Hey gents! I am pleased to post the finished product of my first commissioned knife. It is a bushcraft style at 9.5" long overall and a 4.25" blade. The steel is 1084 carbon steel and the handle is cocobolo. Hope you all like it. I feel it is my best to date!
Yes it is, pat on back if you can reach. Me I am glad to be able to reach for a coffee That chunk of wood makes for a real good backdrop might have to hit up the local lumber yard and see what they have.
Very nice Bob. The shape, pin arrangement and grind all come together. Even the photography is looking good. I hope that your customer is super stoked with that. I would be. Dan
Seeing this handle reminds me of a little project I was thinking of for a simple wood handle. “Kintsugi is the Japanese art of repairing broken pottery with gold, the idea being that the piece becomes more beautiful and valuable because it was broken.” Gold could be used to fill in areas of dark grain after grinding them out, would have to be done in a minimalist manner. I even picked up some gold leaf to give it a try one of these days when the right handle comes along.
that is what I was thinking, might only be a couple of lines total but I think it would make for a real nice contrast on a darker wood. So far I have not made a knife that could use it or would look good so project just sits and waits.
You need something good with very distinct grain I would imagine. I have some kingwood that would probably work well! You ever get near Calgary?
Only if the API exams are held there. Supposed to be going to Alberta for a one week crash course and exam this summer some time.
Thanks guys! Actually, I sent my buddy a pic and he said he was disappointed... I was slightly hurt for a second and said he didn't have to take it. He then followed it up with he was disappointed not because the knife wasn't nice, but in fact it was too nice! He now feels like he won't be able to abuse it camping etc and will want to take better care of it. I laughed and told him I could uglify for him a bit... lol! I told him I actually want him to beat the tar out of it and let me know how it holds up. Also, after all that work he asked if I could force a dirty looking patina on the blade. Not everyone's thing I guess but he just likes things to look a bit tougher. He gets home from Vegas today so I will do something later tonight. I will post a pic of what I come up with. Got to keep the customer happy!
Cut up a few onions wipe blade down and it should get some discoloration in a day or so. Or peppers? one of them nicely tinted a chef knife I made for myself
I basically left mustard on for a couple hours and the cleaned it off, then rubbed and polished the blade with mineral oil and 0000 wire wool. After I rubbed a mixture I make for my walnut countertops made of bees wax and mineral oil... The patina seems pretty durable. I had done this before on one of my Opinels a few years ago and it still looks nice today!
