- Joined
- Nov 14, 2005
- Messages
- 11,135
I havent posted any new steel in awhile so I figured I show you guys this one...
This started as a templete I drew. I wanted to try and incorperate a few knives I really liked into the design, and come up with what will be my main woods blade for 2010. I had a Busse SAR4 awhile back, and really liked it, I just wish I could decrease its size 25%. I thought it was oversized for what it was, and it would be alot more usefull in a smaller package. I also have always been a fan of the RAT RC3s diamensions, and simple looks. For me its the perfect sized woods blade. You could get about anything you want done with a knife that size IMO.
So in Pitdog fashion, I sat down and drew up what was rattling around upstairs. I wanted to put in some of the details of the SAR4, and RC3 without taking anything but inspiration. I respect those 2 makers very much and didnt want to blatently copy thier hard work. I also knew from the start who I wanted to grind out the steel. Scott Gossman. Im a huge fan of his bladesmith ability, and every dealing Ive had with Scott has been amazing. Hes a great guy. I just love the what he does to steel. Gossman blades always feel super tough, and they just scream to be used. So I contacted Scott and a short while later sent him a templete and waited for him to do his thing. This is what I got back....
Specs: "The Pointman"
3.75in blade,
4.75 handle(at its longest, 4.25 at its shortest)
5/32 A2 Steel( my favorite steel, in my prefered thickness)
Photo by Scott Gossman
Originaly I was planning to do the handles myself, in order to make this a learning experiance. Scott and Brian Andrews were a wealth of information, and awnsered alot of my questions as far as the process, and acheiving perfection in F&F. It really amazed me when broken down, how much TLC and work goes into creating a flawless handle. Well, work was getting nuts, and the holidays were approaching, so I decided to send it off to someone to get the handles done. I saw a knife forum member Defaultuser made and LOVED the handle, he does AMAZING work, check it out! I contacted him to do the work, and was all set to send it off, when....I totaled my truck.
I just couldnt swing the funds to do it, and ship to canada etc...
I was bummed out, and thought again about doing them myself, and I remembered a blade I scored off Kevin Estela. It had really nice handles done by Lonerider grips so I decided to contact greg and see how much he charges. He awnsered me promptly, and we chatted over the specifics. I still really couldnt swing the funds.
Then...my wife said she would pay for it for me for a Christmas present!! 
So.....Off it went to Greg. With a week turnaround, I just got my blade back this morning.
The handles are great. I wanted the same bead blasted black paper Micarta that the other blade had. They are very grippy in a subtle way. I dont know who taught Greg how to contour handles, but Ive never had a knife that is contoured similar to his. I can instantly tell a knife that he has worked on, he has a style all his own. They are very well done, contoured perfectly, and are comfortable in many grips(not to mention affordable!). I took a bunch of pics, but I couldnt capture the contouring on my camera due to the nature of the handle material.
Heres some pics!
I love the look of this blade. Has a nice drop point, with a bit of belly. It has a nice simplicty to it.
Spine shot
Since I measured my own hand, and based the handle on the size, it fits perfect. The simple curved handle, and subtle contours to the slabs are comfortable in many grips.
Here is a comparison shot to the RC3 so you can get an idea of overall scale.
Anyways, Im sorry for rambleing on and on, but there was a bit of backstory and time behind this one. I have been really really picky with this one. I tweaked the design many times before I was happy. As far as sheathing, I scored a shoulder rig from Survival Sheath Systems off the exchange for this one, and am gonna have some OD green Kydex made up for it, so it will be rockin some duct tape and tactical cardboard untill then.
Thanks Scott for making this for me, and Brian and Scott for awnsering all my handle questions, and Defaultuser for being patient and understanding, and Greg at Lonerider grips for hooking me up so affordably.
This started as a templete I drew. I wanted to try and incorperate a few knives I really liked into the design, and come up with what will be my main woods blade for 2010. I had a Busse SAR4 awhile back, and really liked it, I just wish I could decrease its size 25%. I thought it was oversized for what it was, and it would be alot more usefull in a smaller package. I also have always been a fan of the RAT RC3s diamensions, and simple looks. For me its the perfect sized woods blade. You could get about anything you want done with a knife that size IMO.
So in Pitdog fashion, I sat down and drew up what was rattling around upstairs. I wanted to put in some of the details of the SAR4, and RC3 without taking anything but inspiration. I respect those 2 makers very much and didnt want to blatently copy thier hard work. I also knew from the start who I wanted to grind out the steel. Scott Gossman. Im a huge fan of his bladesmith ability, and every dealing Ive had with Scott has been amazing. Hes a great guy. I just love the what he does to steel. Gossman blades always feel super tough, and they just scream to be used. So I contacted Scott and a short while later sent him a templete and waited for him to do his thing. This is what I got back....
Specs: "The Pointman"
3.75in blade,
4.75 handle(at its longest, 4.25 at its shortest)
5/32 A2 Steel( my favorite steel, in my prefered thickness)
Photo by Scott Gossman
Originaly I was planning to do the handles myself, in order to make this a learning experiance. Scott and Brian Andrews were a wealth of information, and awnsered alot of my questions as far as the process, and acheiving perfection in F&F. It really amazed me when broken down, how much TLC and work goes into creating a flawless handle. Well, work was getting nuts, and the holidays were approaching, so I decided to send it off to someone to get the handles done. I saw a knife forum member Defaultuser made and LOVED the handle, he does AMAZING work, check it out! I contacted him to do the work, and was all set to send it off, when....I totaled my truck.
I just couldnt swing the funds to do it, and ship to canada etc...I was bummed out, and thought again about doing them myself, and I remembered a blade I scored off Kevin Estela. It had really nice handles done by Lonerider grips so I decided to contact greg and see how much he charges. He awnsered me promptly, and we chatted over the specifics. I still really couldnt swing the funds.
Then...my wife said she would pay for it for me for a Christmas present!! So.....Off it went to Greg. With a week turnaround, I just got my blade back this morning. The handles are great. I wanted the same bead blasted black paper Micarta that the other blade had. They are very grippy in a subtle way. I dont know who taught Greg how to contour handles, but Ive never had a knife that is contoured similar to his. I can instantly tell a knife that he has worked on, he has a style all his own. They are very well done, contoured perfectly, and are comfortable in many grips(not to mention affordable!). I took a bunch of pics, but I couldnt capture the contouring on my camera due to the nature of the handle material.
Heres some pics!
I love the look of this blade. Has a nice drop point, with a bit of belly. It has a nice simplicty to it.
Spine shot
Since I measured my own hand, and based the handle on the size, it fits perfect. The simple curved handle, and subtle contours to the slabs are comfortable in many grips.
Here is a comparison shot to the RC3 so you can get an idea of overall scale.
Anyways, Im sorry for rambleing on and on, but there was a bit of backstory and time behind this one. I have been really really picky with this one. I tweaked the design many times before I was happy. As far as sheathing, I scored a shoulder rig from Survival Sheath Systems off the exchange for this one, and am gonna have some OD green Kydex made up for it, so it will be rockin some duct tape and tactical cardboard untill then.
Thanks Scott for making this for me, and Brian and Scott for awnsering all my handle questions, and Defaultuser for being patient and understanding, and Greg at Lonerider grips for hooking me up so affordably.
