Plywood Handles

Here's a nice pair of knives that haven't made it onto the blog yet.  I made the Leuku first from a Lauri blade, and decided to try a plywood handle as an experiment.  It came out so well that I did it again on a skinning Puukko with one of my hand-forged blades.  The Leuku's handle is finished with Danish oil, the Puukko is finished with spar urethane.  I like the latter finish better because the plywood is very absorbent.  Danish oil is a thin, penetrating finish, and the plywood on the Leuku soaked up so much of it that it took weeks to dry completely.

I can't take credit for coming up with the idea of a stacked plywood handle.  I have seen pictures of Finnish knives made this way. 

Another Puukko

This was a somewhat experimental Puukko that I made a while back.  The handle is an unusual shape, for me at least.  It was interesting, but I prefer the simple straight style.

Fällkniven F1 Custom Rune Sheath

Just finished another piece for a customer.  This is probably my favorite sheath that I've made so far.

Mora Companion HD Custom Sheath

Just a quick pic for the potential buyer. 

K.I.T.H. 2016 Bowie Knife

The Bladesmith's Forum "Knife in the Hat" event is coming up, and this will be my second time participating in it.  The theme of this year's KITH is "hardware store Bowies."  The rules are to make a Bowie knife entirely (or as close to it as possible) out of items from a hardware store.

The Bowies that capture my imagination the most are the old relics of the frontier, so that's what I drew my inspiration from.  At first glance, this knife could be mistaken for a 19th-century original.  The 11-inch blade is forged from a file.  The handle is a weathered old piece of a hickory axe handle.  The pins are made from nails.  The guard and butt cap are made of welding steel from Tractor Supply, and the rivets in the sheath are copper saddle rivets, also from Tractor Supply.

 

The sheath has an antler button on the front.  It can be stuck through a belt, frontier style, or used with a frog.

 

A fly photobombed me in this picture.  A second later, it crawled onto the edge and was cleanly sliced in half.  The convex edge on this thing really is that sharp.

 

I got off to a late start on this piece.  For a while I thought I might have to withdraw, but I managed to finish it in a flurry of activity a week before the drawing is scheduled to be done.  

The forged iron guard on this knife is something that I have never tried before.  It came out a little rough, but is not out of place with the rustic, antique look of the piece.

The etched finish on the blade is also a new technique.  I had originally planned to rust brown it, but after soaking it in a mixture of ferric chloride, bleach, vinegar, and salt, it had such a nice dark gray patina that I decided to keep it.  I think that dipping it in the mixture and letting it sit in a humid place might have gotten me the rust brown finish that I originally intended, but I will experiment with that on a future piece.

As usual, there are some incredible works of art going into the figurative hat.  I can't wait to see what kind of creation I might be receiving.

Opinel No. 7 Sheath.

Just finished this sheath for an Opinel no. 7.  I've been wearing an identical sheath for a no. 8 for several months and have been very happy with both the sheath and the knife. 

Opinels are not just great for the money, but are genuinely great knives that easily take a razor edge and cut like heck, and are one of the few choices available for a quality carbon steel folding knife.  One of their few drawbacks is that the round cross-section and lack of a pocket clip make them less than ideal for pocket carry.  Soon after getting my own Opinel knife, I came up with this sheath design.  I personally find sheaths that retain the knife by friction to be more convenient than sheaths with snaps, straps, or flaps, as on the classic folding knife sheath design.  The graceful contours of the Opinel's handle makes it work quite well in a molded sheath.  This one has a good snug fit.

Custom Mora #2 Sheath

I just completed this sheath that was requested by a customer.  It has two belt attachment options, a removable dangler and an angled belt loop on the back.  I tried to make it as simple, rugged, and secure-fitting as I could.

I hope it serves you well, and good luck on your outdoor excursions.