Nick Wheeler chopper

RokJok

RokJok

Gold Member
Joined
Oct 6, 2000
Messages
4,258
This is a Nick Wheeler forged chopper with some forging marks left in the blade giving it a rustic look. It reminds me of a corn knife or maybe a longer version of a bamboo splitting knife. The handle is amazingly comfortable in my hand and secure due to its rough texture. The blade has a very distinct quench line. :cool:

I tested it out on bunch of laurel branches up to a few inches thick and this knife as a chopper is a demon unleashed! :D :D After doing the chopping it would still shave and slice the proverbial "paper thin slices" off of a very ripe tomato in the kitchen. One helluva knife for sure!!

Here's some info from Nick on this blade: "I cut up a bunch of maple limbs and then hacked through a bunch more of maple and alder branches knots included. It wasn't getting dull at all, so I set up a bunch of pop cans with water in them and swung away. I was cutting them with a side swing, and it was easy stuff. So I started swinging
overhand, cutting from the top down to the bottom of the can. It was splitting them up!

So I got some pennies out and swung away. I cleaved one penny into about 7 pieces and the knife still shaved and cut newsprint. It did dull it a little, but definitely not enough to say it was dull."

FWIW, the day I picked it up Nick sank it about 1-1/4" in a single stroke into the hunk of dried alder shown in the picture of the handle. Dried alder is very hard stuff and is tough on tools. Using it for cabinetry will eat up your sawblades and tool edges in a hurry. It is a favored wood for solid-body electric guitars due to its stability and durability. So imagine sinking a blade into a solid-body guitar to a depth of 1-1/4" in a single stroke, because that's basically what this knife did.

Steel: W2
Blade length: 10-3/4" to front of scales
Overall length: 15-7/16"
Thickness: 7/32" at the spine, tapered tang gives it an even more pronounced weight-forward feel
Weight: 17.25 ounces
Handle: canvas micarta left rough with the files
Handle fasting: epoxy, 2 ea corby bolts, 3 ea 1/8" pins, thong tube that is just a shade under 3/16" inside diameter

Blade left side:
Nick%20Wheeler%20-%20w2%20chopper%20blade%20left%20640x480.jpg


Blade right side:
Nick%20Wheeler%20-%20w2%20chopper%20blade%20right%20640x480.jpg


Handle & alder chunk:
Nick%20Wheeler%20-%20w2%20chopper%20handle%20640x480.jpg


Handle wetted to show pins better:
Nick%20Wheeler%20-%20w2%20chopper%20handle%20darkened.jpg


Tapered tang (sorry for poor scan of this):
Nick%20Wheeler%20-%20w2%20chopper%20tapered%20tang%20640x480.jpg


A mighty big "THANK YOU!!!" goes out to Nick for making this one. :D
 
Man, I'm getting more jealous! I'm trying to patiently wait for mine from Nick... but you guys postin' pics of the ones you've gotten... I don't know how much longer I can last!
That is one amazing looking chopper! And the hamon... Nick's work is just getting better...

and when I get mine I guess I'll have to share with y'all... Oh God... give me strength and patience! :D
 
Joe-

If it makes you feel any better, Greg ordered this knife about two hours before you ordered yours :) so he endured a long wait too.

We're just waiting on photography now my friend.

Guys, a little info on this knife. Greg aproached me after a rope cutting competition we had at a local show and asked me about making a copy of the knife I had used in the competition.

This was specifically NOT to be a fancy knife, but one that could be used as a serious chopping knife.

I broke a few blades on the way to coming up with this one, but I'm glad I did. This knife was very hard for me to put down, it's just fun to whack and chop at stuff with it. It's nice to make one that you know will get put to hard use.

Just for you guys thinking I'm a nut with a hammer, that texture is forged in with a die in my press...so it's very much on purpose! :D

Thanks for the kind words folks.
Nick

Greg- thanks again for the nice visit yesterday, it was a lot of fun...and that damascus actually turned out usable! ;)
 
That is just too COOL! Looks more like the cleaver from hell. Awesome hamon as well. It's not everyone that can make a rough user turn out looking so damn good. Nice job folks.

