Knife #11 Finished

Erin Burke

Erin Burke

Well-Known Member
{Cross-posted w/ BF}

Hey folks,

I just finished Knife #11 over the weekend. There were a few firsts for me with this knife:

  • This is my first time working with Don Hanson's W2. It was quite a change after working with 1080 and 1095 bar stock from Kelly Cupples. Since I am currently only working in stock-removal, I had Don ship the steel to another fine gentleman who forged it down to bars for me (ranging from 1/8" to 1/4" thick). One thing that I noticed immediately upon drilling my first holes in this steel was that it needed to be annealed. I fried a couple of bits before I made that call . Once I had done a sub-critical anneal, it was great to work with. I feel, however, that I did not do this steel justice with my hamon... it seems a bit plain, so I think that I need to use significantly less clay next time.
  • This is my first knife where I installed rear bolsters as well. I kept the blade beefier on this knife, so the additional weight at the butt helped balance things out both physically and aesthetically. On a whim, I scalloped the rear bolsters for a crown-like effect.
Some Stats:
Length: 10-5/8"
Blade: 5-1/2" (tip to choil?)
Steel: Differentially heat-treated ~3/16" W2 (from Don Hanson) Flat-Ground
Handle: Stabilized and Dyed Spalted Maple with hidden pins
Bolsters(Front & Rear): 416ss w/ 416ss peened pins

4750567165_2a65d1ffae_b.jpg


I had a really tough time photographing this knife... I shot three different set-ups in my light-box and, believe-it-or-not, this is the best shot I could come up with. It was very frustrating. BTW, the artwork in the back was painted by my 2-year old daughter Zoe. :D

This knife is going to a friend from my church community group. He used to be an Army Ranger, so I'm hoping he'll appreciate the design.

Let me know what you think.

Erin
 
#11 huh... wow man!! thats a great looking knife. I am just starting out myself(made 4 or 5) and am no where near your level. great work!
 
That's a great looking piece. I'm working on a similar styled blade now.
 
murphda2 said:
That's a great looking piece. I'm working on a similar styled blade now.
Click to expand...

Cool Bro... I'd love to see what you come up with. 2thumbs This particular style was a bit of a departure for me, and I wasn't sure how it would be recieved. After the faceted handle that I did on my last (kitchen) knife, I was interested to see what kind of luck I'd have combining facets and curves. It was VERY difficult (for me) to keep the lines smooth and crisp since I was grinding the curved facets by hand on my 8" wheel rather than flat facets on a platen/disc, and I'm not sure that I suceeded 100%... but I guess 98% will have to do. :p
 
Oh My!!!! I really like that. Very classy looking fighter.

Charlie
 
Erin Burke said:
Cool Bro... I'd love to see what you come up with. 2thumbs This particular style was a bit of a departure for me, and I wasn't sure how it would be recieved. After the faceted handle that I did on my last (kitchen) knife, I was interested to see what kind of luck I'd have combining facets and curves. It was VERY difficult (for me) to keep the lines smooth and crisp since I was grinding the curved facets by hand on my 8" wheel rather than flat facets on a platen/disc, and I'm not sure that I suceeded 100%... but I guess 98% will have to do. :p
Click to expand...

...uh...from where I stand Erin,it looks to be 110% to me brother!
That's a really really nice example of how to blend curves and facets man,
stellar work 2thumbs
 
Very nice design. The sweep, point, neck of the handle with the scalloped bolsters go very well together. Good looking work!
 
Great looking Knife!
You have advanced quickly! I do need to say that what really impresses me is Zoe's artwork!:happy:
 
very nice work!! and yea... 11th knife huh?! i sense disturbance in the self esteem!
 
Super knife , and only your 11 th ??

PS: you a tool maker by trade ??
 
Last edited:
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top