Knife project #4: the slender deer knife

[zambezi]

Inspired by the images of useful knife shapes in an unrelated thread...I have decided to build a new knife based, in part, on feed back I had from Owen Beardsmore after he used the Compact Grallocher™ I made earlier this year.

Ideas for a new knife build: the Compact Roe Grallocher

I am just getting into knife making and find it absolutely facinating. Particularly as knives are integral to my boar and deer stalking. The opportunity is to draw from the sum of my experiences in the field using commercially produced sharps, and then use lessons learnt there to build out the...

www.thestalkingdirectory.co.uk

My Compact Grallocher™ does almost everything well, but tunnelling the rectum out might be easier with a knife that is thinner and longer. Dare I say more "Cael-esque" in its proportions?

But the true inspiration for this was the posting of a Jeff Wiggins creation here:

INFO-ALL KNIFE MAKERS!!!!

I can’t see the need for a knife that costs over £100 When i was a butcher I used nothing but victorinox, still use the same brand today, over 20 years and the blades are as good today as they have ever been! My stalking knife is a EKA swing blade, that’s because a clients gave me one as a...

www.thestalkingdirectory.co.uk

Today's initial steel work:


And finally the new knife sat next to the Compact Grallocher™ for size comparison:





BTW, in case it is obvious, the ™ logo has been added to cover my exclusive use of that blade shape. You have been warned.

 

[bluesako]

hang on you have made a knife ? its got a handle and a sharp pointey bit at the front my god did you have permission

 

[spiker76]

You may want to check MR Garlands patent for a finger notch he may have beaten you to it zambezi

berniegarlandknives.com -&nbspberniegarlandknives Resources and Information.

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[bluesako]

stalking knives you make some stunning knives bs

 

[zambezi]

It has been a busy afternoon. I filed the flats using the knife jig I made earlier this year. The plunge-line roller-guard is essential to stop file wander. Make no mistake, hand-filing the flats is proper work Next, I switched to ever finer files and then sand papers to remove the barstard file draw marks left after the basic shape was achieved . In my experience, there is no point going finer than 320 grit pre heat treat as the surface will need a fresh makeover after that.

I drilled some weight-reduction-cum-increased-glue-surface-area holes in the handle and countersunk to reduce likelihood of heat stress build up at the holes

I did one normalising cycle to 870˚C and cooled to room temp in free air. I then heated the blade to 815˚C -ish before quenching in Rye oil. But there was a problem....

 

[zambezi]

...I noticed that the heat cycle had introduced a slight bend. I am not really surprised. It is thin bar stock and a slender design. Anyway, before the blade had fully cooled, I clamped it in a vice using bolts to apply a differential bend-correcting force. It seemed to work...so I popped it into the oven at 180˚C for an hour. It is not an exact science, but I am hoping for 62Hrc.

 

[Alantoo]

...I noticed that the heat cycle had introduced a slight bend. I am not really surprised. It is thin bar stock and a slender design. Anyway, before the blade had fully cooled, I clamped it in a vice using bolts to apply a differential bend-correcting force. View attachment 172395 It seemed to work...so I popped it into the oven at 180˚C for an hour. It is not an exact science, but I am hoping for 62Hrc.

If it is any help....I have welded lumps on to vice face cheeks for things like your 3 point bending/straightening system...at least then it is not quite such a juggling act...but for that sort of warpage I would prolly take it out with a hammer or mallet over the hollow in the anvil...copper faced maybe...and a hollow wood block if surfaces must not be bruised...

You are turning over during the heating and then quenching vertically?

Alan

 

[norma 308]

A pair of Alan Wood sportsman I had made perfect for smaller species especially for the back end

 

[zambezi]

You are turning over during the heating and then quenching vertically?

Quenching vertically yes, turning over in the forge no.
On my last knife, when the tapered blade edge faced the burner, it seemed to cause surface micro-ripples . So I prefer to set spine upward, i.e. spine facing burner.

However, the forge should have been uniformly hot since I had done the normalising cycle first and then edged the flame down to heat treat temp. By the time I did the heat treat, the forge would have been declared by thermocouple to be at 815˚C for over 10 mins. I would hope I could insert metal anywhere within 8cm of the epicenter and be sure that there would be no temp variation. Certainly the metal was uniformly cherry before dunking.

 

[zambezi]

Tempering cycle now complete. A bit of wire wool and wet-n-dry and faces cleaned up lovely. Finished with 600 grit. Tomorrow I need to pick the slab material. Choices...choices. I am drawn to the Saba Ebony. But the Spanish Chestnut has a lovely grain. Genge gives a lovely finish too...

 

[Alantoo]

Quenching vertically yes, turning over in the forge no.
On my last knife, when the tapered blade edge faced the burner, it seemed to cause surface micro-ripples View attachment 172410. So I prefer to set spine upward, i.e. spine facing burner.

