Knives I Make

Discussion in 'Blades' started by Valkman, Aug 19, 2005.


  1. Valkman

    Valkman Knifemaker Moderator Emeritus Founding Member

    Right now I have 2 models. a Utility with a 3 3/4" blade and a small Utility (real ingenious names) with a 2" blade.

    Utility - these have ironwood handles but they could also have G10, Micarta or various stabilized woods.

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    Small Utility - These have G10 handles and can also have wood or Micarta.

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    [​IMG]
     
  2. Bear

    Bear Monkey+++ Founding Member Iron Monkey

    Very Nice Indeed !!!!!..... is that a temper line I see?????..... hmmmm.... next thing you know yer gonna be making swords that rival Wally Hayes' b::
     
    AmericanRedoubt1776 likes this.
  3. melbo

    melbo Hunter Gatherer Administrator Founding Member

    You can send me some demos any time Don!!
     
  4. Valkman

    Valkman Knifemaker Moderator Emeritus Founding Member

    I ground 2 of the larger Utility blades in Damascus and they came out nice - problem is I don't know what kind of edge they'll have or if they hold up. I heat treated them but they ground much easier than O1. I hope they make good knives - they look good! I have to figure out the proper etching for the final finish.
     
  5. monkeyman

    monkeyman Monkey+++ Moderator Emeritus Founding Member

    What are the metals in the damascus you used? I dont know you that well and dont know how familiar you are with metalergy so please dont take offence if Im stateing the obvious, but you do know what damascus is right? It originated when the options in metal were hard and brittle, which took and held a great edge and could cleave other metals but one slightly off (or even not off) strike on it and it shattered like glass, or soft metal that had some give and would bend as needed without breaking but wouldnt take or hold a decent edge and was easily cut. There was little to nothing in the middle and better tempered steels werent around so someone got the idea to weld together hard and soft metals, fold them over, weld them again and repeat several times, generaly considered the more times the better. The result was that if done properly it would take and hold an edge as well as or better than hard metal alone but was able to have a bit of give and not break. So, all the damascuss realy is is 2 or more different kinds of metal welded and folded together multiple times and especialy in modern time it can be ANY kinds of metal and called damascus, so if they used low grade metals to make the damascus from it would likely result in a material still lower quality than a high quality single metal.
    Like I say you likely already know all of this but Im sure there will be folks comeing through who dont know anything about damascus steel other than that it looks cool with its 'grain' or fold pattern and is proclaimed to be high quality, so this should give them an idea what is being discussed.
    Anyhow, do you know what the materials were that they used in the damascus you got to make them from? That should tell you fairly well about what to expect from it as a blade.
     
  6. Valkman

    Valkman Knifemaker Moderator Emeritus Founding Member

    All I know about it is it's made from a carbon steel and heat treats the same as O1. Sheffield's sells it for much cheaper than regular Damascus so I thought I'd try it - especially in case I ruined it. The stainless Damascus I have, now that's good stuff but I have to send it out for HT.

    I'll finish and sharpen one of these and see how it cuts and how the edge holds up.
     
  7. monkeyman

    monkeyman Monkey+++ Moderator Emeritus Founding Member

    If you want aTRUELY difficult art to master that is likely to pizz you off trying to get a grasp of it, set up a forge and start trying to do hand made damascus forge welding the metals together then drawing the result out so you can fold and forge weld again, and again, and again....until it has that butiful 'grain' or fold pattern and then hammer that into the knife, touch it up with a file or if needed a grinder then heat treat it, sharpen it up, add a handle and if you can part with it start the bidding around $700+. The guy who taught me to forge was an absolute master of damascus steel, I could barely do it at all. Another thing that is a LOT less labor intensive and LOOKS almost exactly the same, even makes a passably decent knife though not even in the same league it cable. Take just a piece of heavey cable and forge weld it so the fibers become one piece. Sorry I just love working it glowing with a hammer. [drooling]
     
  8. Seacowboys

    Seacowboys Senior Member Founding Member

    Those are some very pragmatic looking designs, Valkman. A friend of mine uses corn-cobs filled with polymers to make some of the prettiest handles I've seen. WHat would you sell one of the little skinners for?
     
  9. Valkman

    Valkman Knifemaker Moderator Emeritus Founding Member

    Sorry SeaCowboys, didn't see this until now - those are $125 with a custom fitted leather sheath and will not only last forever but are guaranteed forever!

    I'd like to see those corn-cob handles - I love original stuff like that. :)
     
  10. TLynn

    TLynn Monkey+++ Moderator Emeritus Founding Member

    SeaCowboys - they're nice knives!

    And boy oh boy am I sure glad I got one of his earlier ones. The better he gets the higher the price (which is only right since they are definitely improving). :D
     
  11. Valkman

    Valkman Knifemaker Moderator Emeritus Founding Member

    I'm going to make the small ones $125 with a sheath and the large ones $150, and I plan on keeping the prices there for a while. I can never sell that many because I can't make them very fast but hopefully I will get better and more efficient and make more than $5/hour. :)
     
  12. Valkman

    Valkman Knifemaker Moderator Emeritus Founding Member

    I should raise them both to $250 so I can buy more Case knives! hahahahahaha
     
  13. ghrit

    ghrit Bad company Administrator Founding Member

  14. Valkman

    Valkman Knifemaker Moderator Emeritus Founding Member

    You got it! Thanks!
     
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