Small Utility-1084 & Ebony

[Austin_Lyles 188]

Hey folks! I just finished this one up and wanted to share and get some feedback on the design (critiques would be awesome, however picky you may be). I'm not 100% on the handle shape yet, but I do like this one quite a bit. It's a first for hollow grinding and let me say, it was a pain to push up the grind using an 8" wheel. I'll stick to flat grinding this kind of style.

 

Anyways, let me know what you guys think!

 

Specs:

 

3 1/2" Blade (7 1/4" overall)

1084 (gunblued)

Macassar Ebony with Brass

 

 

 

 

[Hoy's Forge 28]

very nice! I like the angled plunge line , great work.

[BCROB 13]

Great piece Austin , clean , well done....

[Joshua States 2,566]

That's an excellent piece Austin. I really like the combination of colors you chose.

The gun blue looks great with the red and yellowish steaks in the Macassar.

The handle shape is fine. Hopefully, you made a template of that knife and can add it to your "standard models."

You should be able to sell them often. (in both flat and hollow grinds as per the customer's desire)

About those hollow grinds, I will rough them in with a 8" serrated wheel and finish them on a 10" smooth wheel.

Edited April 10, 2016 by Joshua States

[Wes Detrick 493]

As always, super clean Austin. I am digging the whole dark knife thing. The gun blue worked out great, and compliments that wood very nicely. I have considered picking up some Macassar Ebony. What do you think of it?

[Austin_Lyles 188]

Thanks guys!

 

Joshua, a template of sorts was made but I think a wooden one should be in order soon. Thanks for the advice for hollow grinding. It's like I'm relearning grinding all over again. Ha.

 

Wes, thank you! The wood was great to work with. Very comparable to cocobolo, however a little less oily. And it's cheapish.

[Kenon Rain. 20]

Very nice looking little knife, Josh is right, that should be a really good seller. Looks very useful and solidly built not to mention stylish in a modest way. Well done.

[Johnathan Sibley 12]

Nice.

[Austin_Lyles 188]

Thanks guys. So I actually bit the bullet and did some very unscientific testing of the blade today. I wanted to sell this one but I reconsidered just to have some fun and see what I can do with a little knife. To me at least, it performed very well and to what I feel is acceptable.

 

Don't mind my mumbling.... I'm not good behind cameras. Also the camera is old and hates auto-focus.

 

Edited April 10, 2016 by Austin_Lyles

[Gabriel James 90]

I see now why your knives look so nice. That bad ass power stache is your secret weapon

[Austin_Lyles 188]

Hahaha. It has gone by many names, but that may take the cake.

[Wes Detrick 493]

Men's facial hair is serious business. I say this with a little experience...

[Kenon Rain. 20]

So is women's ha

[Krateros 11]

great looking blade!well done!

[Timothy Artymko 39]

I like it! I have a similar style blade from several years back that had almost identical geometry, and even now it is my preferred carry knife!

 

It's simple, but looks like business

Edited April 11, 2016 by Tim A.

[Austin_Lyles 188]

Thanks guys! Tim that's awesome. I really like the feel and weight, it's just ready to tackle any daily task.

[Kevin Colwell 171]

Yeah, what they all said.

 

You asked for critique. I don't have any real critique to offer. This seems to be a damn fine knife.

 

Instead of critique, let's talk about ways to build upon the current successful design. That way, you can turn this into the basis for several successful designs.

 

I prefer to make mine with just a tad of drop in the handle, but with the first 2 or 3 inches dead straight and even with the spine of the blade, and then a slight drop. But, that is just a different style (minimally-different style).

 

Also, I always put metal bolsters on a knife. I realize that there are a large number of outstanding knives that don't have metal bolsters.

 

Yours here is one of them, in fact.

 

So, I am not really providing critique. I am suggesting additional designs you can make in the future with subtle alterations of this existing design.

After all, you should (as suggested) file this design away under, "success, will make again." I am just giving ideas for things you can make that build off of this design.

 

nice one.

kc

Edited April 12, 2016 by Kevin (The Professor)

[Austin_Lyles 188]

Kevin, thanks for such a well thought out response. Your suggestions are very helpful! The handle is my top priority, as I wasn't sold on it yet, so dropping it seems to be a solid start. The bolsters I actually haven't thought of and I thinks it's an awesome idea.

[Jake Reese 2]

Really like the ebony handle, nice job! How was it working with it? Got some on the way.

[Joshua States 2,566]

Kevin's suggestions are good ones and you will find that different handle shapes, however subtle, will appeal to different people. So this basic design could be modified in several different ways to appeal to a larger audience. The bolsters are nice, so are liners between the scales and the tang. The liners can be thin metal (allows for filework) or just vulcanized paper (various colors). There are many embellishments you can add to this basic design and still have very attractive knives and a larger clientele.

 

About that "Thanks for the advice for hollow grinding. It's like I'm relearning grinding all over again", I always hollow grind every blade during the rough grinding. It keeps you in practice and makes the grinding go much faster on flat grinds. You never know when someone will commission a hollow ground blade.

 

Nice video and performance test. Way to go Austin!

[Austin_Lyles 188]

Joshua, your insight is well appreciated. Once I get over whatever I'm sick with (flu?), I'll need to finish up a few projects and then I can get back to work on this one to see what I can improve on. One wonderful thing about knife making is the sky is the limit to what we can do to a knife, however huge or subtle.

 

Do you use a large wheel or radiused platen? I imagine a smaller wheel (8") would be difficult to bring from hollow to flat.

 

Thanks! I wanted to go for longer but I was rushed for time. I did learn a little from it, as either the small deformation was caused by the differential heat treat (too bendy?), or I just need to temper a few degrees cooler.

 

 

@Jake - It was actually quite nice to work with. Very hard and a little oily, but not as bad as cocobolo. I sanded on the slack belt up to 600g (Norton Norax belt), then hand

sanded with 600 grit and applied a little tru-oil, paste wax, and buffed with carnuba wax.

Edited April 18, 2016 by Austin_Lyles

[Tim Tracey 29]

Leave it. It's a nice little modern edc. Maybe liners, but I wouldn't do anything else.

Mock out a similar sheath and I bet it'll sell quickly. May even be a regular production series.

[Joshua States 2,566]

Do you use a large wheel or radiused platen? I imagine a smaller wheel (8") would be difficult to bring from hollow to flat.

 

 

8" serrated wheel during the rough grind. Different locations along the blade width, sort of like multiple fullers.

I have some demo videos in the Video and Multi-media forum.

Edited April 20, 2016 by Joshua States