The "Gaucho" Knife

That is going to be one cool knife. I know I'm going to be envious.
 
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and I can't unsee it.....
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The salt to season the meat that the knife will cut thin succulent slivers of meat from the stake!! Sounds so much more fun than saying using the Tramontina steak knife that comes with your steak at Longhorn or Outback.
 
Heat treat went well, just the right amount of flex in the blade. Was really worried that it would warp like a banana but only had a slight bend to correct, straight as an arrow now. Part of me wants to take the tip down to a thinner point still and fool with the profile a bit. Blade might be cursed, as I was cleaning it up I kept bleeding on it and noticed little cuts on my fingers, no clue how they got there lol. That is the way of the knifemaker though.
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Redmeadow Knives said:
Heat treat went well, just the right amount of flex in the blade. Was really worried that it would warp like a banana but only had a slight bend to correct, straight as an arrow now. Part of me wants to take the tip down to a thinner point still and fool with the profile a bit. Blade might be cursed, as I was cleaning it up I kept bleeding on it and noticed little cuts on my fingers, no clue how they got there lol. That is the way of the knifemaker though.
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That looks awesome. How did cutting the Spanish notch go? It looks great.
 
J. Doyle said:
That looks awesome. How did cutting the Spanish notch go? It looks great.
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I think 'meticulous' would best describe it. I drilled a smalle hole and penciled out a swirl and started cutting. The jewelers saw maneuvers well in soft metals but it's hard to steer in steel. I really wanted the tip of the curl to point backwards and wasn't sure if I could pull it off but it worked out. Sanding the saw marks out on the inside was tricky.
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Edit to add: You can see what slamming your thumb into a belt grinder does at the bottom of the pic, and that's after a week or more of healing😳
 
It's a really cool detail, adds a whole other dimension to the blade.
 
You have way more patience than I do with that Spanish notch. Don’t slam your thumb into the belt grinder that hurts, as does running your finger into the edge of a 3M microfilm belt that’s moving.
 
Scott Hanson said:
You have way more patience than I do with that Spanish notch. Don’t slam your thumb into the belt grinder that hurts, as does running your finger into the edge of a 3M microfilm belt that’s moving.
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Yeah I'm wearing the edge cut from a 120 ceramic on my right index finger. Taking along time to heal. Seems like I open it up again every time I reach in my pocket for my keys.

A Gaucho story, there has been some discussion here about how light and fast in the hand the gaucho knife is.

I have a good friend that was Hollywood A lister back in the 80s. This has allowed him to indulge his passion for hunting all over the world. He relayed this story to me over a glass of single malt some years back.

He was bird hunting in Argentina. They'd had one of those legendary Argentinan days where they needed ammo by the case there were so many birds and were headed back to the estancia (lodge) for the evening. He was riding in a truck and they were cruising down this dirt road. One of the guide's dogs was running free ahead of the truck. In the distance they could see a gaucho, with his saddle on his shoulder, walking towards them. As they got closer the dog became aggressive and started at the gaucho. My friend said that the gaucho dropped his saddle, reached behind and whipped out his knife and was ready to kill the dog before the saddle had hit the ground. My friend said it was literally the fastest thing he'd ever seen and this was from a guy that use to spar with Benny The Jet! Fortunately the guide was able to call off the dog and all was well. So anyhoo thats my gaucho story.
 
That's a cool story Dave, good example of how a tool can become an extension of your person when need be.

Fit up a block of mesquite and am playing around with some handle shapes. Considered a round handle on this but am going to try something with a little belly and slight hook at the the butt. A nickel silver piece will cap things off.
 
tinfoil hat timmy said:
Very good. I'm looking forward to the finished product
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Thanks. I'm looking forward to it too, hoping it will turn out the way it's sitting in my head.

This thread is a great example of a project that I'd be reluctant to consider (forged integral bolster) without a nudge. Thanks Pàdruig Pàdruig

If you guys have any suggestions throw them out there somewhere in the sub or start a thread, no promises but sometimes they'll plant a seed in my noggin like this one did.
 
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