What's going on in your shop? Show us whats going on, and talk a bit about your work!

[Cushing H.]

I just finished the largest knife I’ve ever made. It’s a 260mm Sujihiki, 42mm tall at the heel, ground from 0.084” (2.1mm) thick AEB-L at 63 HRC. The handle is stabilized redwood with an African Blackwood ferrule. It is by far my favorite handle I’ve yet made. In the right light it has an iridescent quality, almost seeming to glow from the lighter parts of the wood.

Nice. I also have noted the iridescent quality of stabilized wood sanded to fine finish. so far I have only taken it to 1000 .... but in a recent thread people have commented it gets even better at 2000. what grit did you take your handle to?

 

[CallumRD1]

I sanded it to 1000 grit (roughed out the size and tapers with a 120 grit belt and brought it to 600 grit on my belt sander, then used a router table to cut the 45˚ facets, finally sanding it on a surface plate with 600 and 1000 grit sandpaper) then finished it with about 6-8 coats of tru-oil, giving it a light touch with 1000 grit sandpaper before the final two coats to clean up any imperfections in the surface. I will say, the iridescent quality of this handle wasn't a property of the stabilization but rather the wood itself. I have probably 50 blocks of very nice wood for handles, but this is the only piece that has such a dramatic appearance. I wish I had more of it.

 

[Cushing H.]

I sanded it to 1000 grit (roughed out the size and tapers with a 120 grit belt and brought it to 600 grit on my belt sander, then used a router table to cut the 45˚ facets, finally sanding it on a surface plate with 600 and 1000 grit sandpaper) then finished it with about 6-8 coats of tru-oil, giving it a light touch with 1000 grit sandpaper before the final two coats to clean up any imperfections in the surface. I will say, the iridescent quality of this handle wasn't a property of the stabilization but rather the wood itself. I have probably 50 blocks of very nice wood for handles, but this is the only piece that has such a dramatic appearance. I wish I had more of it.

Huh. I have seen some inkling of that appearance on all the stabilized wood handles I have taken to 1000 (admittedly not a huge number). Sounds like there is something really,really extraordinary about that piece of wood...

 

[TheEdge01]

Here’s a paring knife I’m finishing up. It has black and red G10 scales, black liners, black pins, and a 26c3 carbon steel blade.

 

[Scaniaman]

V

I just finished the largest knife I’ve ever made. It’s a 260mm Sujihiki, 42mm tall at the heel, ground from 0.084” (2.1mm) thick AEB-L at 63 HRC. The handle is stabilized redwood with an African Blackwood ferrule. It is by far my favorite handle I’ve yet made. In the right light it has an iridescent quality, almost seeming to glow from the lighter parts of the wood.

Very nice work and the profile is excellent looking.

 

[Colby L.]

Just a couple esthetic thoughts (meaning others may not agree).. the two different angles of the plunge versus front of bolster play kind of weirdly with each other. Maybe either make them the same angle, or make the front of the bolster curved or swept back to break up that conflict.

second, the two woods of the handle are beautiful,but where they contact the two textures are really different. Maybe break that up with a spacer of some sort?

either way I am sure your wife will love it!

Thank you for the feedback. I admittedly struggled with what to do with the plunge so I am not surprised some may find it strange. Also thanks for the tip on the spacer.

 

[weo]

Had a minor mishap during forging yesterday. While forging my heel notch (I'll accept any better terms for this) on a nakiri, I heard a heart-sinking sound not unlike the dreaded 'tink' that happens after quenching, but much lower in tone, followed by the sound of metal landing on the concrete floor. I didn't realize what happened until the next whack with the hammer, when I noticed my post vice bounce around unusually....

Good thing there's a spare hiding somewhere in the shed....but that ended the forging for the day.

