Osprey K/T Work in Progress/Preview (The Journey up to Blade Show 2017)

I agree, Phil. This is the most detailed and entertaining thread on bladeforums right now. I keep hoping for updates.

Chris, the texture on your blades is completely next level. Please, keep up the good work.

-- Mike
 
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Can't wait to see some of your handle work on these awesome knives!
 
cbach8tw said:
Impressive, glad you got that started to help get ready for the show as well. Nice work. I look forward to seeing some of these here too. 👍
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Thank you, stay tuned more to come!



Comprehensivist said:
Wow Chris! You certainly make full use of your time on this planet. I continue to be impressed with how much quality work you knock out in a relatively short time.

It is cool to see some of your kitchen / steak knife variations advancing through the process. You have so much going on right now that it takes several viewings of this thread just to keep up.

Awesome stuff my friend. Please keep doing what you're doing. It is fun to watch.

Phil
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I try too Phil, I seem to be most productive late in the afternoon and on the weekends. And it was really quiet around here last week so I tried to capitalize on the moment.
I am glad to hear you and other enjoy reading through the updates.

I hope to keep them coming, still a lot more to do over the next several weeks. Strap your boots on tight it's going to be a wild ride!


I will try and post as often as I can.




Mish_Mike said:
I agree, Phil. This is the most detailed and entertaining thread on bladeforums right now. I keep hoping for updates.

Chris, the texture on your blades is completely next level. Please, keep up the good work.

-- Mike
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Thanks Mike, I am really happy everyone likes the texturing so much, I put a lot of time and work into achieving that look on each and every blade.
It has evolved over the last few years.



Odaon said:
:thumbup::thumbup:

Can't wait to see some of your handle work on these awesome knives!
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Thanks Orion,

I plan on shaping a few today, the prototypes I am still trying to figure out exactly how I am going to execute it. This is usually how it goes for the with new designs. I have a pretty clear picture in my head of want I want to achieve within certain parameters. I usually at this point try to visualize the process to the end, and then go up and work through it and adjust as I am working through the process if I see an issue arise. Seems to work pretty well for me.







If any of you still haven't checked out my instagram page, I would highly suggest it. Sometimes I post pictures of there first, and then here when I have a collection of them over several days. Instagram has a more easy to use interface for taking my phone out snapping a picture and being able to post an update or share a cool picture during a break. without having to upload to a separate hosting site, and copy and pasting you guys know the drill.

Anyway this is my attempt to draw more of you to my instagram page, you're really dont even have to have an account, just google Osprey Knife & Tool and the Instagram link will show up a couple of selections down.

My Instagram address is @ospreyknifeandtool

However if you want to like my photos or reply or get notified to postings you would need to make an account, they have a private option, and you don't need to post any pictures I have many followers with blank profiles.

I hope to see some of you guys there!
 
Osprey Knife & Tool said:
Thanks Orion,

I plan on shaping a few today, the prototypes I am still trying to figure out exactly how I am going to execute it. This is usually how it goes for the with new designs. I have a pretty clear picture in my head of want I want to achieve within certain parameters. I usually at this point try to visualize the process to the end, and then go up and work through it and adjust as I am working through the process if I see an issue arise. Seems to work pretty well for me.
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I'm really looking forward to seeing how those turn out, Chris!



Osprey Knife & Tool said:
If any of you still haven't checked out my instagram page, I would highly suggest it. Sometimes I post pictures of there first, and then here when I have a collection of them over several days. Instagram has a more easy to use interface for taking my phone out snapping a picture and being able to post an update or share a cool picture during a break. without having to upload to a separate hosting site, and copy and pasting you guys know the drill.

Anyway this is my attempt to draw more of you to my instagram page, you're really dont even have to have an account, just google Osprey Knife & Tool and the Instagram link will show up a couple of selections down.

My Instagram address is @ospreyknifeandtool

However if you want to like my photos or reply or get notified to postings you would need to make an account, they have a private option, and you don't need to post any pictures I have many followers with blank profiles.

I hope to see some of you guys there!
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Definitely follow Chris on IG! I saw most of these pictures over the last couple days... a sneak peak, if you will. ;)
 
Here is an update on my progress for you guys.


Last update to the thread I had just gotten done heat treating a couple of batches of knives.
I went ahead and glued up all of the new prototypes I had post heat treat grinds on.











Selecting handles here



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Post glue up clean up




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Rough shaped, next up hand filing to refine the handle profiles.





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After hand filing to refine the handle shapes, next up I will clean the spines up and then sand the handles.



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Late night at the shop last night!



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Separate from knife making....


Last night I went outside for a quick break to stretch my legs, I noticed this Red Shoulder Hawk Fly accross the parking lot. So I walked across the parking lot to see if I could get a closer look. I noticed where he had perched about 100ft away, and I noticed he had his back turned to me facing the woods. So I quietly and slowly crept up to the edge of the parking lot where I was about 25 ft away from him. I sat down on the concrete because I new the leaves on the ground would give me
away.