However, the forge should have been uniformly hot since I had done the normalising cycle first and then edged the flame down to heat treat temp. By the time I did the heat treat, the forge would have been declared by thermocouple to be at 815˚C for over 10 mins. I would hope I could insert metal anywhere within 8cm of the epicenter and be sure that there would be no temp variation. Certainly the metal was uniformly cherry before dunking.

Fair enough, I was just trying to figure out where the heat differential could have crept into the process...presuming the blade was straight prior to heat treatment and the grinding hadn't generated asymmetric stresses which were then able to be relieved by the heat...

My gas furnaces are similarly set up so the flame swirls around and heats the castable lining which in turn heats the metal. But then I am heating much heavier section pieces and as I am going to thump them when they come out, heat distortion is not an issue.

Alan

 

[zambezi]

presuming the blade was straight prior to heat treatment

It was surprisingly malleable at all points prior to heat treat. Not sure if that is a feature of all 1080 or just this batch.

When offered up to a straight edge, the annealed steel rough knife shape was slightly banana. It took very little input from my hands to set back to true. Later, when I was part way through filing the flats, I noticed it was slightly out of true again, doubtless a victim of over zealous clamping to uneven worktops. Easily fixed by hand.

But that high degree of malleability probably also means that very little differential heat/stress is required to cause a bend. In the event, not a problem as it is now both hardened and pretty straight.

I have noted that many knife makers on YT [and also snake_2586 here on SD] set their knives in a "toast rack" style holder whilst in the forge. The metal's weight is thus supported in two places and, provided the rack is true, held in a rectilinear fashion. I may do that next time.

 

[zambezi]

Slab prep today. The wife made the choice: she spotted I had some part-prepped slabs in Genge and said I should not waste them. Oracle has spoken.

First up I gave slabs a rough truing on the linisher before finalising using sandpaper laid on plate glass . Next I applied a key to the knife tang with both 120 grit sandpaper plus I added some scuffs with a Dremel blade . This will be a glue-only, pin-free assembly. The extra work done to marry slabs and tang look like prudence. Finally, the glue-up .


The barstock-to-blade journey never gets old. I reckon I need to do a few more cheapish 1080 test pieces and then buy some RWL34 and make that keeper...

 

[zambezi]

Happy with the overnight cure on the epoxy which is rock hard. This morning will be about handle shaping. Apparently this afternoon is about cutting the lawn. So sheath work will start tomorrow.

 

[Alantoo]

Any particular reason / advantage why you run the grain across the handle rather than along it? I noticed it on your earlier knife and forgot to ask.

Alan

 

[zambezi]

Any particular reason / advantage why you run the grain across the handle rather than along it?

Looking down on the spine is the view one has when using it. The interesting grain is apparent to the user. When the grain runs the length of the slabs, you see it briefly when knife is drawn from sheath and before use.

With woods as dense as Genge or Ebony, I am not fretting that the more friable end grain makes up the longest edge. These woods are dense and waxy to the feel. Their resinous consistency seems to hold the wood together well in any orientation.

 

[zambezi]

Work has progressed quickly today. First I used the linisher to remove the excess wood before switching to P60 strips to hand form the ergonomic inlets which I smoothed up with finer grits via combination of flossing and drawing actions . I am quite happy with progress so far and will stop handle profiling and proceed to secondary bevel edge creation using the Lansky.

 

[zambezi]

I have opted to give this blade a 20˚ secondary bevel. It will be interesting to see what the edge retention is like. What I did find was that the wire that inevitably forms during edge creation or sharpening, really did not want to let go of the blade. It took some serious and accurate stropping to dislodge. Any SD wisdom as to why?

Anyway, after some applied stropping, the knife is razor sharp . It fits my hand well

 

[zambezi]

Time to design the sheath. I have a number of bushcraft knives which have paracord slings that slip over the shoulder. Sheath settles against the body a little forward of the left elbow.

One of the attractions of this design is ease of doffing and donning. Which can be very useful. For example if you need to remove knife to enter motorway services on your journey back from stalking. Taking a standard sheath off a belt is a faff. Lifting one of these over-the-shoulder sheaths off to throw in the glove box is a simple movement.

In this case the example is a Ben Orford knife in one of Lois's sheaths:

 

[zambezi]

Sheath work has commenced. Template first by offering blade up to a piece of paper Darker line shows shape of welt. Next cut and trim welt to match sheath edge

It is a tricky business marrying three edges of flexible material that are always looking to squirm out of true. What I decided to do was punch holes for a pair of bolts that could serve as clamps for the upper section of welt. That seems to have removed at least 73 ways the leather can move. Next I marked the prospective punch holes at approx 5mm intervals. This was a freehand stab as I do not have a leatherman's wheel or fork to do this exactly The stitching style is saddle stitch with a hidden half-hitch knot. I only learnt how to do this by watching Lois Orford's YT clip last night. I really appreciate when crafts people share their knowledge.







So... my progress so far: