A while back I had some struggles with a bird and trout knife I'd made-wouldn't hold it's edge. Finally got the kinks worked out and made some more of them along with some hunters. There were some more bumps along the road, but ended up with 5 finished ones.
The bird and trouts started out as 1/16" thick 15n20, so I wanted to carry the slim, light thing through the design with the handle.
I finished 3 of these-Osage, curly Desert Ironwood, and black G10. First time for me using G10 and I like it pretty well. Easy to work and the pattern as you shape it is appealing to me.
Not very good leather, but it holds the knife...
They sliced very well when I tested them. Still shaved hair after cutting several pieces of old stiff leather.
Jeremy Lindley, Apprentice Smith
The hunters are out of 1080 and gave me some headaches along the way. After grinding into the tang pockets, I smashed the handles off on the anvil and got back to slotting more blocks of wood... Here are the two that got finished. One is some figured Maple that I ended up dying. The other is some mystery hard wood a friend gave me a few years ago. He'd had it for several years. It has some nice chatoyance and is really hard stuff. A little reddish in color when working it, but after some wet sanding with oil, it darkened a bit and reminded me (and a friend) of Mesquite.
Maple before any dye:
After some dye:
Finished:
Other one-same blade as the Maple one:
These turned out relatively well, but I still have a ways to go before I'm satisfied with how things come out. If anyone has some suggestions/constructive criticism, please let me know. It's hard to be really objective about your own work sometimes so taking help from others tends to be the mechanism for better results next time. Thanks in advance for the help.
Jeremy
Jeremy Lindley, Apprentice Smith
Hi Jeremy,
To my eye the B&T's handles are a little too slim.
The hunters look great!
Greg
Thanks for your input on the handles. The Osage one is the thinnest out of the three. Handles definitely are an interesting thing... I actually had someone else really like the slim ones, but said the hunter's handles weren't the shape he liked. The one thing I do know is I have a ways to go before I'm completely satisfied with them <img src=' http://www.americanbladesmith.com/ipboard/public/style_emoticons//wink.gi f' class='bbc_emoticon' alt=';)' />. Thanks again.
Jeremy
Jeremy Lindley, Apprentice Smith
Jeremy,
They all look very nice! The finish on all of the knife blades looks great (from what I can see in the pics). I can tell you spent a lot of time on them. I have to say that I really like the lines on the B&T's. I do agree the handles are too thin in width for my taste, but the profile is quite handsome and refined. You mentioned someone had said the handles on the hunters weren't to his liking---I think if you simply shortened the handle and dropped it a little it would make a big difference. Curves are good...they make an object feel more alive. Speaking of curves, I like the shape on the bottom, or finger "groove" part of the handle---looks comfortable. The guard looks proportionate and nicely done as well. Overall I like them...Nice Work!
Ed C.
