W2 and Turkish Walnut Fighter/Bowie

SBranson

SBranson

Joined
Oct 29, 2006
Messages
2,912
Just finished this yesterday.

I'm working on doing so satin finished blades and I am really enjoying the look. There is a hamon but it's very subdued.

The blade is about 8 3/8" W2
OAL is 13 5/16"
416SS guard and domed pin.

I counterweighted the butt so the balance is just in front of the guard.

Any comments or criticism are appreciated.

Thanks for looking.

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super nice and clean Stuart!

How do you like the Turkish walnut - Tom Ferry told me he is a big fan.

It's supposed to be denser than the other walnuts, especially Claro - have you found that too?


Bill Flynn
 
Looks clean and crisp to me - glad to hear you gave consideration to the question of balance and took active steps to get it where you wanted it.

Love the Turkish walnut. I have a small block that I got from Tad Lynch that I'm dying to try out on a knife.

Roger
 
Thanks.

The Turkish Walnut is quite light, seemingly about half the weight of ironwood, but the grain is a little less "open" than most walnut. The lightness is why I had to counterweight with some lead shot.
It's pretty wood and even though it's a burl, it works nicely.
 
I like that one! Just my cup of tea. Love the grain in that handle, and the lines are simple, elegant, and IMHO, spot on!
 
Very nice piece Stuart! I'll just bet the sheath will be something special...:thumbup:
 
Looks fantastic Stuart. Must've been kinda tough to resist the temptation to bring out that hamon lurking under there, but the satin finish looks really nice, very clean. You definitely kept those grind lines and swedge nice and crisp, and the "grain" of the finish looks very smooth and uniform. What grit did you go up to? Whole knife looks great by the way; that walnut is gorgeous
 
Thanks.

I used stones on the swedge to keep it crisp. To finish the handle I sand until 600x then put some tru-oil on it. Then 800x and oil, then I have some 3M Tri-M-Ite polishing papers in 1200x and 4000x. Then I used a tung oil sealer as part of my Beall wood buffing set.
 
this knife reminds me of many other knives of this genre. It's unmistakably Branson however. Something about the lines makes it unique. Kinda reminds me of your whaling knife, even though it's very different obviously.

The squarish edges on the handle as it approaches the guard are something I had to get over, they bugged me a bit at first. But on a knife like this, those flat surfaces and subtly abrupt edges probably give a lot of leverage from spine to edge, and lots of control over the angle of approach in the swing, plus the ability to maintain that angle upon contact/impact.

I like the domed pin a lot. It contrasts very nicely with the polished backs of the guard, the smoothly finished, highly figured wood and the satin finish of the steel. The black and stainless spacers do wonders and without them, I think this knife would suffer for it.

The guard is very graceful.

The plunge leaves the ricasso in a very interesting spot, and is so nice and clean.

Aesthetically, I think it's a winner.

From a design perspective, I'd like to see this exact same knife, but with a little less belly, and the blade slightly less wide. Maybe 1/2" shorter too. It looks to me like it wants to be more of an 'insert and twist' type of weapon, than it looks like a camp tool/bowie.


About how thick is the blade stock at the ricasso, and what's the taper like?
 
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Thanks for your thorough assessment. I have to agree with the comments about the belly making this look more Bowie than Fighter. In the hand, the sense is different and the balance pulled back a little removes it from the "camp knife" category, I think.

The "sharp" edges on the handle are not sharp except as a feature. They are nicely rounded more on the underside than the spine. That area of the spine however sits right in the web between the thumb and index finger and so those angles never really even come into play in terms of the grip, unless gripped like a baseball bat.

As far as your design change comments... well that's another knife. It's easier for me to call this a bowie than change all that. :p

I'll have to double check the thickness but if I remember correctly, it's a tad under a 1/4" and tapers towards the tip.
 
SBranson said:
As far as your design change comments... well that's another knife.
Click to expand...

Exactly!

Why critique if it doesn't have the potential for leading somewhere, some time in the future?

Speaking of which, your gracious acceptance of critique, plus your specific response to the points made, sets a great example my friend:thumbup:
 
She's a beauty Stewart. The use of stones really shows in the finished knife. Especially the crispness of the area where the clip terminates on the spine with a tight tapered point. Nicely done.
 
Thanks Mike. The clip was originally intended to be sharp and is somewhat. I mean you can scrape your nail but it's just too obtuse to cut paper. I hadn't tried a sharpened clip before and I think the swedge would have to be a steeper angle for it to really cut. Still... it would offer no resistance in a stabbing motion.
 
I think as a whole it is a great Arkansas stile knife, not your normal Branson fare. I have no issue with the width, length, or belly. The flow of the guard is exquisite, however I have questions about the flats. It definitely shows off your amazing skills, but I still wonder about ergonomics. I missed you at blade and still look forward to meeting you in the future.

Scott
 
Quite a few years ago I used to do Kendo. (still miss it) The way we were taught to hold the Shinai (the bamboo sword) was to relax the grip with the thumb/index/middle fingers. They acted as a guide but the real grip was with the ring and pinkie fingers. This allowed for an extremely quick snap or flick of the wrist. I got to train and learn with some of our Canadian National team and they could hit you twice before you blinked.
Anyway, I mention this as this grip has always carried over to knives, particularly when chopping. The wrist gives the momentum and there is a slight relaxing on impact so there is little fatigue.
Anyway, again, I mention that to draw attention to the "flats". They aren't flat at all but gently curved, maybe that doesn't come across in the pictures. The idea of the not so sharp but sharp looking transition from the curved "flats" to the radiused spine of the handle is a visual feature but one that really has no effect of discomfort on the knife.

Believe me! (please :p) I just held the knife again and it's really comfortable. The gently convex "flat" sits very nicely on the pad in the palm of the index finger even when I try to grip it very tightly.

Lorien, I should just drive out to your place and let you try it. :p

I really appreciate the scrutiny as it helps me look more closely. Please know that when I am designing and shaping a handle, I am constantly checking the feel as I go. As you mentioned Scott this isn't the kind of knife I do a lot of so I have yet to develop a particular shape just yet.
This is the beginnings of my experiments for my JS "5". Hence, also, the satin finish.

PS... the knife really is comfortable in the hand.. :p
 
SBranson said:
Lorien, I should just drive out to your place and let you try it. :p
Click to expand...

well we are certainly overdue for a visit! But don't you tease me Stuart, you always seem to sell your dang knives before I get a chance to see em!

The bike shop is hopping these days and all my energy seems to be directed toward building the mountain bike scene and trails around here these days which doesn't leave much time for knife stuff. The 6 day work weeks don't help much either.

Let me know if you'll have a chance to come out for a visit. It would be great to see you. Even if you don't have any knives to show and tell!
 
Suart, that is a beautiful lookling knife, nice piece of walnut too. As for the handle shape I have a few knives with a similar shape and have had no issues with them, in fact I have a Charlie Edmondson BIG Bowie with really slab sides and it's a joy to use, I guess a lot depends on the size of ones hands, I have big ones!!
 
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