Hand ground W1 Integral

[cpirtle]

This one was a side project that I plan on keeping for myself, so it took a while to finish-up.

I picked up some 1" W1 drops last year and have gotten a little tired of forging them out on the anvil, so I decided to play around with doing an integral. I don't have a mill so aside from the flute to hide the cordwrap's pull line (no bulge) and final finishing steps this one is 100% ground on the KMG.

I tried to leave a few area's to show its 1" diameter heritage. Final finishing was a high luster polished blue. Also, you may not there's no edge, I have not had a chance to sharpen it yet

One of the pictures show it with a .17hmr Single Six I finished recently with a set of Carbon Fiber over green G-11 grips and a new holster. I think they go together well.

Thanks for looking!

 

[LHRGunslinger]

Looks like a fun project knife

 

[JShirley]

I really like that.

 

[Piraticalbob]

Very handsome. Looks like the offspring of a mating between a Ka-Bar and the Pilot's Survival Knife, and better made than either. Nothing wrong with W1 as a steel, either. It's old-fashioned, but then, so are 1911A1's, .50 M2's and M14's, all of which can still be found in the inventory of the US military.

 

[heron]

Very nice work; I like it a lot.

Funny how in the last pic, the reflection in the blade makes it look transparent.

 

[bannockburn]

Very well done. I especially like the overall dimensions of the knife and it's understated blade design. Flows quite nicely into the massive hilt section. Looks like it would make for a rather handy field knife.

 

[Stumpknocker]

Excuse my ignorance, but what are "W1 drops" and where do you get them? That's a very impressive and functional looking knife, nice craftmanship!

 

[cpirtle]

Thanks everyone, I appreciate the compliments!

Stumpknocker, that's a good question and I should have been more clear.

Drops are nothing more than a piece too short to use by the manufacturer who bought the steel in the first place. For instance, if I need to do a job requiring a bunch of 1" diameter rods 2' 9" long but can only buy 6' long pieces, after I make 2 cuts I'd have a 6" long drop. If you have a machine shop around many times they will sell you their drops for a reasonable price, just make sure they are a grade of steel useful in knifemaking if that's what you want to do.

W1 is the steel type and is most commonly used in drill bits, taps, punches, chisels, shafts etc. It's very similar to O1 but does not hold an edge quite as long because it's less abrasion resistant. The benefit over O1 is it's easier/quicker to sharpen.

 

[Dionysusigma]

Holy #$&@.

How much?

 

[JTW Jr.]

Nice work. One of the coolest knives I have seen this year.

You always did have mad skills.

 

[E304life]

Funny how in the last pic, the reflection in the blade makes it look transparent.

Whoa, good eye, that is a cool illusion.

I absolutely love the blued finish. What kind grind are you going to do for the edge? Beautiful work.

 

[Stumpknocker]

Thanks for the education! Years ago when I was a welder/fitter I played around making a few knives from band saw blades, leaf springs, and railroad spikes. Tried a hand a tempering and a few other techniques, but never created anything that made me think I was any kind of knifesmith! Now that I'm older, have easier access to info via the "interwebs", and still think about and love the idea of working steel, I may give it a go again! Thanks for the inspiration!

 

[conw]

REALLY nice. The finish is also beautiful. I would like to see it in a black leather wrap which would further give homage to the ka-bar type knife.

 

[JShirley]

How's the balance? I would think the construction would make it rather handle-heavy.

 

[cpirtle]

Nice work. One of the coolest knives I have seen this year.
You always did have mad skills.

Thanks John, that means a lot coming from you.

Same to everyone else, I truly appreciate the compliments!

Sorry for the delayed reply, been a busy few days.

This one is not going up for sale but I may consider making some more in the near future. Holding that 1" dia bar while grinding is pretty abusive so I need to let my hands recover

E304life, I do a variety of edges but I usually keep my angles in line with the the Spyderco Sharpmaker. It's a very well made and inexpensive sharpening system that thousands of people already own. Unless requested I sharpen at low speeds on my belt grinder running a slack belt which produces a convex edge. I can also do a more traditional flat edge set to any ange using an Edge Pro.

JShirley, it depends on where you want a knife to balance but this one is right on the middle finger, about one inch rear of the guard. I could have balanced it more toward the index finger but chose not to for various reasons.

We could probably have a dedicated thread discussing the merits of where a knife balances because IMO it's not always ideal to balance at the index finger. Depends on the planned use of the knife.

Thanks again everyone, I have two new designs I should be finishing this weekend and will try to get them posted as well.

 

[JShirley]

Thanks for the reply. Yeah, that's not bad.

John

 

[messerist]

How did I miss this one. Great design and execution. Well done!

 

[BRad704]

Great looking knife!

And FWIW, if the knife if for smaller or more intricate tasks, I like when they are balanced somewhere around my first 2 fingers, that way the knife stays put with very little gripping pressure...

 

[cpirtle]

Thanks guys!

 

[Deltaboy1984]

Impressive! Love it!

 

[Mp7]

Be careful, you´ll poke someone´s ... everything out with that!

Very nice design.