BTW, you guys can quit your bitchin' about waiting for your knives from Nick, I am still 4 to 5 months out on mine :(
 
Holy schnikeys! :eek: That looks so frikkin' fun! I want it! I picture that knife hanging on my belt while going out to do some trail clearing in my woods, or splitting kindling for the stove, or limbing trees, or....

OK RokJok put a price tag on that thing. Seriously.

Oh, and Jamie, I specifically asked Nick not to give me a timeline on the fighter we've been discussing, so you'll hear no whining from me :D
 
:eek: :eek: :eek: :eek: :eek: :eek: :eek: :eek: :eek:

This Wheeler guy never ceases to amaze, does he? I love everything about this knife! Except for the fact that I don't own it.

Just noticed the name on the blade. Is that a new stamp?
 
Originally posted by Wulf
Oh, and Jamie, I specifically asked Nick not to give me a timeline on the fighter we've been discussing, so you'll hear no whining from me :D
Click to expand...

I can only imagine the beauty you two are dreaming up. That damascus vision you picked up from Nick in Atlanta was simply one of the nicest I have seen. The fact that I am not one known for being overly fond of damascus is a testament to how nice that one was.
 
Ya don't understand!! ;) He's been teasing me with this for a year now!! LOL!!! We've been playin email, and he's kept me chuckling the whole time with the stories behind this blade... And I've even seen the blade! It was amazing in the raw atate I saw it in during the Spring OKCA show in Eugene... where I thought I was going to pick up a finished piece! And apparently I had missed the last minute email (I was already on my way to the show!) telling me he still wasn't happy with the guard or the handle... All's I can say is that the wait has been worth it just for what I've heard Nick has gone through to make this knife. He's sent it off for pics... and if he'll let me... I'll try and post it when it gets here?!?!!? :D

:cool:
 
Naw....... I completely understand. What everyone needs to understand is that Nick is just a little anal when it comes to the finished product, whatever the price range may be, it needs to be A-B-S-O-L-U-T-E-L-Y perfect before he will let it go. He had a kick-ass dagger in Atlanta that he wouldn't sell because it had to be reground! Like I said, I thought it was perfect :rolleyes: You can be certain that when you get a piece from him it will be as nice as he can make it. Kind of helps with the wait.
 
Exactly!!! That's what I'm saying - his stories about how many blades he went through trying to figure out how to temper in his new salt bathes was entertaining... and enlightening. Nick has pretty much provided me with a lot of what has gone on in making this blade... and I'm sure I don't know the half of it, either!:D All's I know is that he has learned a lot in making this blade... and I guess I kinda get a kick out of thinking my request, out of the blue at last fall's NWKC's show in Puyallup, WA, drove him to learn more... However, I have nothing to do with the fact that he IS a perfectionist, but I think I will benefit greatly from that work ethic when I get mine...

And the temper line on the chopper pictured here is just one manifestation of how much Nick has learned about controlling his steels... The grain structures and the control of their growth in his work is awesome!:eek:

Just bear with my whining! It will be worth the wait, for me at least, and I'll try and share when I get the first opportunity!:cool:
 
------------------
Originally posted by Wulf
OK RokJok put a price tag on that thing. Seriously.
------------------

Wulf, You might email Nick to see if he'll give you a price & make something like it for you. ;) This one, though - this one I'm keeping. Most definitely! FWIW, I coated the exposed blade and tang with Militec-1 this morning to help prevent corrosion.

As the other folks noted, Nick's obsession with the quality of everything that leaves his shop is monumental. And that's a good thing for those of us lucky enough to know him and to acquire his workmanship.

Now if I could just stop thinking about that really sweet little drop point hunter he had partially assembled when I was visiting him... :rolleyes: :D
 
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