Hidden tang utility knife with all leather handle
Jul 2, 2008 18:32:00 GMT
Post by Matt993f.o.d on Jul 2, 2008 18:32:00 GMT
This one was a nightmare to make. Blade is made from an old Morris Minor leaf spring. Handle features a hidden tang, and is made from stacked leather discs from old leather belt stock. The whole project took me 5 whole working days, as the leather working was a NIGHTMARE. Although it is a really comfy handle, warm to the touch and comfy to grip and handle, I wouldnt do it again as it was so much work.
The blade is flat ground, hardened in water and tempered to a brown colour in the oven. It is RAZOR sharp, and can cut 2ltr plastic bottles in half with one swipe. Not its intended use. Really, it is just a utility knife. General purpose. The blade is finished to 2000 grit, and lightly buffed. The handle discs were cut out, roughly shaped, fitted to the tang, softened, compressed, refitted, sanded as smooth as possible then refitted AGAIN. Now you can see why it was such a big job! The handle is octagonal in section, and butts up against a large washer, which was filed to slot over the tang, then mig welded to the blade. I was nervous that this would introduce stresses that would affect the heat treatment, but this proved unfounded.
Here is the knife from the side;
A close up of the blade. It has a film of oil on it at the moment. The edge appears ripply as it was finished with an edgemate sharpening tool after being honed on an oilstone; I will strop it to remove this effect.
Here is an aspect shot of the blade and handle;
And one of the securing nut and washer;
I am proud of this piece. The handle, for its comfort and feel was worth it for the work, if not QUITE as aesthetically pleasing as I would like. All the same, this is a real user knife, and will see lots of abuse, so doesnt have to be perfectly pretty.
Since finishing this, I have already finished forging and rough grinding another herb chopping knife, in a different style from the last. It should be finished at the weekend, hopefully. Next I will be making a full tang craft knife for my girlfriend, with lots of nice decorations, and my project after that will be a small camp knife with a very special handle that is a suprise. I had a windfall in the way of a bucket of worn out files which will provide lots of nice knifemaking stock for me to use over the coming months.
The blade is flat ground, hardened in water and tempered to a brown colour in the oven. It is RAZOR sharp, and can cut 2ltr plastic bottles in half with one swipe. Not its intended use. Really, it is just a utility knife. General purpose. The blade is finished to 2000 grit, and lightly buffed. The handle discs were cut out, roughly shaped, fitted to the tang, softened, compressed, refitted, sanded as smooth as possible then refitted AGAIN. Now you can see why it was such a big job! The handle is octagonal in section, and butts up against a large washer, which was filed to slot over the tang, then mig welded to the blade. I was nervous that this would introduce stresses that would affect the heat treatment, but this proved unfounded.
Here is the knife from the side;
A close up of the blade. It has a film of oil on it at the moment. The edge appears ripply as it was finished with an edgemate sharpening tool after being honed on an oilstone; I will strop it to remove this effect.
Here is an aspect shot of the blade and handle;
And one of the securing nut and washer;
I am proud of this piece. The handle, for its comfort and feel was worth it for the work, if not QUITE as aesthetically pleasing as I would like. All the same, this is a real user knife, and will see lots of abuse, so doesnt have to be perfectly pretty.
Since finishing this, I have already finished forging and rough grinding another herb chopping knife, in a different style from the last. It should be finished at the weekend, hopefully. Next I will be making a full tang craft knife for my girlfriend, with lots of nice decorations, and my project after that will be a small camp knife with a very special handle that is a suprise. I had a windfall in the way of a bucket of worn out files which will provide lots of nice knifemaking stock for me to use over the coming months.