I spent a total of 20 minutes watching this guy, he noticed me a few times but didn't seem to mind me sitting so close. I managed to pull my phone out and snap some photos and video over the 20 minute. Towards the end of my encounter after I had time to look up what kind of Raptor he was. I noticed a sound file of this particular birds call. So I clicked the link and played it out loud. He immediately turned his head and starting looking at me. It took him a minute or so to react.I assume he was confused. But the last video I post will let you see what happens.

I thought it was pretty cool and I haven't had many up close encounters with Birds of Prey, this one is in on the top of the list of the few I have had.


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[video=youtube;85I6i-G1TWY]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=85I6i-G1TWY[/video]
[video=youtube;ftqA9O6KGtk]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ftqA9O6KGtk[/video]
[video=youtube;0gBh-2FOq9A]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0gBh-2FOq9A[/video]



I could only upload 3 videos so I took the 2nd out of the succession of 4, if you want to see all 4 go to my Youtube channel, but 1-3 are pretty much the same.



Thanks for looking
Questions and comments Welcome!
 
Nice photos of the hawk Chris! I have a lot of experience with birds of prey in the last six months, but they are hard to capture good photos of. Nice work! They are so captivating.
 
Chris, they challenge me to reconsider beauty and its relation to functionality. These are a statement on simple cutting performance and ergonomics. They are the tool before anything else which has its own claim to beauty in the knife world. Pushing boundaries is good. What do you call them?
 
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Panthera tigris said:
Chris, they challenge me to reconsider beauty and its relation to functionality. These are a statement on simple cutting performance and ergonomics. They are the tool before anything else which has its own claim to beauty in the knife world. Pushing boundaries is good. What do you call them?
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Thanks Jarrett,
These were challenging for me in many ways. The design and the steel thickness where the most challenging aspects, but I am pleased that they turned out exactly how I envisioned them. I appreciate your compliments, and I enjoyed pushing the boundaries on these designs.
I haven't decided a name for the two larger ones, but the smaller ones I am naming the Nomad.
I chose Nomad because I anticipate these little guys to be traveling with their respective owners a lot.
 
Panthera tigris said:
Looks to me like a good hocho knife. Should do fine on a cutting board.
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Thanks Jerrett,

I tested one out this weekend that I ended up keeping, it performed excellent, it will make a really good small kitchen paring/utility/Hocho knife, I am excited to send these out to the world to be put to use!
 
Did you keep the Jade one? If so, can we see a finished pic of it?
 
I have been working like a mad man the last few weeks, and have reached a transition point in the process

I had intended on having an update sooner but....

Ran out of time today! I need to get off the computer and get some work done. I have a lot of pictures to get organized and my update will be a multi post update. I intend on having it up in the next few days!

Thank you for everyone's patience, good things coming down the pipeline!
 
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Picking up where I left off a few weeks ago....

It's been a blur the last few weeks, I have been working like a mad man late into the evenings every day getting this mega batch moving forward. This process I am moving into here where I sand the flats and hammer texture the flats is labor intensive and time consuming, from sanding to hammer texturing I have an average of 30-45min in each blade. I can only manage to complete 6-9 in a day before my hands give out but the end result is worth it.

Let the sanding and hammering commence.


My sanding rig, nothing special but it gets me by....

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Quick reference, this is what I start with after I taper, notice the transition from the scale on the flats to the taper where the belt made contact with the blade. My goal is to smooth this transition and remove the mill scale to provide an even and consistent surface for hammer texturing

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After sanding

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After texturing pre heat treat.

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Several days worth of sanding....

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Late nights and early mornings at the shop...

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After Hammer texturing the flats I wash and degrease the blades in preparation for a layer of Turco.

Turco provides an oxygen barrier and inhibits decarb on the surface of the blade. By using this I can avoid Heat Treat foil, and I have found provides better and more consistent results when heat treating thin cross sections and thin tapers.





I let them hang overnight to let the Turco dry.





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Post heat threat, prior to cleaning up the flats.


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Post heat treat and temper, here I clean and polish the flats to reveal the textured surface underneath.



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Here I have 95% of the CPM154 I am completing for Blade Show Heat Treated, the tangs have been sandblasted and I am preparing to scribe a centerline down the blade for the pre-glue up grind which is a rough finish grind.

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Stormy weather rolling in, its spring here so it goes from hot to cold and from sunny to stormy from one day to the next.

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Stocking up on luck!

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My plan was to have all my CPM154 Heat treated by the end of the month, I was ahead of schedule a few days and I like to set the bar high for myself. Not to mention these are just fun to make.

Extra credit..
If I can manage to finish the other stuff ontime or early you may see these on my table. If not I will have to finish them after Bladeshow. Either way I am gonna Git-er-done!


W2 tool steel

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Hatachi laminated steel!


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1095 steel

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Questions and comments welcome!


I hope to have an update again here soon as the batch evolves through the process.
 
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