Sheep and Twist

Bruce Bump

Bruce Bump

Joined
Dec 2, 1999
Messages
9,910
OK this is the last one for a while I promise.

1084/15n20/nickel twisted with Jere Davidson engraving on nickel silver bolsters. Red liners under sheep horn scales.
 
Keep'em comming,Bruce!! Love your work.:cool: :thumbup: :thumbup:

Sweet little knife! About 3" blade?
 
Keep bringing 'em on! This is yet another nice one from one of my favorite 'smiths!

-d
 
Are you going to Blade this year Bruce? If so, you have some great inventory to sell. I predict that you'll sell out by noon, Sat.
 
rhrocker said:
Are you going to Blade this year Bruce? If so, you have some great inventory to sell. I predict that you'll sell out by noon, Sat.
Click to expand...

Thanks for the confidence in me but I gave up my table last year. These are all sold already though.
 
i agree with dewey i always enjoy looking at your work... my favorite was your blackpower knife i seen
 
Bruce,
Very nice! I love the way you have your name/logo in the blade but for the life of me I can't figure out how you do it? Wanna clue me in?
Matt Doyle
 
mdoyle said:
Bruce,
Very nice! I love the way you have your name/logo in the blade but for the life of me I can't figure out how you do it? Wanna clue me in?
Matt Doyle
Click to expand...

Hi Matt, I have my name on a stencil that has an oval around it. It is electr-etched onto the blade after the sanding and polishing to 2000 grit and then covered with finger nail polish to resist the acid etching. In fact this entire knife was etched after it was finished. I had to resist everything except the damascus. After 3 dunks in FE at 10 min. each I hand sanded to 4000 grit and lightly buffed the blade with scratchless pink. I never buffed the handle or the bolsters.
 
Bruce,
Thanks for the response. Your name looks as if it is raised above the steel. Never would have gueessed it was a stencil from the picture. I have wondered about coating the handle material of a knife in fingernail polish prior to etching but have always been afraid to try it. Does the fingernail polish have any ill effects on stabilized wood if I did it the way you described? It would surely have to give you a better final fit.
Matt
 
mdoyle said:
Bruce,
Thanks for the response. Your name looks as if it is raised above the steel. Never would have gueessed it was a stencil from the picture. I have wondered about coating the handle material of a knife in fingernail polish prior to etching but have always been afraid to try it. Does the fingernail polish have any ill effects on stabilized wood if I did it the way you described? It would surely have to give you a better final fit.
Matt
Click to expand...

Ive never tried it on stabilized wood. You should give it a test on a scrap piece first. I use genuine fingernail polish remover to clean it off. I figure if it is mild enough for my wife with her dainty little pinkies it wont harm my grips. In some cases you can use electrical tape to tightly wrap a handle such as a hidden tang style handle.
 
mdoyle said:
Bruce,
Thanks for the response. Your name looks as if it is raised above the steel. Never would have gueessed it was a stencil from the picture. I have wondered about coating the handle material of a knife in fingernail polish prior to etching but have always been afraid to try it. Does the fingernail polish have any ill effects on stabilized wood if I did it the way you described? It would surely have to give you a better final fit.
Matt
Click to expand...

I know I've sucessfully just dunked stabilized birch burl in the FeCl and it was just fine. I figured "hey, it's like plastic right?" and thankfully it worked out. :)

-d
 
mdoyle said:
Deker,
Did you coat the wood with nail polish or just dunk?:eek:
Matt
Click to expand...

I just dunked it. I tested on a scrap first mind you, but it worked just fine. It was on this piece:

opener2.jpg


There was some minor cleanup done on the scale sides after etching (note that the bolts were cleaned up...I should have just masked them...I was in a hurry on Christmas Eve and not thinking), but I couldn't find another way to have the tang etched while keeping everything perfectly lined up.

-d
 
Man that would take a set of cajones so big I would need a wheelburrow to carry em!:D I usually finish the whole thing minus pins, disassemble, etch, and then reassemble and glue. Problem is it just never seems to fit quite as nicely as when you fit it the first time. Sometimes really close, but just not perfect. I'll have to give it a try! Thanks!
Matt
 
mdoyle said:
Man that would take a set of cajones so big I would need a wheelburrow to carry em!:D I usually finish the whole thing minus pins, disassemble, etch, and then reassemble and glue. Problem is it just never seems to fit quite as nicely as when you fit it the first time. Sometimes really close, but just not perfect. I'll have to give it a try! Thanks!
Matt
Click to expand...

Test on a scrap! I took a small piece of the scale and soaked it for like 10mins in the FeCl first. I got the piece of advice from Delbert Ealy, so blame him if it doesn't work. :D

That same fitup problem was the reason that I went this way. I tried like heck to get everything lined up the same again, but it was just a couple thou off. Couldn't really SEE it, but you could FEEL it.

-d
 
GEEEEEH!!! You are getting pretty good at Bladesmithing.:thumbup: ;) :D HEHEHEHEHE!!! Nice job B.B.:D Where is the MC primary chain knife???;)
 
indian george said:
GEEEEEH!!! You are getting pretty good at Bladesmithing.:thumbup: ;) :D HEHEHEHEHE!!! Nice job B.B.:D Where is the MC primary chain knife???;)
Click to expand...

The HD chain is in bar form right now. I do have some pictures of it in the canister with powder. I should start a thread and show the entire process from chain to knife.
 
That would be quite intersting and I'm sure a lot would love to see that thread!

Gorgeous blade. My quick question for you is, do you lightly etch your damascus billets before making a blade to determine the best position to get the best pattern how you like it on the blade faces, or do you make the billet with a certain pattern and then make the blade and "see what comes out" ?
 
Bruce, it's guys like you that inspired me to make knives in the first place. Great work as usual. The Davidson engraving style compiments your work to the T, good team IMO.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top