something bigger for the quench, in the back ground you can see a sliver plated pitcher, that is what I was using before, under the oil in the roaster is a catcher made from hardware cloth, and I know every body frowns on this, but I am using motor oil, only difference it's new oil, after my father passed I found at least 30 half quarts of 10/30 valvoline in his garage LOL not sure why he had so many

these 2 pics are after the quench, first one is just wiped with a rag and the 2nd is after a light cleaning on the wire wheel

wells thats all for today, I'm off to put the knife in the tempering oven
opinions welcome ;0)

 

[John Katt]

well I got a bunch of sanding done today all the way down to a 5x norax, just need to pick up some 2000 and 2500 grit paper to finish this week end, then comes the hard part choosing a handle material, I sure wouldn't mind some suggestions

I have a nice piece of red oak and brass pins, I also like the 2 tone black and gray micarta,

and I decided to put together a cheap photo box, paper and card board powered by a 1000 watt metal halide bulb, pics turned out real nice I thought

 

[Stacy E. Apelt - Bladesmith]

Very nice work, and excellent photos. You didn't give the specs ( unless I missed them somewhere)
Steel type
HT temps
Blade length and OAL

 

[John Katt]

Very nice work, and excellent photos. You didn't give the specs ( unless I missed them somewhere)
Steel type

Nope you you didn't miss them, I guess I have gotten so wrapped up in the build because it is going so well that I completely forgot to add that info, so here it is

Steel. OCS 5160, taken from a 1978 Chevy motor-home

Heat treat. Using the non-magnetic method, quenched in motor oil warmed to 135 degrees, which I have done to a dozen test pieces now and have gotten very consistent results, thanks to mark's tips

knife dimensions.

over all length 11 7/16
tip to bolster 5 13/16
handle 5 5/8
weight 455 g
handle thickness 0.233
blade distal taper 0.233 to 0.190
blade at its widest point 1 11/16
bolster material OCS 5160 thickness 0.200

 

[JustAFleshWound]

Very cool! For a handle material, I think black paper micarta would look real nice.

 

[John Katt]

Very cool! For a handle material, I think black paper micarta would look real nice.

ya I agree... think the oak and brass pins are out, this knife seems to be taking on a new life other then the one I had in mind, I'm thinking the black micarta with steel pins and black carbon fiber pins for the front and rear bolsters, a nice contrast


EDIT....it was black and green G10 I was looking at not micarta

 

[Minibear464]

Carbon fiber's expensive... why not just use micarta rods? Just curious.

 

[John Katt]

The only rod material I could find on usa supply was black linen 3/16 x 10" for 13$ my holes are 1/8, a quick search on google and I found carbon fiber 1/8 x 24" for $2.64 http://dragonplate.com/ecart/categories.asp?cID=39 did I miss the cheap rod on USA? or is there a better supplier ?

 

[Minibear464]

Wow. That carbon fiber's really cheap. yeah, that's a way better deal. TKS does have micarta rods, around $2 for a foot, but the cf rods are still much cheaper.

 

[John Katt]

Woo Hoo IT'S DONE

well I made a few changes from my last post, I decided to go with steel pins in the bolsters instead of the black carbon fiber, and I liked the black and green G10 so much I couldn't bring myself to drill holes in it, so i went with hidden pins instead, I drew the original pin layout in MS paint, and it looked a little to busy, this way the whole knife looks a lot sleeker

So what do you guys think? thumbs up or thumbs down, I think I am going to make a few more similar to this one, so suggestions would be welcome

 

[orangehero]

The finish looks great, but why did you leave the top of the tang sticking proud of the handle? Just doesn't look right to me. Doesn't look comfortable either. Perhaps make it all flush and filled in with colored epoxy since the filework is so deep. Also maybe move the thumb notch forward of the bolster, as when you choke up your grip and use your thumb it's more comfortable to be able to bear down directly over the cutting edge.

 

[John Katt]

after I finished the file work it kinda reminded me of an animals spine, and if you look at various large animals the spine is quite prevalent, kinda took the idea from that,

 

[Dezmond]

Looks really good.. I like how the file work is outside of the handle on the tang.. Only - would be it would look even better if you stared the file work at the rear of the handle instead......

But I do like it a lot... Good job!

 

[seionage]

Very nicely done!!!

 

[John Katt]

if you stared the file work at the rear of the handle instead......

I was going to wrap the file work all the way around the rear bolster but I had an issue with pin placement

 

[AVigil]

If you bevel the bolsters and the G10 with hidden pins the scales definitly will not come off