sheep horn caper

Ryan Minchew

Ryan Minchew

Joined
Sep 29, 2005
Messages
580
I'll give it a go here. This is the first knife I've made myself to carry. I've done less than 10 hollow grinds and this is one of them. The knife is cpm 154, 416 fittings, sheep horn handle, dovetail bolsters, heat treat by Paul Bos. It's 6.5" long with the blade 3.25" from tip to bolster. I've still got to clean it up and sharpen it, but I'd like to get some opinions and thoughts on the knife. I was what I would consider a hobbyst knifemaker for a while and now I want to start taking things to a new level. I've built a forge, I've got 3 different folders going now that I've got my pivots and actions to where I feel comfortable making them to sell. Too many irons in the fire I guess.


Here it is
myknife.jpg

myknife2.jpg
 
i like everything except that little angle at the top of the bolster.....it looks like out of place to me......i love sheephorn too......i think it looks great......ryan
 
Very nice. I like the style of the bolster. It's different from what is normally found and lends some individuality to the piece. I would have liked to have seen a little longer handle. The knife looks to be too big for a three finger handle. My .02.

Paul
 
Given your relatively short experience, I'd say that's a really nice knife. the bolster shape is pleasing to me, and yes it's a little different, but I think that's why I noticed it and liked it. I am not a knife maker so maybe that many pins are necessary, but I would have preferred one or two only if you had been making it for me. Here's the kicker....I don't even like Ram Horn, but I like it on your knife. I'm ready to see some more!. Good clean job.

Paul
 
Well as long as you're asking. I like the sheep horn and overall shape and if Paul did the HT I know its spot on. If it were mine I would go the extra mile and have it engraved. I feel it needs a false edge too, a long one from the angle cut on the bolster to the tip. A false edge helps to thin the blade geometry especially where it needed towards the tip. That coupled with a little higher grind line would make this one perform even better.
Nice work.
 
I think it's a nice little piece - there really isn't anything I don't like about it at all. Like Paul, I'm generally not a fan of sheephorn but find I like it on this piece.

Roger
 
Bruce Bump said:
If it were mine I would go the extra mile and have it engraved. I feel it needs a false edge too, a long one from the angle cut on the bolster to the tip. A false edge helps to thin the blade geometry especially where it needed towards the tip. That coupled with a little higher grind line would make this one perform even better.
Nice work.
Click to expand...
You knife looks nice and I think Bruce's suggestions would move it up to looking great.

The false edge would tie in the bolster angle to the blade and make the knife lines more congruent.
 
I really like your design, the bolster and handle shapes are excellent. The way the top/front of the bolster matches the back end of the handle is very cool. The only thing I would add is a small choil to the blade but it is by no means a deal breaker :thumbup:
 
Chuck Bybee said:
You knife looks nice and I think Bruce's suggestions would move it up to looking great.

The false edge would tie in the bolster angle to the blade and make the knife lines more congruent.
Click to expand...

Ryan,
I think it looks great as a carry knife as is. Some good suggestions were made and while I am a fan of engraving, I don't see why you would want to incur that expense for a 'carry knife'.:D

A nice sheath would be a good addition however.

Peter
 
peterinct said:
Ryan,
I think it looks great as a carry knife as is. Some good suggestions were made and while I am a fan of engraving, I don't see why you would want to incur that expense for a 'carry knife'.:D

A nice sheath would be a good addition however.

Peter
Click to expand...

Those bolsters are large and just asking for some embellishment. The whole reason for engraving on a hunter is give some "bragging rights" around the camp fire.
 
I appreciate the comments guys. As for the false edge I never even considered it but I really like that now that it's been mentioned. I have 3 more of these that have been heat treated, but I'll probably try it on the next batch. I've tried grinding a couple in but usually end up doing it with files.
As for the engraving I have a gravermax, power hone the whole nine yards I just haven't had enough time to use it and try it out. Once I learn how I may give it ago.
Hopefully I can get the sheath done in the next day or two.

I appreciate the comments guys keep em coming.
 
I like it fine. It doesn't get my blood boiling, but it's a sweet little knife.

I like the sheep horn. :D Not a fan of the big bolster, but no biggie.

One thing you could try to do is to take advantage of those big flats on the blade. They can be engraved, etched, blued, or finished differently (e.g., mirror edge and satin flat). I don't understand the point of the little protuberance at the bottom of the choil. In my opinion, it detracts from the flow and it probably also get caught on things or make the sharpening harder. Please tell me if I'm missing something.
 
Thanks for the comment Joss. The protuberance piece you are talking about more than anything is what will lock this knife into the sheath when it gets made and I also think it looks somewhat funny without it. I'm curious is to how you think it would look better, strait across with the bottom of the blade or curved up to the bolster perhaps? Not asking to be a smart ass I'm really asking because I want to know what others opinions are.

Again thanks for taking the time to comment and give opinions.
 
Personally, I'd like it better with no drop choil at all, and I suppose it would also make sharpening easier.
 
Ryan Minchew said:
I appreciate the comments guys. As for the false edge I never even considered it but I really like that now that it's been mentioned. I have 3 more of these that have been heat treated, but I'll probably try it on the next batch. I've tried grinding a couple in but usually end up doing it with files.
As for the engraving I have a gravermax, power hone the whole nine yards I just haven't had enough time to use it and try it out. Once I learn how I may give it ago.
Hopefully I can get the sheath done in the next day or two.

I appreciate the comments guys keep em coming.
Click to expand...

I always grind the false edge after the heat treating. In fact I finish the entire knife and then put the false edge on most of the time.
 
Mr. Bump any tricks I should know about grinding false edges in? I can never get my point how I like it with the grinder, but I can with the files.
 
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