Hello dear Steemians,
I know, I know - you are thinking What is this - not an IG feed post?
Yes, despite the rumours floating around, I am alive and kicking.
I just had a lot on my plate lately so I wasn't posting anything serious.
Anyhow, I have a special treat for you today.
The story
I am not what one would call a social guy. Honestly, I rarely meat anyone that can keep my attention for a longer time.
I am a self-sustaining guy, I don't need a pack to feel comfortable, I don't really crave for the company.
As things go, finding someone who's acceptable as I get older kinda gets harder.
So imagine my surprise when some three years ago I meet a guy, and we become buddies.
It all started with me posting on one forum group that I have some ceramic wool left over from when I was building my forge. So this guy sends me msg saying he was just about to buy some for his forge, and would really appreciate me cede mine.
And, since this is a cool story, after a few mins of chatting it became apparent that not only that we live in the same town, we actually work in the neighboroughing buildings.
So, I gave him the K-wool and we started talking, and one thing lead to another and we've become pals.
Nothing like Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid, or anything like that but we do spend some serious time together - serious by my standards.
Being how he's a knifemaker also, we do have a topic or two that we find of interest. Over the years, as these things go, I helped him on some projects, and then he did the same for me, and before you know it we started talking about building a knife together.
Now, as I've mentioned, I'm not much of a team player. I like doing things on my own. And since we do kinda cover a different spectrum of knifemaking, me mostly doing kitchen knives, and he being more of a camping/EDC guy, it was not an easy match.
I don't really want to go too deep into the difference, because there are so many of them, but a few main ones do jump on my mind.
While my knives are as thin as I can make them, his are thick and sturdy.
While his are though and can sustain a lot of beating, mine are hard and delicate.
I use a lot of natural materials on my handles, and he uses a lot of synthetic ones.
My.... well you get the point.
Anywho, because of reasons, wee agreed to make a chef knife with a compound full tang handle and a leather saya.
My job was to do the blade and he will take care of the handle and saya.
In the end, it took us almost half a year to actually get the job done, but the final product is really something to be proud of.
Stats
Blade: 1095 steel with hamon
Length: 210mm with AOL 345 mm
Handle: carbon fibre with stabilized maple burl and some nice looking G10 pins
Saya: veg curred leather with stylized hamon
The build
The screw up
Of course, I just had to screw something up, and this time the choice of the fail was the heat-treatment
Take two - off the grinder test etch
A final etch after some extensive hand-sanding
Choosing the handle materials
First dry-fit
Handle done!
Saya build
The final product
Final thoughts
Even though it was quite a challenge, in the end, I am really satisfied whit how it came out.
Tom did an amazing job with the handle and the saya, and he assures me that he is quite taken with the blade.
I think the most fascinating thing is the fact that I would never build a knife like this one on my own.
It is funny how a lot of small differences in style and technique come together in something quite unique.
P.S.
Thank you all for stopping by and for being patient with my sporadic posting.
And also, if you're on IG be sure to check Tom's tread.
If you're interested in the knife, we'll post a raffle in a day or two so there's a chance of winning this beauty for pocket money.