Rasco's custom

[atavist]

After some discussion, and waiting for steel to arrive, I am finally to work on Rasco's custom, from my recent GAW.
We decides to go with a large 2" wide clip point Bowie in 154cm...

Here's the start.... profiled and the tang tapered.... normally all my forged blades are distal tapered however being in this case a large hard use blade in a steel that has less shock absorbance than i usually prefer in a blade of this style I opted to only taper the tang for weight reduction and aesthetics but keep the spine full thickness, that is .188"



Taper set from .188 stock to .080 at tip of tang


With the primary bevels set at 36 grit


And finally a hand rubbed 400 grit finish ready for heat treat with a cutting edge thickness of .025


Tomorrow I'll finish the handle layout and heat treat... unfortunately the micarta Rasco wanted for the handle layup won't be here till wednesday.... so more to come.

 

[Rasco]

Coming along beautifully Jason! Communication and progress reports have thus far been excellent. :thumbup:

 

[Mitchell Knives]

You hand rub before heat treat?

 

[atavist]

Usually just to 220grit then decard at 220 after HT but with stainless and the steel foil method I go on to 400 as it makes it that much easier to finish polish after HT

 

[SaraLikesKnives]

Looks fantastic so far, eager to see it finished!

 

[atavist]

Got moved along to the handle layout and heat treat today.

View attachment 609590

Foil wrapped.
View attachment 609591

Ran two stress relief cycles prior to austentizing
View attachment 609592

preheated to 1300, 1500, then soaked at 1915 for 20 minutes. ... shorter than my normal soak but as a big chopper I want to keep her a bit less than full hard...
View attachment 609593

plate quenched.
View attachment 609594

Did an RC test as quenched at she came in just a shade over 60RC.... softer than ideal for a skinner or fine use knife but for this application exactly what I was shooting for.... To draw her down even more I ran a hot first temper at 500F for 2 hours... Follow-on RC testing showed her at 57RC, which is ideal in my opinion for a blade of this size and intended use....

Now in Cryo I expect she will gain 1 to 2 RC and I will finish temper twice at 400f to keep her at 58 to 59RC.

 

[atavist]

Can anyone tell me why sometimes my images show up in line and other times it just shows an attachment link..... I use the same "insert image" button all the time but seems to work one way one day and another the next.

 

[Rasco]

I usually upload my pics to Photobucket first to avoid these issues. Sure, it's an extra step, but it makes the pics look bigger and better when you post them.
You can log into Photobucket with your Facebook account, so you don't have to create a new account and worry about another password.

Once you upload the pics, you can just click on "Direct" and it will copy the link, then when you come back here to post the pic, click the little picture icon, then click the "From URL" tab
and un-check the box that says "Retrieve remote file and reference locally"
And click OK.

Your pics should show up and be large size
This is the easiest and most reliable way I have found to do it.

 

[atavist]

ok lets try this again

laid out and guard fitted

foil wrapped

stress refief cycle

heat treat

plate quench

cryo

Did an RC test as quenched at she came in just a shade over 60RC.... softer than ideal for a skinner or fine use knife but for this application exactly what I was shooting for.... To draw her down even more I ran a hot first temper at 500F for 2 hours... Follow-on RC testing showed her at 57RC, which is ideal in my opinion for a blade of this size and intended use....

 

[Rasco]

Much better!! Pics look great!
It's coming along very nicely Jason

 

[atavist]

And finally the reveal...

Final RC came out 58 spot on...

 

[Kohai999]

What is this? What is the intended purpose?

From what I see, the SP-50 Spearpoint Bowie from Ontario Knives would do the trick without any effort.

Am I missing something?

Best Regards,

STeven Garsson

 

[coldsteelburns]

Thanks for sharing Atavist, I'm sure Rasco will enjoy his own customized hard use chopper, and from his sig line he apparently enjoys red and black, so the handle was a nice touch for him. Very nice of you to give it away!

~Paul

---

My YT Channel Lsubslimed
... (It's been quite a while since I've posted any new vids)

 

[atavist]

What is this? What is the intended purpose?

From what I see, the SP-50 Spearpoint Bowie from Ontario Knives would do the trick without any effort.

Am I missing something?

Best Regards,

STeven Garsson

As always I think, the point of a custom is that it's custom.

 

[Rasco]

What is this? What is the intended purpose?

From what I see, the SP-50 Spearpoint Bowie from Ontario Knives would do the trick without any effort.

Am I missing something?

Best Regards,

STeven Garsson

I already own several knives that can easily match or outperform anything Ontario offers, so when I got lucky enough for a chance to dream up any knife I wanted and have Jason make it for me, I decided on this. I expect this knife will outlast me and my son will get to own it and remember it as "Dad's big ass red & black bowie".
Maybe Jason will include a business card or something, just in case my son ever wonders where it came from or "what brand" it is

 

[Blownnova]

Great looking blade and a fun GAW to follow Jason. Kudos again on your generosity! I have no doubt you will love your new companion Rasco, congratulations!

