Saw steel fighter

Very Nice Ray, great blade shape, great flow and great hamon. A typical Raymond Richards work of art. :thumbup:

Well said :thumbup::thumbup::thumbup:
 
I like this one a lot but can also see what Steven is talkin about.

I'm also a huge fan of old saw blade steel.

Good one, Ray !
 
I like this one a lot Ray! I love the blade shape and it has that typical awesome taper, so I bet it's light, fast, and balanced just right. I like this blade finish as well.

STeven, Ray is a modern day Paul Bunyan :D.

Thanks for posting it Ray, it's good to see some of your work here again! As you know, I've always found your knives to be extremely comfortable and well balanced, both in handling and aesthetics.
 
Hi Ray, You taught me some things at a hammer-in once, nice to see you again. Thanks for teaching. Very nice work again, always glad to see your stuff. I personally think that everyone should be able to make the knives he wants to make, but I don't have to tell you that. I hope that all criticism is meant and taken in the right way. Mark
 
I'm hopping in here because this thread was reported.

As comes with any forum comments and expressing those comments clearly is lost. Whether it be in jest or in all seriousness the meaning is lost on some people. We use emoticons and/or internet speak to express our intentions.

What has transpired here in this thread is one persons opinion being questioned as well as their participation in regards to this particular forum.

What needs to be done here is that opinions need to be respected, whether you agree or disagree with them. We cannot allow things to get personal. The community here as a whole is a tight knit group made of different people with varying tastes and likes and dislikes. Everyone needs to accept that they won't see eye to eye with everyone.

With that said....

Let's keep this from turning into a personal matter because if I have to come back into this thread to address the same behavior again heads will roll.

Have a nice day. :)
 
I don't know who reported this thread, or why.

Compared to many other and recent threads, this one seemed pretty benign, and any conflict which may have arisen dissipated quick. I don't remember the last time I saw a thread reported in this forum, even though there have been some real doozies.

I just want to explain myself a little bit, as my post may have appeared to be a pretty extreme reaction to someone who may be new to this forum and unaware of certain social dynamics which occur here.

Ray Richard is one of my favourite knife makers, and he is also a friend of mine. For his own reasons, he has chosen not to post his work in this forum- one of my favourite forums- for almost a year. I understand that that decision has a lot to do with some 'negative' aspects of this forum. I miss seeing his work here.

When I saw that he had decided to make this thread, I was very happy that he had come back, but when I saw Steven's posts I became very unhappy, even though in retrospect I now know that they were intended to be humorous, light and tongue-in-cheek.

I know about how Ray received a lot of help and funding from the community when his shop burnt down, and I truly think that is a great and inspirational thing. Ray told me about that situation some time ago, and he obviously is still very thankful for all the help he'd received.

I said pretty much everything I had to say in my previous posts, and I truly want to avoid any further 'personal' interaction, but I just wanted to give some background behind how I got to where I was, in case anyone out there might have the impression that I'm a dick, who is quick to judge other people. That fact is that I avoid judging people as a matter of principle. Opinions, well that's a different matter and something I obviously need to work on.

Anyway, thanks for taking the time to read this. And Ray, I'm sorry that your thread turned into what it did, while it should have been another encouragement for you to continue what you are doing, (some call that 'kumbaya').

Also, Ken, if it were my posts which caused you to have to take the time to intervene, please accept my apology. I'm sorry.

:)
 
Heres what I see when I look at this knife.

The blade looks beautiful. The guard is almost visually perfect to me with that kind of blade. I love the rustic look. Also love how the blade seems more polished on the hardened areas.

The handle does look long. I don't use knives like this so it would be ok on display. However I would think there would be a little extra weight on the butt side. Usually I see handles become thicker and stop. This one is a little skinny through out its length and long.

However, I think the knife is REAL nice looking.
 
The blade looks awesome and the fittings suit it well. I also like the crown stag.

I would have to hold it to determine if the handle would be better a different length.

Thanks for posting it Ray.

Peter
 
To bad we can't have a touchy feelly button. As was stated by several others they'd rather have a handle to long than to short. One of the problems with using a crown is usually most people will say it feels better in one hand or the other. I purposely try to make the handle feel like the right fit in either hand and the only way I can do that is with what looks to be a longer than normal handle. I know some just don't like crown handles period which is fine with me. Finding a perfect crown for a handle can get pretty frustrating to say the least. I think Eli did mention I've got a larger than normal hand.

Anyway I'm glad to hear some approve and appreciate my work! Now to figure out what I can do with those Toyota leaf springs I have been saving. :D

Just thought I'd mention that this knife weighs 11oz. Balance point is right behind the guard where your index finger would be. Balance doesn't seem to be much of a concern anymore but its something I always try to work in the knife.
 
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RR,

Are those dendrites or carbide banding showing up on the surface or some other finish on the blade?

I feel the love.

Hoss
 
I really love the looks of this one along w/most others I've seen you post RR!!

I may be one of the few who really like the way Crown Stag looks and feels... so long as it's 'fit' right. I have 2 Scagel style knives w/the Crown Stag and they feel as good if not better than any other of my highly contoured gripped knives.

I'd be honored to hang my mits on this one and give it a good workout.
 
DevinT said:
RR,

Are those dendrites or carbide banding showing up on the surface or some other finish on the blade?

I feel the love.

Hoss
Click to expand...

Hoss, I'm really not sure what to call the pattern in the steel but it is something that was there naturally. I did however coax it out with several frequent etches and rubbings with 2000 grit paper.

I went ahead to took a picture of my dirty left hand just so you can get a better idea of the size of the handle. I'd have taken a picture of it in the right hand but I have a right handed camera.

IMG_2070.JPG
 
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Ray,
Those are bands of carbide similar to what shows up on wootz. Nice effect.

Hoss
 
I do like the wootz look of etched clay treated blades. Very cool.

Now that I see it in your hand Ray, it looks perfect.
 
Don Hanson III said:
I do like the wootz look of etched clay treated blades. Very cool.

Now that I see it in your hand Ray, it looks perfect.
Click to expand...

I knew that old saw steel would like that but I wasn't sure I used the right one since I have so many of them from when I went searching to find another shear steel blade 8 or 9 years ago. Actually there's a little more room on this handle with the left hand than with the right because of the direction the crown twists.
 
For what's worth, I think the handle suits the knife, but I'm not a super duper collector so what do I know. ;-))

Great knife.

Regards

Robin
 
IMG_2070.JPG
[/QUOTE]

The photo kinda demonstrates how you can lose 1/2"-3/4" usable handle length depending of the flare and angle of the crown. So they have to be a little long to insure comfort.
 
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