5160 & Black Walnut Camp/utility w/SS bolsters

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P J 234

Well-Known Member
Hi guys,

I haven't been around all that much and have been a little slow making knife progress lately, but I finally have one finished (except for sharpening and sheath top-coating) that I plan to offer for sale sometime in the near future. This is a stout knife, being of 1/4" stock, but has a nice feel and balance with the tapered tang.

This is my first attempt at dovetailed stainless bolsters. This is also my first time doing a tapered tang, and I'd like to thank my friend and mentor Mike Mooney (www.moonblades.com) for showing me how to do so!


Here's some info about the knife:

-1/4" 5160 blade steel, stock removal
-blade length ~5"
-OAL ~9.5"
-Blade hand sanded to 600x, spine to 2000x
-Natural (not stabilized) figured Black Walnut with Birchwood Casey Tru-oil gunstock finish, rubbed to a satin finish
-1/8" Mosaic Pins
-stainless steel bolsters, buffed
-tapered tang


And the sheath:

-Tooled Wickett and Craig 7/8 oz. shoulder
-Hand saddle stitched
-Fiebings dark brown Pro Oil dye


I'd appreciate any feedback, critique, etc. on design, construction, material choices, etc. that anyone is willing to offer on the knife or sheath, either here or in PM if you prefer to make them privately. Thanks in advance for looking and for any comments!

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I would have to guess you are a good student and have a good mentor.
I like the fit and finish in your photos. The handle shape is appealing, tapered tang a very nice touch, bolster looks great. To say more I would have to have it in hand,
and I do not want anymore boxes arriving at my house right now. Dozier
 
Looks GREAT overall! One thing that stands out for me is the finish on the tang. Many very good knives seem to skimp on that.

I like oiled walnut in general and that piece has gorgeous figure. I got lucky last year and picked up a few similar blocks from a fellow named Hanson. I hear he makes a knife now and again, as well. ;)

Bet it took a while to grind those bevels from such thick/wide stock. Bevels and plunges look really good. Plunges are real close to the spine but don't run over it, and have that nice little "swoop" at the top.

Keep it up with the tapered tangs and dovetailed bolsters, looks like you have them under control!

My only complaint is, I'd like to see a shot of the full spine. Just because that's something I always look at.
 
Doug and James, thanks for your feedback!

James, I bought some from Mr. Hanson but I also got some from Burton, and I'm pretty sure this piece came from Burton. I really like this wood as well, but I'm thinking about stabilizing the rest of it because finishing it with tru-oil took me 4-5 days. I like the end result, but it's a long time to wait to finish a knife. Also, post HT grinding took a LONG time because I left a bit too much grinding to do afterwards. That was a good lesson!
 
PJ, I haven't had any walnut stabilized, but I asked a couple different stabilizing pros about it. They all said it CAN be done and the results will be good, but it may take a while longer for it to "cure", compared to maple for instance. They all told me there might be a residual smell from the resins they use, but that it will go away in a couple weeks. So, between the cost and the wait-time, I'm not sure if it makes much difference versus the time it takes to properly oil the same wood. I suspect stabilized walnut would be more durable in the long run, and might polish to a higher gloss if that's what you want. Sounds like it's worth a shot, let us know if you have some done that way.

I know what you mean about oiling walnut, it really does take a few days and many thin "coats" of oil; I wipe off any excess and burnish it with 0000 steel wool after letting it soak in for at least a few hours. At some point, the wood just won't soak up any more oil.

I still like it though. Once all that is done, it holds up pretty darn well and it sure looks and feels nice.
 
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Beautiful package, its all been said already, my personal taste would be to use a little larger mosaic pins, other than that, I wouldn't change a thing.
 
James, I'll probably send at least part of my supply off if nothing else for comparison sake. I have quite a bit of the stuff so I could do a comparison.

Original and Bennie, thanks for your feedback! Larger mosaic pins are on my shopping list so I'll give those a try in the future.
 
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