 

[kdnolin]

Cut a blade out of my Damascus billet. 4” hidden tang drop point.
Ready for HT. My first try at file work, not perfect, but went better than expected. I never thought pattern welding would be so addictive

 

[Blackdirt cowboy]

View attachment 1433063 View attachment 1433064 View attachment 1433065 Cut a blade out of my Damascus billet. 4” hidden tang drop point.
Ready for HT. My first try at file work, not perfect, but went better than expected. I never thought pattern welding would be so addictive

That’s awesome. I’ve got a stack of metal waiting for me to pattern weld it. But I don’t have a power hammer or a press, so I’ll have to do it by hand. I haven’t built up the courage yet to try.

 

[EditB]

New forum user disclaimer, hopefully putting this in the right place...

Nearly done with my first knife build, my interpretation of a Bird & Trout. Old machete blade with Matai wood and white liner. Handle needs further sanding to balance the symmetry and discovered a blemish on the blade that I'll need to polish out.

The wood is not stabilised, I was thinking of polyurethaning or would I be better to soak it in linseed oil instead?

Have learnt a lot in the process and am happy that it's looking like how I envisaged it. Many thanks to all the craftsmen who provide their knowledge on these forums and on youtube (walter sorrell, red beard ops, simple little life etc)

Regards,
Brenton

 

[Stacy E. Apelt - Bladesmith]

Brenton, on the next one you make like that, angle the plunge to match the handle. The bisected plunge looks a bit odd. It also leaves a gap under the top where crud and stuff can accumulate. The other issue is that the sharp point of the handle top will chip off easily in use.

 

[DanF]

Sometimes you just need a fun, non-serious day in the shop.

The Highlander meets the Mohican

 

[EditB]

Brenton, on the next one you make like that, angle the plunge to match the handle. The bisected plunge looks a bit odd. It also leaves a gap under the top where crud and stuff can accumulate. The other issue is that the sharp point of the handle top will chip off easily in use.

Thanks for the useful info Stacy, both things I hadn't thought about when designing this.

 

[Brock Cutlery]

Ironwood, what can you do? Happened during the final buff.

 

[FredyCro]

Ironwood, what can you do? Happened during the final buff.

View attachment 1434891
View attachment 1434893

Thats a pain. Do you think it could be patched with some died epoxy? Regardless, a beautiful knife.

 

[Brock Cutlery]

Thats a pain. Do you think it could be patched with some died epoxy? Regardless, a beautiful knife.

Thank you! I'm going to keep this one, so I'll figure something out. Epoxy patch might work. The buffer flung the piece, so I'll have to see if I can find it. :\
I'm glad it failed on me and not my customer. Sometimes ironwood can be tricky and you just never know where that weak spot might be. If it had been in the middle of the handle it would have been no problem at all.

 

[weo]

what can you do?

Ouch! That sucks...

nothing to do but move on...

 

[HSC ///]

The start of a small workshop in France
Electrical and lighting put in. Larger workbench and grinder ordered and to be delivered late October

First thing to work on the get my hands dirty again. I started removing the deep grinder scratches on an already forged and heat treated blade

A knife I made a while ago and my first in Paris.

An intro sharpening lesson to a young chef

Some steak frites. Excellent black angus from the USA

Chocolate pistachio escargot roll pastry

And a hello from Paris

 

[FredyCro]

H

The start of a small workshop in France
Electrical and lighting put in. Larger workbench and grinder ordered and to be delivered late October

First thing to work on the get my hands dirty again. I started removing the deep grinder scratches on an already forged and heat treated blade

A knife I made a while ago and my first in Paris.

An intro sharpening lesson to a young chef

Some steak frites. Excellent black angus from the USA

Chocolate pistachio escargot roll pastry

And a hello from Paris

Nice! How are you gonna handle dust collection in a basement shop?

 

[David Schott]

Had an interesting discovery last night. I typically use wd40 or mobil for hand sanding. I was oiling the ways on my bridgeport and realized i had that special thick vactra 2 way oil i was using. I tried it for hand sanding and it was almost difficult to create fishhooks. The paper floats so well until you want it to. I may pick up a separate can just for sanding and move on from the mobil 1 ive been using for years.