What's happening in the David Mary Custom shop?

Those turned out awesome! Just take my money!
The Mini-Fat-Bowie would also make an excellent skinner. Has such a well-rounded profile and the false-edge.

The Americana Dymalux turned out great...I like the profile --it looks contoured?
 
Yessir, contoured indeed. I did my best to mimic the contouring on the original scales, which sadly had cracked, hence the rehandle job. It appears the pin holes were drilled a little too small and the pins were hammered in. I don't mind doing this with G10 or Micarta, because with their structure and grain orientation they are very unlikely to crack from something like this, but with wood, I like to have a tiny bit of play, and then use expanding waterproof adhesive. That way I believe the chances of cracking over time, or under normal use are basically nil.

There is even a little contouring at the pinky on your Skinny Fat Bowie as well, which you'll get to feel for yourself when it arrives. I hope you like it, and thanks for popping by!
 
Regrinding a hammer and a prybar. A little bit more cleaning up to do, and regrind maker's maker. Should have them sheathed and ready to ship for Monday. Upon return, customer will be removing handles, stripping the remaining coating and bluing the steel.

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While I'm regrinding and sheathing I figured I'd do one of my own. I first posted about this knife and the mods I had done previously here:

Who has a George Lainhart style machete/knife but doesn't know or won't admit it

Alright guys, if you have been around long enough I would think that at one time or another if you have picked up one of these knives and may not know what it was or perhaps you aren't willing to admit it. What I am talking about is the George Lainhart Special ops jungle Machete. George...
www.bladeforums.com www.bladeforums.com

But decided today to kick it up a notch.

Here is the original knife (image from the internet):
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Here is what I did to it before:
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And here's how I've got it looking now:
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While I await my MagnaCut blanks, I managed to get a new AEB-L commission started with a blank I had extra in stock, my favorite machete design, the Barax. I got the broad strokes done, and tomorrow is finishing and sheathing.

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Man my work bench really tells a story, doesn't it! See the hole saw mark? Yep, partial tang karambit. See the fully cut circular hole? Yep, that's for upside down almost empty glue bottles.
 
David, how do you think your Barax would compare with Carothers Medium chopper? Do you have any more blanks or add it to another batch?
 
woodysone said:
David, how do you think your Barax would compare with Carothers Medium chopper?
Click to expand...

There are some pretty big differences between these two knives. The CPK is a stout chopper, quite a bit thicker than the Barax, which is a longer machete about the same weight. The CPK is going to be much less balanced a knife for tasks like general trail clearing, or martial arts practice. The CPK from its specs looks like it should excel in chopping roles. I know from experience, and have shown in my "Barax showcase" video, the Barax with its thin geometry and tough steel bites deep and sends chips flying. Because a chopper/machete is a hard use tool that does not need extreme wear resistance, I use AEB-L, which keeps the cost down; the CPK is significantly more expensive than the Barax.


CPK Medium Chopper
David Mary Custom Barax (some of these specs may vary depending on customer request)

Steel: Delta 3V, 60-61 RC
Steel: AEB-L, 59-60 RC

Thickness: .220”
Thickness: .118”

OAL: 16”
OAL: 23”

Blade length: 10”
Blade length 15.75”

Weight: 21.1 oz
Weight: 20-22 oz

Geometry: Unknown bte, 20 dps primary edge
Geometry: .020”-.025” bte, ~15 dps primary, 20 micro

What else? The CPK is machined, the Barax is handcrafted. The CPK has a one handed handle, the Barax handle is hand and a half (it can be used two handed if needed)
 
David Mary said:
There are some pretty big differences between these two knives. The CPK is a stout chopper, quite a bit thicker than the Barax, which is a longer machete about the same weight. The CPK is going to be much less balanced a knife for tasks like general trail clearing, or martial arts practice. The CPK from its specs looks like it should excel in chopping roles. I know from experience, and have shown in my "Barax showcase" video, the Barax with its thin geometry and tough steel bites deep and sends chips flying. Because a chopper/machete is a hard use tool that does not need extreme wear resistance, I use AEB-L, which keeps the cost down; the CPK is significantly more expensive than the Barax.


CPK Medium Chopper
David Mary Custom Barax (some of these specs may vary depending on customer request)

Steel: Delta 3V, 60-61 RC
Steel: AEB-L, 59-60 RC

Thickness: .220”
Thickness: .118”

OAL: 16”
OAL: 23”

Blade length: 10”
Blade length 15.75”

Weight: 21.1 oz
Weight: 20-22 oz

Geometry: Unknown bte, 20 dps primary edge
Geometry: .020”-.025” bte, ~15 dps primary, 20 micro

What else? The CPK is machined, the Barax is handcrafted. The CPK has a one handed handle, the Barax handle is hand and a half (it can be used two handed if needed)
Click to expand...
Thanks David for this concise answer, I ask because it sounds like each has its place and purpose. We’re going to have to talk around October.
 
Just a step in the process. I don't like hot spots, so I take the time to remove them wherever I can find them. After this is handle texturing, and hand sanding.


Also at the end, you can see what I mean about the balance of the design.
 
woodysone said:
Do you have any more blanks or add it to another batch?
Click to expand...

I have one blank currently on order with Jarod for plasma cutting and heat treatment, otherwise I only have my R&D Barax, which is the one in the aforementioned video.
 
I'm toying with the idea of some 8670 Baraxes, since I can do these with lower lead time, using Andy Pomorski's heat treatment; he did my 15N20.

Do you think there would be any interest in that?
 
8670 is one of the toughest knife steels.
 
Actually I've been reading the info, and I think 1075 is a better choice. Less expensive, but very tough. Larrin got 24 ft-lbs. in his second series of tests on 8670, and 1084 is listed on his chart at 25 ft-lbs. 1075 is supposed to be a little tougher still than 1084, due to lower carbon.......

Thinking about it all...
 
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