My knife builds

OP
R
Joined
Dec 23, 2020
Messages
349
This is one I have wanted to try for a while. Its my version of a Ray Mears "woodlore" knife. These are a bushcraft knife, so would normally have a scandi grind, but I did this one as a flat grind since its going to a guy who spends more time taking deer apart than making fire sticks or snares or caving out cups.

The blade is 3.5mm NitroV steel, with a tapered tang. The handle is Gidgee, with brass Loveless bolts and thin red liners. My first time using Loveless bolts, and I used Ubeaut Aussie Oil as the finish on the handle for the first time.

IMG-3342.jpg


IMG-3346.jpg


IMG-3349.jpg


IMG-3355.jpg
 
OP
R
Joined
Dec 23, 2020
Messages
349
This one is a bushcrafter profile with a high saber grind. The edge is taken down very thin, so might be better suited to game prep duties than hard core bushcrafting.

The blade is NitroV. Handles are "espresso micarta" with orange G10 liners & pins and brass tube. After sanding, the handle has been dipped in tung oil and buffed with a food safe wax to bring the colour out a bit.

IMG-3587.jpg


IMG-3590.jpg


IMG-3595.jpg


IMG-3597.jpg




Video of the edge test after sharpening
 

Shoot870p

FNG
Joined
Sep 17, 2023
Messages
14
Hi mate. Thanks for the feedback. I appreciate it. Glad you like it.

Yes, I am in Australia. I am making these essentially as a hobby, but with the goal of getting to a standard that I am happy to take money from people for my work. For the last few years I have been giving them to people I know who hunt a lot to get feedback, or I use them myself. I want to hear how they perform as user knife whether its good or bad so that I can improve.

Send me a PM. I am happy to send you that knife if you dont mind paying postage. If you use it in the field, I would love to get photographs of the knife in use. Thats the best form of testing in my opinion.
That is an awesome offer on a great looking knife!
shoot870p
 
OP
R
Joined
Dec 23, 2020
Messages
349
I was asked by one of the members on an Australian hunting forum to make a knife to a design he liked. The blade is magnacut steel with a tapered tang. Handle scales are Terotuf with G10 liners & pins. I like how it came up and it feels very good in the hand. Magnacut takes a bit of work to form the edge, but with a bit of stopping it came up very sharp.

IMG-3645.jpg


IMG-3649.jpg


IMG-3651.jpg



IMG-3653.jpg


IMG-3674.jpg


 
OP
R
Joined
Dec 23, 2020
Messages
349
Made a mini version of my Bowie design that should be a good allrounder. Steel is 3mm NitroV with a full flat grind, with a distal taper to the point. Handle material is black Ritchlite with green G10 liners & pins.

IMG-3919-1.jpg



IMG-3924.jpg


IMG-3929.jpg


IMG-3933.jpg
 

TxxAgg

WKR
Joined
Dec 27, 2019
Messages
2,147
I was asked by one of the members on an Australian hunting forum to make a knife to a design he liked. The blade is magnacut steel with a tapered tang. Handle scales are Terotuf with G10 liners & pins. I like how it came up and it feels very good in the hand. Magnacut takes a bit of work to form the edge, but with a bit of stopping it came up very sharp.

IMG-3645.jpg


IMG-3649.jpg


IMG-3651.jpg



IMG-3653.jpg


IMG-3674.jpg


My favorite one yet!
 
OP
R
Joined
Dec 23, 2020
Messages
349
Worried I might lose these in the bush... or maybe not.

I made these two separately, but then decided to handle them as a pair. Steel on the hunting knife is 3.8mm Elmax, and the zipper blade is 3 mm SF100. The hunting knife has a tapered tang and a full flat grind. The zipper is a weird steep grind using a very small contact wheel. Both have blaze orange G10 handles, with fluro green G10 liners and pins. I forgot to etch my makers mark on the zipper blade, but I can still go back and do that. Sorry the photos are not great - the lighting was a bit inconsistent this morning.

