Matthew Gregory
Chief Executive in charge of Entertainment
- Joined
- Jan 12, 2005
- Messages
- 6,399
This is the second blade I've made in the STILL-not-officially-named stainless alloy. The first was a gyuto which has been performing admirably in my kitchen, shown here.
To recap, both of these blades were made to test a new stainless steel alloy from the mind of @Larrin aka Dr. Larrin Thomas, of KnifeSteelNerds , made by Crucible Industries, and rolled by @nsm aka Niagara Specialty Metals, and promises to be a significant leap forward.
The 9-3/4” blade is made from .215” thick stock, 15-1/2” overall length, and features a flat grind which extends up the width of the blade to about 1/2" away from the spine. I wanted to leave a bit of beef here to add mass behind the cutting edge, and also to increase strength. The entire blade was blasted with abrasive grit to increase surface area to make for worst-case-scenario testing of corrosion resistance. It's unfortunate that the grit-blasted finish doesn’t offer any contrast on the blade, as the grind offered a rather dramatic aesthetic, but as there's a high likelihood that this poor mule shall have a short but arduous life, it hardly matters.
The faceted titanium guard was added more for kicks than anything else, and was blasted with the blade - I figured, should I want to doll the piece back up again to make it pretty, it's a simple task of masking off the handle and throwing it back in the blasting cabinet for a touch-up.
The handle consists of a TeroTuf core, sleeved in carbon fiber, with resin-soaked red lace tsukaito. A package that ought to offer great grip while also being highly resistant to the elements. Red was chosen so that I'll be able to find it easier should I foolishly set it down somewhere in the woods.
Entire package weighs 20-5/8 ounces, and is currently being fitted for pants by my bride - we're working on a leather sheath design to strap this to my fat bike, where it will be exposed to rain, mud, snow, salt, rocks, ice, and whatever other nonsense I come across in my peddling, while providing me with a great tool for trail maintenance and general brush-cutting.
Thanks for looking!
To recap, both of these blades were made to test a new stainless steel alloy from the mind of @Larrin aka Dr. Larrin Thomas, of KnifeSteelNerds , made by Crucible Industries, and rolled by @nsm aka Niagara Specialty Metals, and promises to be a significant leap forward.
The 9-3/4” blade is made from .215” thick stock, 15-1/2” overall length, and features a flat grind which extends up the width of the blade to about 1/2" away from the spine. I wanted to leave a bit of beef here to add mass behind the cutting edge, and also to increase strength. The entire blade was blasted with abrasive grit to increase surface area to make for worst-case-scenario testing of corrosion resistance. It's unfortunate that the grit-blasted finish doesn’t offer any contrast on the blade, as the grind offered a rather dramatic aesthetic, but as there's a high likelihood that this poor mule shall have a short but arduous life, it hardly matters.
The faceted titanium guard was added more for kicks than anything else, and was blasted with the blade - I figured, should I want to doll the piece back up again to make it pretty, it's a simple task of masking off the handle and throwing it back in the blasting cabinet for a touch-up.
The handle consists of a TeroTuf core, sleeved in carbon fiber, with resin-soaked red lace tsukaito. A package that ought to offer great grip while also being highly resistant to the elements. Red was chosen so that I'll be able to find it easier should I foolishly set it down somewhere in the woods.
Entire package weighs 20-5/8 ounces, and is currently being fitted for pants by my bride - we're working on a leather sheath design to strap this to my fat bike, where it will be exposed to rain, mud, snow, salt, rocks, ice, and whatever other nonsense I come across in my peddling, while providing me with a great tool for trail maintenance and general brush-cutting.
Thanks for looking!
