The first two I've MADE. Cherry burl and Leaf Spring

timcsaw

timcsaw

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Joined
Sep 25, 2007
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For all who helped me with info, and advice, THANK YOU so much!!!:thumbup:

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My version of a "Graham Knives", "Razel". A bit larger than the original, and a bit heavier I suspect (I've never held an original:() because mine is quite thick. (thank you Mr. Graham for your permission to use your design!)

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I love those handles and the Filework on the one is shockingly beautiful. Watch your finers on those teeth on the small one!

Good looking work.
-Steve
 
Very nice work Timcsaw :cool:

For a first effort.....:thumbup::thumbup::thumbup:

Nice choice in scales too.
:)
 
Thanks all for the kind comments!

Having made these two, I have a much greater understanding of what it takes, and I'm just awed by the beautiful work done by the "masters" in this craft.

The cherry burl was from a tree we felled on my property some 10 years or so ago. I thought it fitting to use "home grown" wood for the lumber on these. Cutting into the burl reminded me of Christmas! "Burls are like a box of chocolate!"

Thank you again for your words of encouragement.
 
n_hall said:
does leaf spring metal have good edge characteristics? what is it comparable to?
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I'm really not sure about it's edge characteristics, but I was told that Leaf Spring steel is very similar to, or actually is, 5160. Frankly I don't know how well that steel compares to others (1084, 1095, 01 etc.?).

The link in my Sig line will take you to my thread which discusses my "search for steel" and the "blow, by blow", step-by-step process I went through as I made these two. I got a lot of great advice about steel selection from many, many others.

So far, I've used both of these knives quite a bit, and they seem to hold an edge quite well. I like a very sharp knife (who doesn't?:D) and I've found that they take back a good edge without too much work.

I never let any of my knives get what I would call even close to dull, by making good, and often use of ceramic rods and a strop.
 
mollyssurvival.com said:
that top one is nasty, I like your file work!
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Thanks, I really like doing file work even though it's quite tedious.

One thing I did with the skinner blade was fill the voids between the scales and file work with black epoxy. I loaded the epoxy over the file work/spine to the point that you couldn't even see any steel at all. After the epoxy was well hardened, I then took the epoxy down using the belt sander until the steel/file work "revealed itself". It makes for a nice contrast which brings out the file work I think.
 
Haze said:
That cherry burl looks great :thumbup:
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Thanks Haze. The burl had been drying for about 10 years or so, so I didn't really do much in the way of stabilizing it. I did soak it in wood hardener for a couple of days, but it didn't get any pressure treat or anything.

I've been using nothing more than Tung Oil as a finish on all my scales because it's easy to "refresh" if it ever needs it. When I give one of these blades to someone, I want it to be fairly easy for them to bring back the finish should it ever need it. Even a layman (or even my wife:D) can wipe on a thin coat of Tung Oil without messin' up too bad!:thumbup::D
 
Mushroom said:
Boy are those nice! I like the pins especially..
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That's another thing I'm kinda' trying to do with all the knives I build... I LIKE MOSAIC PINS!! I think they just add such a nice touch.

The only problem I find using Mosaic pins is they are too stinkin' expensive! I treat every scrap like gold. At $20 bucks or more (usually more:eek:) for 6 to 12 inches, I hate to even put the stuff against a sanding wheel!
 
How did you attach the brass bolster? I think it looks great. There seems to be a trend not to use brass, but I think it can be beautiful.
 
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Kbrasmodeler said:
How did you attach the brass bolster? I think it looks great. There seems to be a trend not to use brass, but I think it can be beautiful.
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I have a piece of brass bar stock to make bolsters from, but at the time I made this one, I didn't have any brass pin material so I used Nickle Silver pins. They are held on with the pins and epoxy.

It's kind of hard to see the pins in these pictures but they are there. I like brass also
and I would rather have used brass pins (so they wouldn't show at all), but I used what I had at the time. Some of the step-by-step pics in the link in my Sig might show them better.
 
timcsaw said:
Thanks Haze. The burl had been drying for about 10 years or so, so I didn't really do much in the way of stabilizing it. I did soak it in wood hardener for a couple of days, but it didn't get any pressure treat or anything.

I've been using nothing more than Tung Oil as a finish on all my scales because it's easy to "refresh" if it ever needs it. When I give one of these blades to someone, I want it to be fairly easy for them to bring back the finish should it ever need it. Even a layman (or even my wife:D) can wipe on a thin coat of Tung Oil without messin' up too bad!:thumbup::D
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I have a few choice bits of timber stashed away my self, It's handy being a forester when you want to get your hand on nice bits of wood ;)

That cherry is very nice though, defo good stuff :thumbup:
 
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