Recent BIG set of knives for Christmas, 440C, CPM 154, Bone/Dymondwood/G10

[Frank Hunter]

This was a huge job. It was commissioned by a very patient client shortly after Christmas last year and getting it all wrapped up took most of this year to complete.

There are 3 sets of 3 knives, a 3 7/8" skinner, 5" hunter and 6" chisel point tanto, each set with a different handle material selection. The hunter and skinner sets are .155 CPM 154CM, all with mitered 304 stainless bolsters. The tantos are 440C, roughly .190 thick, and that steel showed such a wicked linear grain with carbides flecking out that I was unable to mirror polish it, so the whole batch has a bright buffed finish versus a true mirror. Between the finish fiasco, etchant issues, and the steel being surfaced twice as I obtained a surface grinder midway through the project and some other shenanigans I have around 175 hours in the whole batch.

Comments are welcome!

Black/Silver Dymondwood Laminate

Black/Hunter Orange G10

Bone Imistag from USAknifemaker.

 

[Mr.Svinarich]

superb finish in those, mirror where polished and an even dull where it is not.

 

[Don Robinson]

Those are beautiful knives. :s11798:

I'm curious about the different names and dates on them.?

 

[Frank Hunter]

Those are etched names for family. The etch was a major, major pain this go around, I've done it literally hundreds of times and between changes in the developer for the stencils, the stencil quality itself which varies, and running out of the old etchant that I was used to and trying two new ones, one of which was a total failure for this application the etch alone was two entire day's fight. I got it done, though.

 

[TacticallySharp]

Sounds like a lot of work! Thank God that in the end they came out as great looking as they did.

 

[paps]

Those are awesome! You've obviously bee very busy.

 

[rhinoknives]

Frank,
Excellent work! I have a batch of 440C blades that also have a huge grain pattern lenghtways. I like a brush satin finish for a working knife anyway.

 

[Mark Behnke]

They look great, you've got perseverance, makes my problems seem like kids stuff.

I don't have the kahones to do a custom order, congratulations on your completion.

 

[Frank Hunter]

Thank you all for the appreciation - the steel was a major problem this time around and I don't have a solution for it aside from taking a 1" section of each bar that comes in and taking it through the grits and heat treatment to sample the finish before I commit to a given grade of polish.

As for custom orders, I've learned that the time to completion estimate you give your client can have no relation to your estimated work backlog. There is no "actual" work backlog.

Things happen, sometimes series of things, and without a corporate expense account to delve into to resolve material and equipment issues things can stall out for surprisingly long periods of time.

 

[ArtinNC]

Beautiful knives,