One for Walosi

primos

primos

Joined
Jan 27, 2000
Messages
615
dons_bowie_1.jpg


Not the greatest photo, but a sweet little knife anyway. Just finished this one for Walosi. It's forged from 1084, 6 1/2" blade, approximately 11 1/4" overall. Nickel Silver hardware. Cuts great. Very well balanced.

We took the general blade style of my Gentleman's Bowie, and used a guard style like my Zolas and Zolas II Bowies. The handle is black Corian that Walosi had shipped to me, hand-rubbed to 2000 grit. Interesting stuff. I'd never used it before.

My wife Patricia, loves it, but Walosi say's there is no way she is going to get it. He said to tell her that if it gets down to it, he'll send her some Corian and let her deal with me. Patricia say's, "But I can't afford one of your knives". :D

Yeah, yeah, everybody's got a story. :rolleyes: :D
 
Isn't Corian what they use on counter tops? Boy, it takes a nice finish, doesn't it? Cool knife.
 
Terry, how did that corian work? Is it a bit slick when finished? very nice knife.
 
Joss,
Kumdo nailed it.

Kumdo,
Yes, you're right. And yes it finishes nicely and easily.

Matt,
Easy to work, and yes it's a bit slick.

Here's the deal. Corian is not something I will offer as a standard material. I like fancy woods. Walosi sent me the stuff so I could make a handle that would match a sidearm he has. We'll be making up a sheath to match his holster rig too.

I don't know how durable the stuff is. There have been reports of pieces of it breaking off if it hits a concrete floor. Of course, I guess a lot of handle materials would chip or break if they hit a concrete floor.
 
Sweet knife, very clean. The corian handle looks so cool. Never seen this stuff before.
 
Corian is a DuPont countertop material. It is a melted-and-poured compound of unknown (to me, anyhoo) composition. It has no grain, somewhat heavier/higher density than similar size pieces of Micarta I've used. Terry and I both got the immediate "first impression" that it is softer than Micarta, when we first touched paper to it. I dressed the panel halves, where they met, on a set of revolver grips. Terry of course worked down the handle of that sweet, lovely excercise in beautiful black and silver simplicity (which ISN'T HERE YET...kach..ahem...'scuse me :o ). Gripmaker Don Collins is the only craftsman I know of who offers Corian. As a dense, durable material for revolver grips, I believe it will do well. As a knife handle material...I guess we'll find out. In my household, guns seem to get dropped-knocked-scraped a lot less often than knife handles, so it may be a beautiful match, but apple and orange usage comparison. Neither the knife nor the gun are destined for "safe queen" status - I got them both for carry. This IS Kentucky, after all :rolleyes:

Sorry, Patricia...I really, really am. But you still ainna gonna get it :D You already got a fine S'uthin Gentleman under yore spell - you don't need an old reprobate as well. Work on him....let me know when to send the Corian
 
I'd be willing to bet it cuts real good. Personally, if I wanted a black handle I would choose African Blackwood, buffalo horn or Gaboon Ebony. Corian is just too slick when it gets wet.
 
Yep, it cuts like crazy. I even made mention of that when I was giving Walosi status reports.

I'm not a big fan of ebony, but boy I like African Blackwood. In this case though, the whole idea was to match the gun grips.
 
Terry told me he was "very happy" with the way it cuts...which means he should probably blunt it before he sends it to a klutz like me.
Knife ergonomics are different from those of a gun, but I've shot the grips in, on a hot and humid range down among the trees (mist in the air at 14:00!) and the gun didn't want to slip in sweaty hands. This was under full recoil with some 300 gr. loads. Time will tell.
 
Im with Terry, i cant stand Ebony, wont use it. Every batch ive tried to use has been very "brittle" and will split, crack, and seperate at the mortise over time.

If one of my customers wants a black handle, they get micarta :D
 
African Blackwood is less prone to the cracking and splitting.

Gorgeous knife, Terry!
 
Very nice Terry...really pretty knife!!!


"Hunters seek what they [WANT].., Seekers hunt what they [NEED]"
 
Hey guys, I'm a tile setter, and have used Corian many times, as window sills, countertops, ETC>.
Another brand name is Surell.
or is it surrel?
whichever, I have also used it as a cuttingboard, (part of a shower seat, Left over), and it works as a great cutting board, might be a little brittle, but is dimentionally stable.
I always wondered what these would work as handles..
Let us know if it holds up to abuse!!
 
So what we need is countertops of Corian and handles made from the excess on a set of kitchen knives! (It's been done, but I can't remember by whom ... !?)
 
Hi all, first off, love the knife. As allready stated above, corian is used mostly for bench tops and esecially for laboratory work surfaces. Here in Oz it is referedto as "solid surface" You should be able to get any amount of off-cuts from cabinet makers who use it. It cuts, saws, drills and sands like pakawood or micarta.It comes in many solid colours, some opaque and many that mimic the appearance of stone. A matching special glue is supplied with each sheet for invisable joins/seems. A few years back the stone lookalikes were very poular here and in Japan. The stuff is harder and not as brittle as poly pearl but would chip if you droped the knife on concrete. I have used it many times, but unless you want the stone look, I would stick to paper or linen micarta. Hope this helps those who have not used it before. Regards, Peter.
 
That is awesome!!
I've considered Corian for handles before... but never tried it... looks really cool.
 
I love it !!! It is absolutly beautiful . Corian has been used for years on both guns and knives . After all , really who decides on a handle material by thinking about dropping the knife on concrete . I know all the hardcore uses a knife can see but for me even my users will be pretty . Even the stabilized woods if dropped on concrete are going to chip or crack , everything has a trade off to it . Just my two cents .

I love the knife Walosi and great work Terry .

Later,
Jerry
 
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