Phillip Patton knife, progression thread

[kevinc]

That knife will look really great when it's finished. One question I have is what material has been used to pin the guard? It looks like it may be a different colour from the guard material. Are the pins intended to show?

Kevin

 

[peterinct]

Hi Peter,
Good questions!
Honestly, I never thought about the possibility of engraving, and Keith and I never discussed it.
I don't know if he ever intends to sell it either, so Keith would probably be the better one to answer this question.


The whale bone has been stabilized, so I wouldn't expect any size changes because of climate. Hopefully there wont be. :foot: Also, the epoxy is slightly flexible.

Thanks Phillip. Sounds like you have things well planned. I appreciate you taking the time to show the progression. I am anxious to see the finished knife as i'm sure Keith is too

Peter

 

[Keith Montgomery]

This knife will not be engraved during the time that I own it, and like the rest of my knives, I have no plans on selling it. Besides that, I have seen blades engraved, and they were hardened. So I think it will be possible to engrave this guard in the future.

 

[fitzo]

Hardened steel is very, very difficult to engrave. If it is at full knife hardness (ca HRc 60), even solid carbide gravers barely cut and break very easily and far too frequently. The engraved knife blades one sees are cut prior to HT, AFAIK.
I am just a hobbyist engraver, so for pro-level info, this question could be asked on the Fine Embellishment forum at KNET.

 

[Keith Montgomery]

I guess it depends on what type of engraving is done. This gentleman uses acid engraving at least some of his work is on finished knives with fully hardened blades.

www.antoniomontejano.com

 

[fitzo]

You are correct, Keith, Antonio does his work with resists and acid etching, and the acid doesn't really care what state the steel is in. Some very cool work indeed. He builds some incredible knives, also.
Here is another talented use of the technique, though different in final effect. Shaw-Leibowitz
I believe my earlier statement is accurate that the far more typical technique involving incision of the metal with pointed cutters is not commonly done on steel hardened to knife hardnesses.

 

[Keith Montgomery]

Here's the knife in different stages of grinding material off the handle scales.

 

[nikoknife48]

Can't wait to see it finished. Makes me want to be a bladesmith!

 

[Keith Montgomery]

Makers sometimes run into bad luck when making a knife. While shaping the handle there was a bit of a mishap and one of the bolts ended up needing replacement. Below are a couple of photos showing the bolt replacement.

Shaping the handle.

 

[Keith Montgomery]

The knife with a 400 grit machine finish on the handle and guard. From here Phillip takes it to the work bench and takes the handle finish to 600 grit.

 

[SHEBOP]

Great thread Phillip & Keith! Thanks for sharing!

 

[Keith Montgomery]

Great thread Phillip & Keith! Thanks for sharing!

I enjoy putting up this kind of thread, but your thanks are appreciated.

Ok, here's some pics of the finished knife, although they aren't the greatest, they will give you a good idea of how it turned out. I have to say that I think Phillip did an outstanding job.

I'm really liking the look of the ancient whale bone. The colour turned out real nice.

 

[RogerP]

That is just gorgeous. Ancient whale bone is not a handle material that I would even have thought of, but I sure like they way it looks on this piece. Nice colour and texture. Hats off to Phillip for a job well done and thanks both Phillip and and Keith for making the step-by-step progression available to us all.

Roger

 

[Lorien]

Aw, chute, that's just beautiful

 

[fitzo]

Well done, Phillip! But, then, I never had any doubt. Beautiful handle material, to boot.

Thanks to Keith and Phillip for the thread.

 

[Kevin Jones]

Thanks Guys. Great Knife ~ Great Thread. :thumbup:

 

[MacHete]

This has to be one of my favorite threads ever! :thumbup:

I love what I had already seen of Phil's work and watching him "in action" is really cool.

I'll join the chorus of "what the heck is ancient whale bone" and say I've never seen it as a knife handle before. I have to say that while in progress, I was concerned about how it would look. It reminded me for all the world of those sawdust-cake "Oatmeal Cookie Bars" from the MREs of the late '80s. :barf:

Finished up real nice, though.

Congratulations to rightfully proud maker and owner!

 

[Wulf]

Well I have to say I really enjoyed this progression and the end result is outstanding. Phillip is clearly a very talented knifemaker and I look forward to meeting him at Blade in a few weeks where we'll be sitting next to eachother for 3 days. Poor guy is gonna be sick of me after the first hour

 

[peterinct]

Excellent. The pictures show the whale bone well and I think it looks great.

Thanks,
Peter

 

[Leu Custom]

there was never a doubt in my mind that this knife would be any less than it is Beautiful knife as always!