Joël Mercier 365 Posted August 5 (edited) One of the few blades I have forged so far, this one was purely for fun and out of curiosity(not a dreaded commission). Started as 1/4"x1.5x12" and ended up with a tad longer than 9" blade, 1.75" wide. The spine is just shy of 1/4" thick. 80CrV2 steel. Micarta Scales. Due to my poor forging skills and inexperience I had to cover up a mistake done at the ricasso. Good thing this blade wasn't intended in winning any beauty contest I find the last pic particularly interesting as the blade seems to disappear because of the reflection. All those finitiob hours paid of I believe. Please post any comment you have regarding the design, I went purely by instinct. Edited August 5 by Joël Mercier 6 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Michael Atkins 0 Posted August 5 Belle job! I would have rounded the corner below the lanyard hole, and had the butt of the handle flare out a bit more. I really like how the patina came out. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Joël Mercier 365 Posted August 5 59 minutes ago, Michael Atkins said: Belle job! I would have rounded the corner below the lanyard hole, and had the butt of the handle flare out a bit more. I really like how the patina came out. Merci! The ricasso area gave me some headaches and I decided to leave it as is, but it definitely could look better. And I also agree about the butt. It was the first time I carved scales on the 2x72, I always did it by hand with rasps, files and Emery cloth. Lots of room for improvement here. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Brian Dougherty 628 Posted August 5 Neat! I think it looks pretty spiffy. Remember to keep your off hand in your back pocket Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Joël Mercier 365 Posted August 6 (edited) 22 hours ago, Brian Dougherty said: Neat! I think it looks pretty spiffy. Remember to keep your off hand in your back pocket Thanks! (I had to google fu the meaning of spiffy, not entirely sure yet ). I sharpened it last night and tested on some ply wood. It's a bit scary... Edited August 6 by Joël Mercier Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Brian Dougherty 628 Posted August 6 HaHa! Spiffy = neat & tidy Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Gary Mulkey 917 Posted August 6 Good job. Building & using a competition cutter is one of the best ways to learn both blade & handle geometry. Use it for different events like free hanging rope, 2x4, straws, etc. and see what it's best & worst at. Also, see if the handle is comfortable and if it stays straight or wants to twist in your hand. All will teach you a lot about design. [Note: Most of the competitions that I have been in have at least one event which requires a pointed blade to complete.] Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Joël Mercier 365 Posted August 6 Thanks Gary! Now that I've got the kitchen knife geometry somehow figured out, I indeed wanted to learn about other types like choppers. I free hand sharpened the blade on my water stones yesterday and it was a bit trickier than usual due to the length. I had a 20° wedge as reference(guessed that angle was appropriate). Only had time to test on some 1/2" ply wood but I am so far pleased by the overall feel of the knife when I swing and the cutting performance. A not so hard swing would get as deep as 1" and pop out. I checked the edge after a few swings. No chipping or rolling and it would still slice paper. I believe I'm going to have a lot of fun with this one Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Wes Detrick 477 Posted August 12 That looks like the monster you meant it to be. You impress me Joël, your attention to detail is great. Everything is clean and symmetrical. I love it. If you do some chopping tests, you had better post some video of it. Please. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Joël Mercier 365 Posted August 12 Thanks Wes! Really appreciated Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
JackN 2 Posted August 22 Looks awesome. Very similar to what I'm making as my first blade right now. 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Gerhard Gerber 200 Posted August 23 @Joël Mercier Master of the Mustard Patina.........my whole house smelled like mustard yesterday, even put some on the sausage I had for dinner! Dinner was great, the patina, where it took, looks awesome....problem is it's not uniform. The mustard is not the issue, couldn't get an even etch with instant coffee either.........something funky going on with that 5160....any advice? Is 5160 just a b1tch? Cold blue is not durable, while the same cold blue gives an amazing and durable result on O1..... Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Joël Mercier 365 Posted August 23 Could you have a decarb issue? That's the only thing I can think of besides uneven austenizing temp. Sorry I can't help you much pal... Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Joshua States 952 Posted August 23 11 hours ago, Gerhard Gerber said: Is 5160 just a b1tch? Yes, unfortunately. At least in my experience. 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Gerhard Gerber 200 Posted August 27 On 8/23/2019 at 1:04 PM, Joël Mercier said: Could you have a decarb issue? That's the only thing I can think of besides uneven austenizing temp. Sorry I can't help you much pal... Definitely a hangover from the heat treat..... Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
