Mikeeman
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Post by Mikeeman on Dec 10, 2015 23:35:39 GMT
You can get ultra cheap plates at the Dollar Tree so you don't mess up your good ones.
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Post by chrisperoni on Dec 11, 2015 2:48:41 GMT
That looks like a lot of work to test Left to right: Tom K 1st round Fallen 1st round ? 1st round (sanmarcs nephew I think) Digs 1st round Freq labeled 1st round 1 Fallen 2nd round Freq labeled 1st round 2 Freq labeled 1st round 3 Sanmarc 1st round Sanmarc 2nd round
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Mikeeman
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Post by Mikeeman on Dec 11, 2015 3:39:44 GMT
CHRIS! YOU'RE ALIVE!
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Post by randomnobody on Dec 11, 2015 3:57:11 GMT
So only two for the second bit? Was the "eating knife" round one, then? Third in from the left has Jeffrey's mark, and bears what I've come to think of as his signature mass. This thing is pretty darn heavy. Freq's knives are interesting, if a bit rough. I keep thinking the stuff I've seen him share more recently looks a good deal better than these, but I guess it has been several months now since he made these knives, it's a given he'd be better now. That's not too say these are bad, by no means, just that I'm curious if the man himself would consider these on par with his progress since making them. As they are, his "eating" entry is a good size and has a pleasant shape that feels comfortable to handle, but the smaller knife is a little bit of an odd duck. It's titanium, which is neat, and as such had an interesting color to it. I'm not sure how titanium will really manage as a knife, but we'll see. If I had to nitpick, the grip is bothering me. It looks like a chair leg hollowed out, and for all I know it may be. Not that that's necessarily bad, just gives me an odd sort of impression. As for the third one, Chris, that's labeled as coming from freq's friend Ken. I quite like this one, the dussack style shape (for lack of better description) is novel, but efficient, and pretty well executed. Overall it seems like a good knife, but I paused for a moment when I saw the starting material was a galvanized bolt. I didn't think galvanized stuff was supposed to be forged, something about chemicals and fumes? Anyway, we'll see how it does. Fallen's entries showcase typical fallen workmanship, nothing new to say there. I presume the bigger of the two to be the "eating" entry and it looks a lot like some of the historic replicas I've seen around, I quite like it. His other knife, the EDC, is also done very well. If I had to gripe about it, I'd say the handle is longer than I'd like, especially with the choil. Nicely shaped, though. Marc's knives are the smallest of the lot, and the big-bellied beast with the stag scales has some impressive heft for its size. I'm not sure what the bolsters are, but I'd wager that's where the weight comes from, as that's where it all sits. I'm not sure it's visible in the photo, but there's a very subtle finger groove there, too, and on the spine a very gentle slope, which combine to offer an excellent sense of control despite the weight. The rivets on the bolsters are spaced just enough to allow the pad of the thumb in on one side and the knuckle of the index finger in on the other side for a more typical slicing sort of grip that is, once again, at a very good point for controlling the blade. His other knife is, quite the contrary, much lighter, owed largely to a narrower blade and that "broken back" shape. Digs' knife is probably the most unique design of the group, and among the top on finish, but man, it's a lot heavier than I expected it to be, and I'm not really sure how I feel about the handle other than "skinny"... Tom's, well, Tom: stop cheating. Magic's not allowed. I don't know how you're managing to keep making knives like this, but I'm getting the feeling ritual sacrifices are a part of it. Either whole goats or virgin blood, surely one or the other is on the pyre. Don't try to hide it, it's obvious. Anyway, considering many of these have some pretty bad burrs or completely rolled edges, I'll be giving them all a round on the steel before getting too deep into testing. I've tried to refrain from modifying any edges before testing, but I'm thinking these have been idle for so long they probably need a little attention. Pretty much every knife I buy for myself spends a few minutes on the steel for the same reasons, so I hope nobody minds this time around. For now, I'm going to call it a night and turn in. Work 11a-7:30p tomorrow, and if it's anything like yesterday, I won't get to actually leave until after 8, and home will be closer to 9... I leave you with a quick snap of some of the cardboard I've prepared for the thruster round, 46 "squares" (close enough) of roughly 8x8 inches, give or take. I'll probably do one more of the bigger boxes I have, and the rest will be used to test the EDC prelim round.
