Daniel,
you did a fine job cleaning those up and installing the handles on them!!
you can really tell some differences in the way that you and I do the same pattern. I can point out some of them and give you my thoughts on why I do them the way that I do.
first off is the amount of hardened steel. on a hidden tang knife, I do like the hard part to stop before the blade enters the guard. usually knives with guards are a bit thicker so you have more room in the guard slot to get your files in to fit the guard, and the guard and handle material gives some rigidity to the whole knife. on these thin little blades {1/16"} though, if you leave the tang completely soft, you can run into problems in heavy cuts where you bend the tang permanently. so I like to have a small ribbon of hardened steel that runs through the tang to give it some stiffness. also I like more hard part on these thinner blades. not only to give a bit more stiffness to the blade since its so thin, but also I use the heck out of the ones that I keep. the stainless prototype that I kept, and used for about 8 months, I used up about 1/8" off the width in that amount of time. of course I use them harder than I expect most of them to be used, and so wreck the edges a lot, and have to sharpen much more often than someone using them for what I make them for :}
the second big one is where to end the handle material on the ricasso. I like to take it up a bit higher to where it meets the point, and then round the point off a bit. that way the handle scales soften that point so that its not so hard on the hand in different grips.
the finish also. I usually stop at about a 400 grit finish. it doesn't show off the hardening line as well as your nicer finish, but also the scratches that will happen with a kydex sheath blend in a bit better with the coarser finish.
but man you got some finishing skills that is for sure :} that koa is especially nice looking!
Hey thanks Joe!
I was hoping you would reply;)
I thought that you hardend at the way through the finger choil because you couldn't avoid it with how you heat it in the kiln? I guess I always thought that have any hardend steel in the ricasso(with this design) was a bad idea so I have always tried to keep it just in the blade(or petering out just at the start of the choil). What do you think? I usually use 3/32" stock on my neckers and I haven't really noticed flexing problems, But I could be wrong. I guess me using 3/32" stock is another thing we do differently;)
the second big one is where to end the handle material on the ricasso. I like to take it up a bit higher to where it meets the point, and then round the point off a bit. that way the handle scales soften that point so that its not so hard on the hand in different grips.
Humm, that's interesting that that would be the second big differences. Seems like if you had the wood up higher eventually aren't you going to ware the wood away and have a sharp untouched corner there? I like to have my wood a little bit lower so I can fully buff and round that spot so it's not sharp and won't be sharp if the wood shrinks or somthing. Having it lower also seems to make it a little bit more defined and in turn more secure in the hand.
This is a good point and I'll have to look at it further to decide how I want to keep doing it.
the finish also. I usually stop at about a 400 grit finish. it doesn't show off the hardening line as well as your nicer finish, but also the scratches that will happen with a kydex sheath blend in a bit better with the coarser finish.
Are you talking about the blade finish? Cause that IS a 400 grit blade finish;) I don't want to spend all day sanding away...I will admit though, there are several things that I do to make the knife look nicer and really don't add to the practical value(they hopefully don't take either;)) but I really take a lot of joy and pride in making them look nice to so I work a little more than maybe necessary to make them look nice, just because I want to;) I figure pretty much any finish is gonna look like crap after a year of hard use anyway but I want to have it look nice of a little while of its life but in the end I still don't want to trade looks for how it works.
but man you got some finishing skills that is for sure :} that koa is especially nice looking!
Thanks Joe! it's not that hard really I just decide to spend more time there. I debated using the Koa; I wasn't sure if you would like it or not but I had a scrap peice that was the right size and I figured why not?
Thank for your input Joe! I do really appreciate it!
DR.....
