opinions on new knife

J

jonvalblades

Joined
Oct 16, 2004
Messages
121
This is about my 6th knife and I decided to go with a twisted handle fighter :)
Dsc00007.jpg


the only fault is the slip I made while grinding :mad:

here I put a mirror polish on the end ;)
Dsc00009.jpg



I would like honest opinions and comments
 
Your knife looks like it Started life as a piece of round rod. I like to square mine then twist. With Square you can get a few more twists in it so that when you curve it it is a little more even. Keep going this is a functional knife.

Send me an email if you like I will send you a set of drawing on how to make
rams heads and a few knives I make with the twist. reg_ellery@optusnet.com.au

Half the trick with twist is getting the steel at an evan heat so that it twists evenly . Then don't twist too many times or you can snap the end off.
Once you have the twists in, a block of wood and 2 by 2 length of wood can be used to shape the curves in the handle without leaving hammer marks on the corners. Makes a bit of smoke.

It is probably a good exercise to do just that get a scrap piece, square it and twist it until it comes to pieces. You will see it go through a number of different appearences as the turns get tighter.

Edit: I could not think of the name before but those big bugs on star ship troopers. Made me think of them.
 
Looks like it'd make a great fighter. The thin tip should make for good penatration even through modern leather armor (biker coats etc) and the serrations would definately make for a messy wound. I think since they're so widely spaces that you'd avoid the snagging problems of smaller serrations too. On the downside, while the twist probably gives a pretty secure grip, on a thrusting knife like that I really like some sort of guard to prevent my hand from slipping down the blade.
 
When you go to twist a blade it is much easier to have one person work the torch and the other one twisting. Its much easier to keep it straight, and evenly twisted. Its not as easy as it looks.

This was something that Bruce Fuller and myself worked on for an auction last June.

picture.JPG


We didn't heat up the entire "handle" but did portions at a time until we had an evenly spaced twist. It is twisted 1 1/2 times. If it wasn't straight while we twisted it then we heated it where needed and bent it in the vise. No hammering on it that way. Just remember, you can't untwist it!

This was more of a novelty. The spike was from Guthrie, Kentucky, the setting of one of Mickey Newbury's songs. Neither Bruce nor myself make it a habit of making knives from a spike, or a "Newbury" as we like to call them in reference to "Newbury train songs".

Craig
 
Never thought of it like that Craig thanks for the idea!

how much do you pple think this knife could sell fore ??? like $35? :confused:
 
Interesting design. I see some good potential in your creative thinking.
Was wondering what the steel is and about your heat treating. As far as value, thats a tough one....whatever someone is willing to pay for it. When I started selling my work I asked a lot of people how I should price my stuff....someone told me to find someone that I felt my work was close to and charge $50.00 less then them. It doesn't always work, but it did get me to look at other peoples work and figure out where I was and where I wanted to go. Ask 35 for it and if it don't sell you could drop it to 30...It's much more easy to go down than up in price.
I think your idea is good for the knife.....I would like to see this with a bit of a larger blade, hand finnished, with a guard and handle.
Can't wait to see #7
Mace
 
Thanks for the support

knife is made from o1 and is aprox.7.5 in long

Its a lot smaller than most of the things i usualy make but i figured id try a new design on a smaller peice.( because if i messed it up)
 
Silly question: Could a smith use a pipe to keep the billet (or rr spike or square stock or ...) linear while twisting it?

Reason I ask: I once saw a blacksmith use that trick while twisting wrought iron strap into balusters for a railing. When I asked him about the pipe, he said it worked as a guide to keep the metal straight instead of corkscrewing as he twisted it.

He'd cinch one end of the iron strap into the vise, then slip a pipe whose inside diameter allowed it to just fit over the strap onto it, leaving the other end of the strap exposed out the end of the pipe. He'd clamp a Vise-Grip on the end of the strap sticking out of the pipe and start twisting while he counted the number of turns to make sure each baluster had the same look.

If it's not a silly question, but a blatantly stupid one from a knifemaker's perspective, please excuse.
 
I have heard of this method and it probably would work just as well on knives and letter openers. The only problem I would be concerned about is I find the biggest problem I have is getting the twist even. I often have sections that are hotter or slightly different size after hammering and they twist at the softest point and not as much in the thicker harder/colder section. The pipe would keep it straigt but you could not see how it was going twist wise. Square even stock from a manufacture may be the way to go if you want it perfect. I also like the less perfect hand made look of Jonvalblades.

You can actually by an machine now for bending those black smith twists and swirles while the metal is cold. They have jigs and dies each piece comes out perfect.

I have also been thinking of using a pipe when making cable damascus in the early stage of getting extra twist into the cable. I have made a few lengths. anything over a couple of feet and I have problems. Pipe may be the answere. A cable sword was the Idea.
 
It's not really bad at all for the first twist. You've already gotten the best advice I could give you but the buddy system Craig is talking about works very well. Some of the smiths that I consider magic and just snap their fingers to form the steel use this method.

If you do a search for Bruce Bumps posts, you will find a picture of him twisting the barrel for his hawk/matchlock.

Some things just work out better with help.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top