Homemade O1 knife after a long break

[cb3725]

Since discovering paddling last summer, I have given almost no time to metalwork. My personality is such that when a new interest comes along, it's pursued to the exclusion of most my other hobbies - at least for a while. I'm sure there is some psychological flaw diagnosis in there somewhere, but that isn't the point here! About two weeks ago, this picture of a knife came into my head, and initially, I hunted for a place to purchase one like it. I drool shamelessly over the work of Rick Marchand at Wildertools, and all of my favorite knives possess some level of primitive styling to them. Plenty of others have also put this style to good use too, for sure, I just think Rick does it very well. However, his work is a bit beyond my spending reach, though I am certain it is worth the cost. Instead, I had a length of O1 remaining from last year's knives, and it was just enough for the 7" pattern I worked up.

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Design laid out on the O1, I rough cut what I can with the angle grinder. A bandsaw would make quicker, more precise work of this step, I think.

The Harbor Freight 1x30 belt grinder is still going strong, and those Cubitron belts are incredible for taking off material quickly.

Most of the knives I've made before were scandi grinds, but for this one, I wanted an almost full flat grind leading to a convexed edge. I grind by hand with a little jig use here and there, so I suspect that my grinds don't fit the exact definition of any one type.

A little gun blue and bleach to age the metal a bit...

Into the one-brick forge for the heat treat

And after the heat treat and tempering...

The handle was nothing fancy, but I tried to pair it with the same primitive look - scorched oak scales with a fiberglassed jute wrap over the top. I sanded the jute down to a comfortable smoothness and ended up putting a tiny secondary edge on after the pic below was taken. The angle I had on it was just too steep and it was chipping a little.

Of course, it's no Wildertool for sure, but it'll do for me and especially for just a few dollars and a lot of time!

 

[Razor Blade]

good job.

 

[georgiaboy]

That's cool. I too think Rick Marchand does some impressive and original looking work.

Can you fill me in on how you did the epoxy soaking on your jute? I am close to doing something similar on some myself. I think I understand but you may have tips.

 

[cb3725]

Can you fill me in on how you did the epoxy soaking on your jute? I am close to doing something similar on some myself. I think I understand but you may have tips.

Its pretty straightfoward. I use the polyester fb resin from Ace. For just a top wrap like the one above, just a half ounce is more than enough. I go ahead and wrap the layer around the handle dry. Then I burn off the little pieces sticking out every which way. Then on go the latex gloves and I just work the resin into the jute by hand. Once it's soaked, I wipe of the resin if it's gotten on the wood or metal and let it cure overnight. Once cured, I sand it with 120 grit paper, rinse and finish with a coal of either boiled linseed oil or poly.

 

[fishbum2000]

Kewl lookin' knife

 

[flintlocker]

Nice work

 

[georgiaboy]

10-4 thanks. That's about how I'd imagined it. I figure I'll blot any excess on the cord up and then clean the metal with acetone and alcohol like normal.

 

[Anvil Head]

Not bad neighbor.

 

[bbs383ci]

neat little knife good job

 

[bigelow]

Cool knife.

 

[IFLY4U]

Very nice

 

[GAstumpshooter]

nice work really like the handle