IMG-4294.jpg


IMG-4297.jpg


IMG-4304-1.jpg


IMG-4309.jpg
 

Musky

Lil-Rokslider
Joined
Dec 27, 2021
Messages
141
Location
Minnesnowta
Regarding the taper tangs. I understand drilling the holes square because you can't line them up after the fact, especially if they aren't a solid color of scales. I forget the term, the scales with a bunch of different materials making a design or pattern of sorts. Anyways, do you ever have alignment issues when trying to glue them up? As technically, from a manufacturing point of view, the holes are straight through each of the scales. However once mounted the distance between the holes changes (*edit* aand the angles) for the scales due to the taper tang.

I suppose the harder material used may lend itself to cracking vs softer materials? I suppose using G10 for handles and pins allows some flexibility?

Great looking knives, especially for a novice! Currently finalizing designs on a hunting style knife in a bunch of AEB-L. I've only ever made 1 knife this far, for my old man one christmas. Turned out ok for some 1095 and a redneck heat treat.
 
OP
R
Joined
Dec 23, 2020
Messages
349
Regarding the taper tangs. I understand drilling the holes square because you can't line them up after the fact, especially if they aren't a solid color of scales. I forget the term, the scales with a bunch of different materials making a design or pattern of sorts. Anyways, do you ever have alignment issues when trying to glue them up? As technically, from a manufacturing point of view, the holes are straight through each of the scales. However once mounted the distance between the holes changes (*edit* aand the angles) for the scales due to the taper tang.

I suppose the harder material used may lend itself to cracking vs softer materials? I suppose using G10 for handles and pins allows some flexibility?

Great looking knives, especially for a novice! Currently finalizing designs on a hunting style knife in a bunch of AEB-L. I've only ever made 1 knife this far, for my old man one christmas. Turned out ok for some 1095 and a redneck heat treat.
Hi mate. Thanks for the comments. I think of myself as an advance novice by now :ROFLMAO::ROFLMAO::ROFLMAO:

Definitely no issues with the handle materials getting any damage while fitting. The most difficult part is keeping the taper grind 100% even across the taper. If I am slightly uneven, you get gaps between the handle material and the steel. At the moment, I am freehanding my tapers, so I can have an uneven grind without noticing it. I want to buy a surface grinder attachment for my grinder, but **** afford it at the moment. Once I have that, I should be able to get very consistent tapers.

Aligning the holes in the handle scales for a tapped tang is a bit tricky and I have been given different advice by different knife makers. When I first started, I was told to pre-drill the holes in the scales while the tang was untapered. That worked pretty well for me on the first knives I tapered and the handles fitted pretty well.

Then, one of the best knife makers in Australia told me that was not the best way. He said I needed to taper the tang, then drill the holes in the handles. He told me to keep the blade dead level, then clamp one side of the handle to the tang, drill through the tang from the top, and drill the hole through the handle which is clamped onto the tang. Then flip the blade around and repeat the process. Thats how I have done the last 5 or so knives and it has worked out well for me.
 

Musky

Lil-Rokslider
Joined
Dec 27, 2021
Messages
141
Location
Minnesnowta
Hi mate. Thanks for the comments. I think of myself as an advance novice by now :ROFLMAO::ROFLMAO::ROFLMAO:

Definitely no issues with the handle materials getting any damage while fitting. The most difficult part is keeping the taper grind 100% even across the taper. If I am slightly uneven, you get gaps between the handle material and the steel. At the moment, I am freehanding my tapers, so I can have an uneven grind without noticing it. I want to buy a surface grinder attachment for my grinder, but **** afford it at the moment. Once I have that, I should be able to get very consistent tapers.

Aligning the holes in the handle scales for a tapped tang is a bit tricky and I have been given different advice by different knife makers. When I first started, I was told to pre-drill the holes in the scales while the tang was untapered. That worked pretty well for me on the first knives I tapered and the handles fitted pretty well.

Then, one of the best knife makers in Australia told me that was not the best way. He said I needed to taper the tang, then drill the holes in the handles. He told me to keep the blade dead level, then clamp one side of the handle to the tang, drill through the tang from the top, and drill the hole through the handle which is clamped onto the tang. Then flip the blade around and repeat the process. Thats how I have done the last 5 or so knives and it has worked out well for me.
Awesome, thanks for the info, I meant no disrespect on the novice thing.
 
Top