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Post by freq on Dec 11, 2015 5:49:23 GMT
i think your initial impressions are quite interesting re my prelim rounds,actually glad to have feedback from someone who isnt a friend with no idea who just goes wooo knife, would have to say i think i could have done better now than what i did for first round but wasn't going all out on a "warm up " round lol, so yeah could do better now, i think, and you were pretty close on the titanium one was actually part of a broken cane, i just threw it in for fun because you hardly see Ti knives just chucked on a handle from something i had laying around to get it in under the wire, as for ken/azraels galvanized bolt, its the zinc oxide your not supposed to breathe in, but since were on an out door forge its not too bad, and it makes such pretty green/yellow smoke lol
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Post by Adrian Jordan on Dec 11, 2015 6:59:26 GMT
I'm really looking forward to seeing how the titanium hold up as well. A lot of talk about how it doesn't make a good blade steel from most, while there is a small contingent that suggests that it's just fine.
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Post by randomnobody on Dec 12, 2015 1:13:24 GMT
I just spent a good chunk of time going over all the prelim knives and working out the rolled edges. First was the old butcher's steel, a few swipes either side until I couldn't feel it anymore or it had suitably diminished, then the canvas side of my razor strop to finish the job. Almost all the knives went from blunt to hair-popping, or very close, with very little effort. Granted, some didn't really need the help (fallen, Digs, Tom) but in the interest of fairness, everybody got something. Not all knives fared tremendously well for it. Freq's titanium blade actually came away from the steel with a couple of small chips, which I took the liberty of removing with one of my "fine" stones. I'm not sure whether it's surprising to those who know more about titanium than I do, but it actually responded quite well to the stone. Biggest chip is still not entirely gone, but I tried not to go overboard and not completely redo the edge; stuck as close as I could to the original. It's not remarkably sharp, and still somewhat jagged, but I'm guessing that's one of the downfalls of titanium. Marc's knives decided to be polar opposites of each other. His big, beefy creation is now quite sharp, impressively so, but the smaller sax-like blade is still rather...not. Has quite the fat bevel, that one, so I'm thinking that's part of what's taking from it. In handling it more, I've come to really like the big one. It's not quite the same sort of size and proportions I typically go for, but it strikes me as being very easy to handle and maneuver, despite its weight. I feel like it would make for a great skinner, if I were the hunting sort. Ken's knife also saw a significant transformation with just a little attention; it had rolled pretty badly, but is now very nearly hair-popping sharp, and could probably be brought up without much more effort. A few more swipes on the strop would do it, but again, I'm not trying to completely redo the edges, just bring back what was there initially, before the rolling. I have to say, though, the most surprising transformation goes to Jeffrey's knife. When I first checked it out, my impressions were of an oversize chakmak (see here: www.thekhukurihouse.com/catalog/product.php?id=323033f87 ) but is now surprisingly sharp. It's not quite hair-popping, but you can definitely feel it biting now. Speaking of crazy edges, I had a chuckle at the difference in texture on Tom's knife, between the flat and primary bevel and the edge. With a much, much higher grit finish, the polish of the edge bevel is mirror-like, but "sticky" somehow, whereas the main body of the blade is in a (comparatively) "coarser" polish/finish, but feels much more "slick" to the touch. I use my thumb to clean my blades, gets whatever sticky messes and dried oil off 'em, and it was while doing this with Tom's knife that I noticed the difference. Along the width of the blade, my thumb would glide over without much resistance, but once I got to the edge, it would stick with the same amount of pressure. Really weird, I'd have thought to encounter the exact opposite. Anyway, that's all I've managed to get done today; just a little more one-on-one time, getting to know these knives before figuring out how to put them through the paces. On which note, lemme just make sure I'm looking at them right... I'm certain I have makers right, but if the makers would be so kind as to remind me which round each knife is for. Those of you with only one entry, just say either "EDC" or "Eating" and those of you with two, assign the former to either 1 or 2. For instance, I'm guessing FALLEN 1 is "Eating" and FALLEN 2 is "EDC" and so on. If you submitted multiple knives for the same round, just say so as applicable. plkthx<3
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Post by DigsFossils-n-Knives on Dec 12, 2015 1:24:01 GMT
Mine was for EDC
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Post by randomnobody on Dec 12, 2015 1:51:52 GMT
Thought so. Thanks, Digs.
