Steingass LG Boot Knife WIP

Gentlemen:

I received an order for my LG Boot Knife and thought I'd do a WIP of it. I guess what pushed me to do it was the enthusiasm shown by SpartanSaint:

To me, this excitement is what provides me some of the satisfaction I derive from designing and creating knives! So, SpartanSaint, here's a work in progress for your LG Boot Knife. I call it LG because the blade is inspired by Bob Loveless and the handle is inspired by Ron Gaston. Here's the specifications:

3/16" CPM 3V stock
HT to Rc 60-62
8 1/4" OAL
4" Double hollow ground blade
400 grit belt satin finish
Green canvas micarta scales
Brass furniture
Tapered tang with red liners
8-10 oz right hand leather sheath

Here's the stock material and the pattern:



After the blade is ground to profile and the holes drilled, the edges and tang end are marked using a height gage:



Next, I roughed in the hollow grinds, hollow ground the handle, then tapered the tang:



The next step is to drill the pins in the brass double guard and blade - can't do it after heat treat!!



After all the holes are drilled, each hole is chamfered:



The rough ground blade is now ready for heat treat in my digitally controlled oven. My recipe is soak at 1250F for five minutes, ramp to 1975F and hold for 30 minutes, plate quench, then triple temper at 1000F three times for two hours each.
Sweetie pie hates what I'm doing to her electric bill.



Wrapped in stainless foil and ready to put in the oven. At $168 a roll, you can see why knifemakers aren't rich! Later gentlemen.