What is this? What is the intended purpose?

From what I see, the SP-50 Spearpoint Bowie from Ontario Knives would do the trick without any effort.

Am I missing something?

Best Regards,

STeven Garsson

Odd comments, did you follow the GAW thread at all?

 

[Kohai999]

Great looking blade and a fun GAW to follow Jason. Kudos again on your generosity! I have no doubt you will love your new companion Rasco, congratulations!

Odd comments, did you follow the GAW thread at all?

I did not, nor did I even know that this was a giveaway.

That said, the comments while a bit tart were more an analysis simply of what I am seeing in work quality.

The spirit is commendable, but as even a part time knifemaker, the end product appears very basic

Do you see it differently?

Best Regards,

STeven Garsson

 

[Blownnova]

I did not, nor did I even know that this was a giveaway.

That said, the comments while a bit tart were more an analysis simply of what I am seeing in work quality.

The spirit is commendable, but as even a part time knifemaker, the end product appears very basic

Do you see it differently?

Best Regards,

STeven Garsson

I do see differently as I do not possess the knowledge, tools, or skills necessary to forge, machine, heat treat, finish and test my own custom knives. Perhaps you make your own custom knives and do possess the means and talent necessary? Feel free to Pm me some of your work, I would love to see it and compare your designs and skill level with those displayed here. I feel there is a lot to be learned from WIP threads like this and I appreciate makers who go out of their way to share their craft. I carry a great deal of respect for those who work with their hands as blacksmiths and knife makers and I would be proud to own this knife.

My odd comment was in reference to you posting about a production Ontario knife In the "custom & handmade" knife forum in a thread showing the final "custom" product from a design your own knife GAW. While I personally find your comments to this maker and this members design disrespectful you are free to critique in any way you like.

 

[Kohai999]

I do see differently as I do not possess the knowledge, tools, or skills necessary to forge, machine, heat treat, finish and test my own custom knives. Perhaps you make your own custom knives and do possess the means and talent necessary? Feel free to Pm me some of your work, I would love to see it and compare your designs and skill level with those displayed here. I feel there is a lot to be learned from WIP threads like this and I appreciate makers who go out of their way to share their craft. I carry a great deal of respect for those who work with their hands as blacksmiths and knife makers and I would be proud to own this knife.

My odd comment was in reference to you posting about a production Ontario knife In the "custom & handmade" knife forum in a thread showing the final "custom" product from a design your own knife GAW. While I personally find your comments to this maker and this members design disrespectful you are free to critique in any way you like.

Feel free to use "search" and wade through my 12+ years of posting here.

Have the skills and most of the equipment to make knives, but not the patience. Mostly "mod" them, occasionally making new scales, but usually fixing up geometry or design errors. Sharpen and fix blades for locals and friends from afar at no cost.

Nutshell(a lot of people don't know this, but what the heck, gotta keep 'em guessing):

Was involved in the design of the CA legal mini GT auto that was produced for some time, blade shape and handle, did not design the internals....and you should also know that I strongly argued against serrations on a blade that small, but my objections were overruled. The photo is from Blade HQ, and the recesses in the original were made to fit press fit neoprene that helped improve grip.

Designed three knives for V-Tech Knives a company owned by a former employer that is now defunct, through no fault of my own.

The carbon fiber handled one is obviously a second-class design of a Mnandi by Chris Reeve, but I made enough changes not to infringe on the copyright....

There is a whole lot more, but it's boring, right?

There are many, many places to post on BFC without criticism or critique...but generally, Customs and Handmade is not one of them.
The handle pins should be centered, and as equidistant as possible.....a chopper should have a thong hole for safety....the choil/ricasso area is too small for a finger, but just large enough to ensure that a branch will get snagged in there if used for limbing....the clip point is neither sharpened nor does it have a swedge. These are just a few issues that stand out, looking at the photo.

There are makers posting first or second pieces that are STUNNING by any metric, and to post middling work HERE is probably not the best way to get a career started.

It's not ego speaking would like to see everyone get a chance at winning here, but the competition out there is soooo tough....

Oh yeah, I forgot...have been one of the judges of a three-person panel at Seattle, and for the last two years at the Blade Show.

Best Regards,

STeven Garsson

 

[LX_Emergency]

Looks like a fun knife that could be beat on without feeling guilty.

Although I wouldn't critique without being asked....putting STeven's credentials in doubt is probably not the best move.

If you want remarks on what I'd improve I'll be happy to supply. Either through PM or in public.