Small hunter in Ironwood w/ SS bolsters

PIndelicato

PIndelicato

Joined
Sep 16, 2002
Messages
1,577
Happy Thanksgiving!

Here's my most recent finished knife (#8.) This was my first try at stainless bolsters, and also my first multi-colored sheath (a big thanks to Josh Dabney for giving me some excellent tips on how to do the 2 dye colors.) Any and all feedback (good, bad, or ugly) would be valued and appreciated.

I would also like to give a big thanks to Mike Mooney (www.moonblades.com) for his help with this knife and for allowing me to spend time in his shop recently. Mike is a local maker who makes beautiful knives and is also a heckuva nice guy to boot, and I've learned a lot from him in a short period of time. I had managed to get to the point where I had the bolsters peened on and thinned down some, but I really struggled with how to go about shaping them. Mike invited me over (twice!) to show me how he does it, and also helped me to buff the handles when it was all done (I don't yet own a buffer, nor did I know how to use one.)

Knife Specs:

-1/8" flat ground O1 steel, hand sanded to 600x (or was it 1000x???)
-stainless bolsters, mosaic pins, and thong tube
-AZ Desert Ironwood handle scales (they are not bookmatched, but they were inexpensive and allow me to practice with my favorite handle material, so I'm OK with that.)
-blade length is ~ 3 1/4"
-overall length is ~ 7 1/4"

Sheath:

-7/8 oz Wickett & Craig veg tan shoulder
-Black and Dark Brown Fiebings Pro Oil dye with Tandy Satin Sheen top coat
-tooling pattern is one I have seen on some of Paul Long's sheaths...I hope I have not stolen his trademarked design!

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I apologize if the photos are not the best...I've been struggling with how to improve them, and the buffed bolsters/ironwood made it even more difficult for me with this particular knife. I really need to get a lightbox, better camera, and/or tripod.
 
Tremendous job, Paul! Your knives are getting better and better with each and every one. Way to go. The bolsters look great, and the handle is excellent.

--nathan
 
Looks absolutely outstanding in pretty much every way, design and execution, both knife and sheath.

As to the photos, your resolution is good as are the angles you're choosing to get a full look, so I think the main thing you'd benefit from is a light box that would more evenly distribute the light and eliminate shadows. That would be a way to improve, but honestly even as-is I feel like I have a good idea of what the knife really looks like.
 
Thanks guys, I appreciate the nice comments!

I think I really need a lightbox. Living in AZ with all the sunshine I feel like I should be able to utilize all the free light outdoors for taking photos, but I just can't seem to make it work. I tend to either have too much light, or too little...rarely the right amount it seems.
 
If you want to use natural lighting, I suggest taking pics in indirect light. Outside, if you're in view of the sun, you'll have glares. If you're inside and you're in view of your lights, you'll have glares. I try and take pictures in the day, inside without indoor lighting, next to a window that is not in direct sunlight. That way I get the light from outside coming in indirectly. I also have shutters on the windows that I can control how much light I'm getting. Another great place/time is as the sun starts getting closer towards the horizon in the evening, get on the opposite side of the house form the sun in the shade of the house, and you'll have pretty good lighting.

--nathan
 
Nathan,

I've tried just about everything I can think of outdoors. I took a bunch of photos of this knife on the side of my house in the shade, and they turned out poorly. Then I took the ones I posted above on my covered patio about 20 minutes later, and they look much better. I don't really know why, as the light looked about the same to me. I've tried inside by a window (shade screen covered), and get poor color. Inside by a glass door (no shade screen), too much light. Outdoors with a chintzy lightbox in full sunlight, too much light or not enough depending on how many layers of trash bag diffuser I try and strange color. etc., etc. Maybe part of it is the quality of my camera, or maybe I'm just an idiot ;) !
 
Here's a few of the shots I mentioned above from the side of the house. I guess it's not an apples to apples comparison as I had used a different background color, but I'm not that happy with them either. In some ways I think the color and shadows (or lack thereof) may look better than the batch in my first post, but the details look fuzzy and washed out to me. For example, in some of them the mosaic pins just look solid, and the blade is totally washed out.

I'd appreciate it greatly if anyone has any input or further suggestions on the photos.

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I have to say I REALLY love this knife. Everything about it just speaks to me the way a quality knife should. I'm no professional, hell I haven't even made my first knife yet (waiting on the kit :) ) but I have to say both the knife and sheath are absolutely beautiful! That sheath's tooling design and colors are outstanding! Could you give a bit of insight on what colors were used and how to do the 2 color dying?
 
Thanks GrizzlyBear, I appreciate your feedback. The dye colors are Dark Brown and Black Fiebing's Pro Oil dye. The way I did the two colors was to first do the lighter areas and let them dry, then I VERY CAREFULLY painted in the black areas with Qtips and a fine paintbrush. It takes a very steady hand (which I don't possess) to get it perfect, so it's got some flaws around the edges. Since this was my first try I did not do this, but next time I would allow the brown to overlap into the black areas some as trying to get full coverage to the edges of the brown with the black caused me problems and to have flaws.
 
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