The second knife out of my new forge:
8.75" overall
4.25" blade
4.25" handle
The turk's head is leather, the purple tsukaito is synthetic silk, and the black tsukaito is some kind of mystery material it looks and feels like cotton, but it is clearly synthetic. It is wrapped in hinerimaki.
The blade hardened properly this time! After the second quench, the blade seemed hard so I quit while I was ahead (lest the third quench f it up). I had intended the blade to be an osoraku-zukuri tanto (which was probably a little bit ambitious for my level) but it came out more like a roach-belly. I did a lot more filing this time, but it kept the rustic look I'm going for. The blade didn't seem to warp during the heat treat, but I didn't forge it straight in the first place. I haven't finished putting the edge on I just did a test spot before I did the tsukamaki so I could redo the heat treat again if it didn't work.
I have pretty mixed feelings about the handle. I don't like the look of the leather turk's head with the tsukaito this time I thought it looked great with the paracord on my last knife, but it doesn't seem to match this new material. And speaking of the new ito, it looks a little too much like shoelace for my taste, but I think it feels like a more secure grip than the paracord. I had a really hard time tying the knot at the end, so I had to modify it a little bit. My tsukamaki still needs a lot of work, but I'm starting to get the hang of it.
Despite these few issues, I'm still very pleased with how it came out especially since this one turned out to be a real knife.
- Chris
8.75" overall
4.25" blade
4.25" handle
The turk's head is leather, the purple tsukaito is synthetic silk, and the black tsukaito is some kind of mystery material it looks and feels like cotton, but it is clearly synthetic. It is wrapped in hinerimaki.
The blade hardened properly this time! After the second quench, the blade seemed hard so I quit while I was ahead (lest the third quench f it up). I had intended the blade to be an osoraku-zukuri tanto (which was probably a little bit ambitious for my level) but it came out more like a roach-belly. I did a lot more filing this time, but it kept the rustic look I'm going for. The blade didn't seem to warp during the heat treat, but I didn't forge it straight in the first place. I haven't finished putting the edge on I just did a test spot before I did the tsukamaki so I could redo the heat treat again if it didn't work.
I have pretty mixed feelings about the handle. I don't like the look of the leather turk's head with the tsukaito this time I thought it looked great with the paracord on my last knife, but it doesn't seem to match this new material. And speaking of the new ito, it looks a little too much like shoelace for my taste, but I think it feels like a more secure grip than the paracord. I had a really hard time tying the knot at the end, so I had to modify it a little bit. My tsukamaki still needs a lot of work, but I'm starting to get the hang of it.
Despite these few issues, I'm still very pleased with how it came out especially since this one turned out to be a real knife.
- Chris