This Year in Knives

[stabman]

It all started back when I got the ZT 0235, generously sent by Thomas.
Back in my post then I posted a couple of pictures, and mentioned a "secret project" I was working on:

Part of that project, for which I bought the steel and needed to access sanding drums, was this design sketched out on graph paper:

First of all, holes needed to be drilled...for both this design and the other knife to be made from the same chunk of steel:

The next steps involved an angle grinder, clamps, plywood, and some big sections of stump:

A bunch more was done with files, after finding out that our 1" by 30" belt sander is all crappy and off center now; had broken before, and my step-brother had manufactured a fix, but it sucks hugely for doing plunge grinds. Wish I'd started with the file. Anyway, here they are prior to heat treat:

 

[stabman]

After heat treat:

Working on a handle...holes drilled, marking to get rough cutting done:

Handle and jimping done:

Time to work on that Ulu handle:

Moulding a Kydex Sheath...note the high tech set-up:

Scales were off for sheath moulding...get them and hardware ready while it cools:

 

[stabman]

Here it is with the Kydex neck sheath:

Took them to the woods. Thought I could punch down a small tree with the Ulu. Turns out there is not enough space between fingers and the back of the blade for such stupid use...all I did was instantly bruise my finger bones.

We did construct a new bench though:

And cook some steak, while enjoying the fire:

 

[stabman]

Next up, titanium!
I had a scrap piece left over from the Stabarangs:

https://www.bladeforums.com/threads/stabarangs.1560704/

I drew the most useful size of knife I could design to fit on that weird little scrap.

Well, lets drill holes:

Angle grinding pics aren't here, but here is the aftermath, along with other grinding:

Oh yeah, I used a carbide cutter with the Dremel to make the sharpening notch at home prior to the main event. Anyway, next up is the file:

And the initial moulding of the Kydex:

I gave it a hammered finish, which involved hitting it with a ball peen hammer (ball end) many hundreds of times. Of course, it rebounds, causing fun bends you have to correct by more hammering...but it does look cool.

 

[stabman]

I gave it a stone wash finish with...stones. I collected a bunch of gravel, washed it, then shook the knife for hours and hours in an old stainless steel bottle filled with the gravel, along with soapy water. This very conveniently wore the point away entirely, so a new one was put on it. Here it is, along with the finished sheath:

Then, I heat coloured it with a torch:

Along with being the lightest neck knife I have EVER held, it also works as an accent to statues.

 

[stabman]

Next up is what may be my favourite knife of the entire year.

We had a huge homeless encampment here this year, and I had been stopping by, bringing them water, masks, etc. It went on for a number of months.

Here's a limited view of the encampment:

Had up to 30 people at some points.

Well, November comes, and the city decides to do something about it. Along come the police, tractor with front end loader, and all that jazz. Cleared it right out.

Went back the next week to see what the situation was.
The people were definitely all gone this time.

People gone, and most remnants gone too.
Some remained though, like the foundations of what last fall/winter had been a truly impressive structure on the side of the hill:

And, as I inspected the aftermath, what else did I see...a knife!

A bread knife.
Here it is on the edge of one of the smallest fire pits from before (they had some huge ones too in the past):

Sanitized it, bagged it, and took it home, where I bleached the hell out of it. Then I removed two bends from it; the tractor running it over had bent it in the middle, and at the tip. I got it straight though. Then I popped the scales off it:

 

[stabman]

I also etched it with Ferric Chloride:

Had a block of stabilized Curly Maple from a Bladeforums Christmas Exchange over a decade ago, so I cut it into slabs. Epoxied the scales on one at a time, letting each one dry to allow for easy alignment of holes. No shifting around:

I had an extra sheath from a Ka-Bar Ek knife. Bought a leather one for the Ka-bar knife, but it was great for this. Gives the extra hobo touch with how the blade doesn't quite fit all the way down. I dulled the first serration so it cannot cut anything.

I also covered all exposed metal bits with epoxy so it does not scratch the pretty handle. The sheath had a plethora of metal bits.

