Some recent knives from a newbie

[mds]

Hey, everyone. I've been slowly cranking out knives in my basement for a few months now and it's going pretty well. I spend most of my time fighting my grinder and swearing at myself (and hand sanding, of course) but in between that, I've managed to finish a few more knives since the last time I posted. I'm hoping to have a better grinder (Esteem?) soon but in the meantime, I'm just trying to work on some different styles, try out some different materials and refine the existing knives as well as I can with the Grizzly. Anyway, here's some pictures of knives I've made in the last couple of weeks. Thanks for looking!



I've made a few skinners before but I wanted to try something aimed more at small game. I mostly rabbit and squirrel hunt so my bigger skinner was kind of overkill. This one was the prototype. It's black paper and burlap micarta with OD green spacers/liners. It's 3/32" O1.




This was a small camp knife I made that I sold cheap because the logo didn't etch super clearly. This one is OD Green G10 and Houndstooth Micarta. This style seems to be the one people like best and it's one of my favorites.




I wanted to make a boot knife that wasn't a tactical style and I wanted it to be more useful than the showy type boot knives I see a lot of. This one is stabilized maple and maroon Houndstooth micarta with brass tubes for pins and red G10 liners. The jimping runs almost all the way to the tip so you can get pretty far up with either a thumb or index finger. The sheath was an enormous pain and it's probably obvious. On the plus side, it can be worn inside or outside of the boot so it's not just limited to tall cowboy boots and it also can be strapped down to keep it from moving around. The idea was good but the execution needs some practice.




This is the larger of the camp knives I make. Since I started doing segmented handles, I kind of got carried away so for this one I just wanted to do a nice simple handle. This is more of that maroon houndstooth micarta.




This is the one I'm working on now. It's another small camper. I'm trying to refine this one a bit since I've made so many of them and haven't had a lot of time to tweak the design. I like the blades on these but the handles have always been a little too bulky for their intended use so I slimmed this one down and gave it a bit more jimping. It's going smoothly so far and I'll hopefully have it done tonight if I get some time.

All of these are O1, by the way.

 

[Bruzek Knives USA]

Very Nice! Love the work with the handles and how you let the spine of the knife go back by contouring the handles just a little bit. Nice Touch!

I feel your pain with the grizzly! I have been making knives for over a year and this is my main grinder until I can afford a better one. I have rigged mine up so I can use the back side and slack of the belt and built a nice large tool rest. This helps out! Let me know if you want pictures of my grizzly setup...It may help. I have learned to love and respect the grizzly for what it is....but I still cant wait to get a nicer one!

 

[mds]

Thanks! I honestly don't hate the Grizzly as much as some people do. I spend a lot of time on the Reddit knife making forums and see how many people use files or smaller grinders over there so I'm thankful for what I have. I'd definitely like to see your setup, btw.

 

[66sprint6]

Look good, I like the handles alot. If you dont mind me asking, what do you do to make the blades so black? They look fantastic to me.

Matt

 

[mds]

Thanks. I've tried a bit of everything. Hot vinegar and instant coffee seem to work the best for me. Separately, I mean... not together. I don't remember which was which at this point though, I usually do two or three at a time. The last one was definitely instant coffee. It is pretty dark but it's really not that black in person, I'm just a terrible photographer.

 

[66sprint6]

Thanks! I use hot vinegar but often have splotchy results even when trying to keep everything clean and wiped down. Ill keep at it and see what happens!

Matt

 

[mds]

I might go slightly overboard with the cleaning beforehand. I wash it twice with soap and water and then wipe it down with rubbing alcohol twice. I still get splotchiness every once in a while, usually on a spot that didn't get sanded as much like a ricasso. I heat whatever I'm using up to about 180 degrees and then suspend the blade so the tip stays out of anything that might settle on the bottom and let it sit for about an hour and a half. Sometimes it needs a bit more but I've found that's the best way to make everything nice and even looking.