jacob beer

Osage Orange; its durable as hell it takes a beautiful polish and over time it changes color to a dark chestnut brown

I’ve used a cylindrical deemed bit after cutting a channel to preset the location and lateral angle of the gut hook, also I hate them, so I don’t do them anymore, good luck

I’m jealous, those are great

I've made a few and personally I use a flat grind; however, I wouldn't take it to a zero edge, especially if it's intended for heavy use. I usually flat grind the blade into a thin version of an appleseed grind as you might do on a sword edge, but I've also put a more scandi type grind on some, so that the impact is concentrated on a steeper edge for chopping and separation rather than cutting. I also usually go thicker than 1/8", but that should work just fine and make it nice and light. As far as heat treating it I've never done anything too drastic to soften the blades and haven't had an issue yet, but if you want a bit more softness I'd maybe temper around the 450-475 range rather than 500-550, just my .02. I hope this helps out and I'd love to see pics when it's finished.

I would’ve said bend it on a wooden form, then fire it up!

Very cool, I really like the pattern of the wrought in juxtaposition to the usual appearance of most japanese blades

If I get as good as you one hour prior to my demise, it will not be a wasted life. Very good work Sir, thanks for sharing

I've also had this one on the bucket list for quite a while after seeing photos of industrial sized grinders in American factories from the first half of the last century. I'm planning on some sort of motorcycle style seat, I also think belts are a better setup than wheels due to the fact that wheels can and do become uneven. post some pics if you get to it before me

I second that, very nice, the belly towards the tip will lend the knife nicely to batoning and chopping. Looks like a good camp knife.

Like everything about it, I've been thinking of making a similar piece for an Uncle of mine who shares your interests and I think you've convinced me. It looks like what I call a classy user- the EDC of EDC's, always gets used, dirtied, cleaned sharpened a lot from use, just fits and you become attached to it (a common man's "Mjolnir"). Clean lines, nice flow from spine to handle, good balance- well done Sir.

I say use the handle from the top left, blade from the top right, but with a choil

Well done Sir, I have to second what Timothy said. Also, profile of the iron work is unique and catches the eye better than similar work that has a more rounded swell, seems like you're getting better by the day.

I like the overall look of the knife, but in the future I'd make a couple of minor changes: 1. making the choil square can be a danger in that 90 degree angles are a good place for a knife to crack etc.. during hard use, round choils are much more resistant to fractures as there's no one spot that's weaker than any other 2. maybe flare the handle out towards the butt end for a more secure grip ...other than that I think you've nailed it, the slight downward curve of the handle is great ergonomically and the blade profile is right on.

I really love the knife, but I don't like the handle- with the sweeping shape of the blade I think a Persian styled handle with a downward curve that ends in a round would compliment the blade contour nicely- also the cross section of the handle would look nice with a flare towards the end of the handle. Your knife just seems to be wearing the wrong pants

Nice, I like the proportions and the forged finish as well.