Here it is in the sheath:

And here they all are together.
All the knives, and all the sheaths for them. The first one I designed, the Xtreme Utility Blade, ended up with two sheaths for it:

The Xtreme Utility Blade has the most work into it, and has the best ergonomics of the bunch. The handle is insanely comfortable, and the blade is indestructible (Nitro-V at 58 Rockwell, over 0.190" thick). Somehow though, the Hobo Knife is just really neat.

It has the prettiest handle, and also has the spirit of community.
I know, we generally think of a hobo knife as one of those folding ones with a fork and spoon, or the classic Simpsons' clip:

But this one was something folks living in a community they created used to share food with each other. Sure, they had their pointy knives (every one of them had a knife on them of some sort), but this was more of a communal/camp type of thing. This was an element of stability and normality in what could be a chaotic life (imagine living in a ravine during a global pandemic...not easy).

I used it on Christmas Day to cut our food at home. We had Christmas subs; my wife cooked a large roast for the meat, and we topped it with red and green peppers (Christmas colours ), onions, mushrooms, and cheese of course. Very tasty.

And there you have it.
This year in knives.
It was pretty good overall.

 

[stabman]

There was also one other knife, a prototype titanium knife from JGarrison Knives that I got in a giveaway:

Rounded the base of the blade and some corners on the handle, and used it to cut some onions for the Christmas subs:

The toothy carbidized edge cuts some materials better than others.
Not good for paper, but pretty great for buns. Not bad for vegetables.

Pretty neat knife though; will have to make a sheath for it.

 

[jstn]

I move the wharnie fixed blade! Looks like a great design, and Nitro V is some good stuff!

 

[dirc]

lmao stabman, the hobo knife has me laughing... I'm a little sad you used curly maple for the handle,... it's kinda like putting a $2k paint job on a 1980 pinto

 

[stabman]

I move the wharnie fixed blade! Looks like a great design, and Nitro V is some good stuff!

It is pretty cool.

lmao stabman, the hobo knife has me laughing... I'm a little sad you used curly maple for the handle,... it's kinda like putting a $2k paint job on a 1980 pinto

My brother misplaced the mammoth ivory, so I had to go with what I had.

Wait till you see what handle goes on what blade next year...

 

[killgar]

Great job on the knives . I love the old-school, low-tech methods, same as I use (no computer operated machines).

I always enjoy seeing men and their tools at work.

 

[stabman]

Great job on the knives . I love the old-school, low-tech methods, same as I use (no computer operated machines).

I always enjoy seeing men and their tools at work.

Thanks.
Wouldn't mind some newer tools at some point, but there is a certain joy in doing it old-school.

 

[Velitrius]

lmao stabman, the hobo knife has me laughing... I'm a little sad you used curly maple for the handle,... it's kinda like putting a $2k paint job on a 1980 pinto

Whoa whoa whoa! If it's a Pinto Wagon, you can easily go $3K or better. And my Pinto wagon had wood grain on the sides, a'la that Hobo knife!

Harley looks like she appreciates the titanium sticker, Stab. And is that Stormbreaker there?

Only pointy things left behind by our homeless campers was hypodermic needles. Watch where you walk, Bruddah.

 

[stabman]

Whoa whoa whoa! If it's a Pinto Wagon, you can easily go $3K or better. And my Pinto wagon had wood grain on the sides, a'la that Hobo knife!

Harley looks like she appreciates the titanium sticker, Stab. And is that Stormbreaker there?

Only pointy things left behind by our homeless campers was hypodermic needles. Watch where you walk, Bruddah.

Yep, Stormbreaker continues to do things.

We also had a bunch of syringes in the vicinity, although the city workers managed to rake most of them up.
I always have thick-soled puncture resistant boots when walking in such areas.

On one photo shoot in the area under the bridge some years back, I ran into a rather attractive 23 year old girl who was pre-gaming there with her friends prior to hitting the clubs. She told me that not too long before that, a friend of hers had been down there in sandals...and got poked with a syringe. Had to get the anti-viral cocktail shot to hopefully prevent nasty infections.