This knife was a custom order for a U.S. Army veteran who had been stationed in Germany while serving in the 10th Special Forces Group during the 1960s. I made it here in my new shop in Garmisch-Partenkirchen, just a short drive from where he had been stationed all those years ago.
The blade is forged, differentially hardened C105 (the German version of W1) and the handle is ancient German bog oak. The guard and pin are stainless steel.
The tang extends through the handle to form a small pommel and lanyard attachment point. This little design feature was something I hadn't tried before, and it added quite a bit of extra work, but I really like the way it came out, and from a functional perspective I think it's definitely worth doing again.
Your comments, questions and critiques are of course welcomed.
P.S. for those that don't know me, I just moved here to southern Germany a little over a year ago and had to set up a new shop from scratch in a rented home in a small mountain village in a foreign country where everything is twice as expensive as it is in America, so my productivity over the past year or so has been very slow, but I'm finally getting back into the swing of things here and enjoying myself to no end. Hopefully I'll be able to get some more work posted here before too much longer!
very nice lines on that one.... I like it a lot.
I really like that Derrick. Excellent work.
Nice work, Derrick! I'm sure the owner will like it!
Russell
That is really nice Derrick. I really like that bog oak. Going to be a very happy customer. I hope everything is going well over there.
Brion
Brion Tomberlin
Anvil Top Custom Knives
ABS Mastersmith
Outstanding work Derrick! I really like it.
Dan Cassidy
Journeyman Smith
Send an email to Dan
Very nice Derrick!!!
Cool knive, Derrick! The oak looks like wengé, very nice. I did some experiments for the first time with clay (tanx 4 the info, Derrick) and I'm wondering if there's a golden rule for the dimensions of the hardened steel?
Chrs
Thanks guys, I appreciate your comments.
Christophe, let me know how things go. Have you been quenching in Durixol or did you try water?
I like that. Very nice.
Dale
Dale Huckabee
Journeyman Smith
dalehuckabeeknives.weebly.com
Now that's my kind of knife! I really enjoy your success with that one.
And I love the tang extension aspect. Very creative.
Nothing to not like about that one.
Karl B. Andersen
Journeyman Smith
Have to agree, nothing not to like with that one. Good job!
Thanks for sharing.
Gary
I know bog oak is something used in Europe a great deal...and I notice the open look of the grain of the wood. Not specifically bog oak, but in general, have you ever thought of filling open grained wood with a filler before finishing and if so, what is the process and materials you use?
Thanks again for the kind words, gents
Ray,
I rather like the open grain structure of ancient bog oak, as it provides nice texture and character to the finished look and feels great in the hand. If I wanted a more closed or tighter grain I'd probably just use African blackwood instead.
As far as the finishing process goes, as long as it's a good, well-dried piece of wood it really doesn't need anything more than a proper oil finish. Everyone has their own recipe, but I generally just use boiled linseed oil. It helps to cut the oil with turpentine to aid in penetration on the first few coats, and to wait a few days and sand lightly between the last few coats, but after that you should be good to go. I know that some folks like to have their bog oak stabilized, and others claim good results with CA glue, but I've never felt compelled to try these other methods so I can't add much there.
