Knife stuff....

[drmarkr]

and some leather. I guess this qualifies as "Fabrication and Techniques"?? These were all purchased blades, as I haven't waded into using my wife's kiln for actual heat treating yet (but I for certain will be doing so)....the leather stuff is almost as much fun as the knifemaking, but it damn sure takes a lot of time.

Made this fixed blade for a good friend. Tanto/drop point, black palm scales, custom sheath:

Made this little skinner with mesquite scales and a horizontal carry sheath:

Lock blade with sycamore scales....I kind of like the blond wood!

Made this case to carry my folders....pigskin lined and horizontal carry as well...

Haven't started the sheath for this one yet:

 

[lisiecki1]

I love that skinner!!!

 

[DoghouseForge]

Those all look fantastic! The blond wood is beautiful ..almost iridescent.
the yellow heartwood I use has qualities like that but not as rich.

As for tempering my wife's kiln (oven) has worked well. Two 1 hour sessions at 425deg with natural cool down in between.

The leather work is beautiful. I imagine that its a slow patient process.

Thanks for sharing the pics... I'm gonna have to raise the bar for doghouse forge knives now! Those blades are so clean! And crisp!

JP

 

[Amitygravel]

Nice work drmarkr !
I've used black palm before too , neat stuff.
Very nice leather work too.
What are you using for sealing the wood ?

 

[drmarkr]

Several coats of Tru-Oil is what I used on these. Used some 220 sand paper to sand each coat, dipped in the Tru Oil. Final coat was just the oil, applied with a gloved finger and smoothed. Some guys do that with Lemon Oil, but it worked nicely like this.

Doghouse, as I mentioned, those blades were purchased (WoodRiver) but I do have some D20 tool steel on the shelf awaiting my custom designs! Just need a little more time to mess with the kiln before I do, now that I have that Grinder-in-a-box finished!!

 

[DoghouseForge]

Oh...sorry. : )

I thought you purchased the folding knives .... I remembered the belt sander you built from polar bear forge and assumed you were making them... probably should pay attention next time... lol...I got excited about another knife maker to follow...

Reguardless ... for myself, the handling is the most enjoyable part of the process. Its the moment when all the hours of "grind, cool, grind, cool, repeat " finally turn into the picture inside your head. Your handle work is clean and it shows your attention to detail.

When you talk about your heat treating process, are you planning to do the tempering before you grind or after your rough shape is finished? Also is D-20 an oil hardened steel or an air hardened steel? I'm personally just starting to learn the correct way to treat the different steels. Personally, I'm going to stay away from the oil hardened variety because it seems to require sandblasting after baking to remove the outer carbon without overheating and ruining your treatment ...

Hopefully we can help each other shorten the learning curve...

I'm jealous of the leatherwork...do you hand stitch all that or do you have an industrial sewing machine tucked in there behind all those motorcross bike/trophies?

Thanks
JP

 

[drmarkr]

It's air hardened....and I'm planning on rough grinding before hardening it. I probably wouldn't be starting with this steel if I didn't have a kiln with computer controls on it. From what I'm reading, it's tricky to harden properly. We'll see how it works out...wish I was already doing the blades, but this has been a pretty steep learning curve.

The leather is hand stitched. I just bought a trailer full of leather and leather supplies ("what are you going to do with all this ****" said the wifey) from an estate sale, and there is a commercial Consew machine in the stuff, but I haven't set it up yet. I'm not even sure if I want to keep the thing yet....gotta try it out and then I'll decide.

I'm really enjoying your thread on forging brother!

 

[Bugeyed Earl]

Nice work, the leather and knives look great!