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SanMarc
Senior Forumite
Posts: 3,193
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Post by SanMarc on Dec 12, 2015 3:34:59 GMT
the heavy one with the copper bolsters is for the EDC and the smaller one is for eating....
SanMarc.
(Good job so far man.. ;) )
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Post by randomnobody on Dec 12, 2015 3:41:31 GMT
Ah, nice. I do really like that heavy one, and was hoping that would be the EDC. The other one just feels too lightweight for much of anything, makes sense that's the "eating" knife.
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TomK
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Post by TomK on Dec 12, 2015 4:05:55 GMT
The super shiny bit is from the leather belt stropping I do after progressing up to 800 grit. It may feel sticky but it will slide through whatever you cut
Sometimes the edge is so smooth it doesn't feel sharp but then you notice the blood. This one isn't very sharp by my standards but it should hold its edge well. O1 is good like that.
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Post by freq on Dec 12, 2015 4:18:38 GMT
looks right to me as only did one round the eating knife, "official" entry was the non ti knife, interesting that the ti chipped, but not surprised its not shaving sharp ,its harder than hell to get "sharp, sharp" as its apparently "sticky" metal its like trying to grind aluminum but with bright white sparks, i threw it in as a kind of a gag entry, thought it would be fun to put through its paces and give away since ive got a couple of things i previously made from ti hanging around, and since the challenge for the eating knife was that it wasnt able to be chipped by ceramic (plate) i think, so figured titaniums believed to be near indestructible why not make an entry out of that lol
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Post by randomnobody on Dec 12, 2015 4:47:37 GMT
Tom: I'm just amused by the texture differences. Most of my knives are pretty uniform in finish, including the stropped edges. Although, it wouldn't surprise me if the edges on most of them are actually at a "lower" finish than the body. Many are "mirror polished" but I think the stone I use on them is only 800 grit, then the canvas strop, then the leather.
Freq: I might spend some more time on the titanium knife, if only because I'm genuinely curious to see where it can be taken and how long it staus there. May or may not count it in as an "official" part of the test...
I'm thinking, though, that ease of sharpening should be a factor of judging for the EDC round, but that'll be after I've tested them all. Starting with printer paper, moving to cardboard, rope, wood (either dowels or random bits of sticks) them back to the paper before getting any touchups that may be needed for continued use. I'm thinking I really should clean up the edge a bit more on the titanium knife, we'll see.
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Post by freq on Dec 12, 2015 5:05:20 GMT
go for it, have some fun with it im not worried
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Post by randomnobody on Dec 12, 2015 5:09:01 GMT
Oops, I had edited that post just a few seconds after submitting it, but it turns out the "save changes" button didn't take. Well, whatever. It's past my bedtime~
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Post by Croccifixio on Dec 12, 2015 6:29:43 GMT
:( Feel for you. I normally use Word since I've habituated saving every 5 minutes. Then transfer it to the forums later (for long posts like reviews)
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Post by balimund21 on Dec 13, 2015 20:06:01 GMT
Yes that is my entry for the edc round
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Post by randomnobody on Dec 13, 2015 20:08:32 GMT
Cool, thanks Jeffrey. Stout thing, hefty.
On which note, I should get some measurements...weight, length, and thickness at least.
