Knives

[Cajun]

For some reason my ph would not let me post this under rainy weekend. Said Database error. Anyway first pic is the knife Mike made with the handle put on it. It is sharp. I have a video of him shaving his arm and cutting Manila rope. I spent the afternoon trying to duplicate that knife. Completely hand forged and had Mikes help as a striker when needed. Really helps having a extra set of hands when you are using a flatter to level the knife.





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[WayOutWest]

Dang it man, I just like everything about it.

[Cajun]

Thanks WOW. Mike the knife is a real craftsman and a good mentor/

[The Old Man]

Will Cajun with Mike the Knife's tutoring you are getting pretty crafty, it looks really good.

[WayOutWest]

I am curious Cajun, does Mike have a 2" by 72" belt sander. I made knives for more than 10 years before I got one. It has made a lot of the processes much faster and easier.

[Cajun]

Yes, He has a couple but his main one is a KLM grinder. Thanks Clue. It's a time consuming process. I have about 3 1/2 hours in just forging that blade. Next week, I'll put it on the belt sander and put the handle on it.

[Cajun]

The knife on the right is the finished product of the knife Mike started on 2 weeks ago. The knife on the left is one he just finished up fo a friend.


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[The Old Man]

Questions? The difference in the short blade colors is that a variance in polish or a difference in temper? and What is a KLM grinder? Are those handles some of the wood that Joe W. brought to Mike? I "think" he brought Mike some burl slabs for handles but am not certain. Those are really good looking knives.

[t-dog]

Really nice


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[WayOutWest]

Clue, I can answer the grinder question.  KLM is one brand of many different specialty grinders for making knives. 2"× 72" is the belt width and length. They come with a slew of attachments for different uses. They have big wheels for grinding hollow grind edges and a flat platen set up for flat grinds. They have a small wheel setup to grind in fullers. They have variable speed drives that operate 3 phase motors on your single phase home power. I have a Northridge Tool brand that I use but there are a lot of them mostly made by home business guys. They use them for so many different parts of the process.

[WayOutWest]

And Mike's craftsmanship is great. Those are beautiful. Is that a hamon I see on that smaller blade. Or maybe a line from a differential quench?

[Cajun]

WOW, Yes that is a hamon. It is the differential hardening of the blade. The only part of the blade that got hard is the part that he heated with the torch.
Clue,Mike did not know what kind of wood that was. He has most of his handle material labeled  and has so much but this was some mystery wood he had on hand and just put a few coats of tru oil on it. That Burl joe gave him, he has to cut up and send it off to get stabalized.
  The wood handle on the big knife is curly maple.

[Cajun]

Clue, the differences n the blade colors are probably the differences in the steel that was used. Not sure on the big knife but the smaller knife is 5160 steel. Mike hand sands every knife to about 800 grit unless he gets a special order for a mirror polish.

[The Old Man]

I didn't make myself clear it was the two colors on the one smaller knife (and it looked to me like it was a difference in temper, the harder part being towards the cutting edge) but you already answered that in conversation with WOW. Thank you fellows for the patience with the elementary questions.

[WayOutWest]

Clue, I have learned that the bladesmithing community is by and large a great bunch who go out of their way to share the knowledge they have. Unfortunately the popularity has exploded and anvils and post vices have gone up in price terribly. 

[Cajun]

WOW, I asked mike if he knew Joe Keeslar and he knows him well. They will both be at a knife show in Ala. this weekend. On another note how do you like your Northridge Tool grinder?

[The Old Man]

I carry on my hunting belt a U.S.A. made production knife "Sog Pillar" that I like real well for function. It is just under 10 inches overall, 5 inch blade, full tang, .160 thick made from CPM S35VN stainless steel, I think they are cryo treated and hrc test at 59-61. They have a plenty sharp point for sticking, have a slight "back grind" on top of the blade, that along with a slight scallop on top of the blade just as the blade reaches full width provides some relief for real easy in and out when sticking. I would call the grind a high flat sabre grind making it real good for slicing and enough belly sweep for functional skinning, the blade at the widest point on the cutting edge is an inch and three sixteenths, with plain black canvas micarta scales that I modified slightly for a little more grip. The S35VN steel holds an edge well though there are steels with better edge retention yet it is fairly easily sharpened is well rated for toughness and resists chipping and corrosion well.
It's not nearly as crafty as you guys handmade knives though haha. I still think that finger guard you guys hammer in is the neatest thing on fixed blade knives.

[WayOutWest]

Cajun, I like the Northridge real well. The draw to me was that it had no welds on it. Everything is machined. That being said it is more precise than I am.  I didn't get the tilting feature and wish I had. I believe I am going to order the House made kit that is all cut out with a water jet and you weld it up yourself. It is about $500 without motor and wheels.

[WayOutWest]

Clue, that is a fine knife for all around use. Although if you listen to all the wannabe experts on the bladesmithing board they will tell you that you can't kill a hog with less than an 8" blade. I  always come back with the time I had to stick one with a 3" folding Kershaw.

[Rough curs]

Looks fun