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Post by randomnobody on Dec 14, 2015 22:23:07 GMT
Got some single photos and measurements together. Figure I'll throw 'em up here so at least you'll all have something to look at while I get more stuff done. I'm thinking I'll test all the EDC knives first, then come back to the "eating" knives. First test will be classic paper shearing, using standard print stock. Second will be cutting into the leftover rope from the chopper/fighter round. Difference here being, rather than try to cut the rope in a single swing (which I failed horribly at in the other round, anyway), I will instead be cutting the rope in more of a "sawing" type fashion, which one might be more likely to use with a smaller knife versus thick rope. Next I'll be buying some dowels, probably some thin ones (1/4" or so?) and "whittling" them to points, chopping off said points, and repeating; twice for each knife. I figure that should be enough of a test for carving use. At some point, I haven't decided when yet, I'll be cutting loads of corrugated cardboard that I've got lying around being useless and getting in my way. This may be between paper and rope, or it may be after the dowels, I haven't decided. I think of cardboard as a bit more aggressive on an edge than some woods, but that of course depends on which wood I find dowels in, be it pine, oak, or whatever. Anyway, whatever order those go in, the last test will be revisiting paper, to check on edge retention. Any knife with significant edge loss will then be sharpened to judge the ease of doing so; eg. if a knife doesn't keep a good edge through all this, it had better be easy to put a good edge back onto. I'm open to other suggestions, as well. Meanwhile, specs for each knife are as follows, same order as the original photo, from left to right: Tom K (EDC) Overall: Length – 10.25”/26cm Weight – 9.2oz/262g PoB - -0.5”/-1.3cm Blade: Length – 5.5”/14cm Width – 1.46”/3.7cm with nearly symmetrical concave taper to 0.64”/1.6cm 1” from tip Thicknes – 0.19”/0.5cm tapering to 0.09”/0.2cm 1” from tip Grip: Length - 4.5”/11.5cm Width - Min. 0.93”/2.4cm, Max. 1.1”/2.8cm, slight recurve Thickness - Min. 0.62”/1.5cm, Max 0.75”/1.9cm, convex Minor nick in edge, fingerprint for scale: Fallen (Eating) Overall: Length – 11”/28cm Weight – 6oz/171g PoB - -0.5”/-1.3cm Blade: Length – 6.5”/16.5cm Width – Base 1.05”/2.7cm, Belly 1.15”/2.1cm, 0.55”/1.4cm 1” from tip Thickness – 0.2”/0.5cm tapering to 0.08”/0.2cm 1” from tip Grip: Length – 4.25”/10.9cm Width – Min. 0.65”/1.6cm Max 1”/2.5cm, mostly even/slightly concave taper on finger side Thickness – Min. 0.77”/2cm, Max 0.9”/2.3cm Jeffrey (EDC) Overall: Length – 9”/23cm Weight – 9.8oz/279g PoB - -0.5”/-1.3cm Blade: Length – 4.75”/12cm Width – 1.22”/3.1cm swells to 1.28”/3.2cm, tapers slightly then curves into tip Thickness – 0.23”/0.6cm tapers to 0.19”/0.4cm Grip: Length – 4.1”/10.5cm Width – Min. 1.16”/2.9cm, Max 1.2”/3cm Thickness – Min 0.5”/1.3cm, Max 0.81”/2.1cm, slightly concave taper Digs (EDC) Overall: Length – 9.75”/25cm Weight – 9.3oz/263g PoB – 0”/0cm Blade: Length – 5.75”/13.5cm Width – 1.43”/3.6cm at base, little taper along edge, clip on spine; 0.75”.=/1.9cm 1” from tip Thickness – 0.27”/0.6cm tapering to 0.17”/0.4cm 1” from tip Grip: Length – 4.06”/10.4cm Width – Min. 0.72”/1.8cm, Max 1”/2.5cm, convex taper Thickness 0.75”/1.9cm throughout Freq (Eating) Overall: Length – 10.25”/26cm Weight – 3.3oz/94g PoB - -0.5”/-1.3cm Blade: Length – 5.75”/13.5cm Width – 0.97”/2.4cm Base, swells to 1.04”/2.7cm, tapers to 0.9”/2.3cm before tip Thickness – 0.08”/2mm throughout Grip: Length – 5”/12.5cm Width – Min. 0.5”/1.3cm, Max 0.77”/2cm Thickness – Min. 0.52”/1.3cm, Max. 0.72”/1.8cm Fallen (EDC) Overall: Length – 9.25”/23.5cm Weight – 4.3oz/123g PoB – -1”/-2.5cm Blade: Length – 4.75”/12cm Width – 0.97”/2.5cm, convex taper both sides to 0.6”/1.5cm 1” from tip Grip: Length – 4.25”/11cm Width – Min. 0.75”/1.9cm, Max. 0.95”/2.4cm Thickness – Min. 0.66”/1.6cm, Max. 0.69”/1.7cm And I've hit the attachment limit, so pardon me while I make another post...
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