Knives going to Afghanistan

roxtar

roxtar

Joined
Mar 11, 2010
Messages
85
My brother in law is currently on his second tour in Afghanistan.
Last time he was home I was talking to him about my new hobby of knifemaking.
He commented how he would love to have knives made for the guys in his unit.

I'm planning to make 12 commemorative knives to send out to him. They will have special etching or engraving of his design and he will be presenting them to his unit.

I plan to have Phillip Patton do the grind since he did an incredible job on a knife for me.

So far:

-Mark Vanderwest of H2O Cut Waterjetting (H2Oknife) has stepped up to donate the blank cutouts.

-Aldo Bruno is donating the A2.

We still need some help to get this project done.

I need:
-Someone who can do the etching or engraving.
-Someone who can make the kydex sheaths.

This is a reach out to our community to help honor those who've done so much for us.
 
Last edited:
I will bend some kydex sheaths, but can't commit to buying the material for them, I am financially emabrassed at the moment:confused:. If the knives are identical then would only need one complete knife (to be returned with the sheaths, of course) to mold the sheaths. Check out the build that we have going on KnifeDogs in the Military Knives forum if you have not already, you might find some leads or ideas there. We have 28 or so makers involved in that project.
 
Justin King said:
I will bend some kydex sheaths, but can't commit to buying the material for them, I am financially emabrassed at the moment:confused:. If the knives are identical then would only need one complete knife (to be returned with the sheaths, of course) to mold the sheaths. Check out the build that we have going on KnifeDogs in the Military Knives forum if you have not already, you might find some leads or ideas there. We have 28 or so makers involved in that project.
Click to expand...
That would be great.
So, we could use a kydex supplier.

This is the knife we will be doing for them:
PattonGrind008.jpg
 
Wish I was in a position to lend a hand with this... it is a most commendable project!!! :thumbup: :thumbup: :thumbup:

My girlfriend's step-son is home right now, he is going to be finishing basic training in January... I hope to get something simple and tough thrown together for him as I'm sure he'll get sent over there.

Prayers that your brother-in-law and all 9 of his friends from his unit get sent home to love and abuse their knives as old men!!! :)
 
Your build, your call, but I would consider a straight edge. Recurved edges can be problematic to sharpen in the field with limited resources at hand, this was something we hashed out on the KD military build.
What are the dimensions of the knife? I am wondering how much Kydex will be needed.
We had suppliers step up to contribute everything for the KD build except the labor to grind and finish the knives, possibly we can do the same for the Kydex and maybe some Molle Loks.
Do you have a time frame for this?
 
Is there regulations on what sheaths can be carried by our military ? I was told once that only certain ones are allowed , but I do not know for sure .
 
Sheaths and knives are all a unit call. Once you get out of the wire no one seemed to care (rightly so). The Fobbit CSM's who had nothing better to do would worry about the littlest things, but they were safe within the wire at all times.

Please PM me if this is for the 101st.
 
I am not a "kydex supplier" per se, but I will be happy to pay for the kydex Justin needs

not sure how best to do this - I can either Paypal the money to Justin, or buy kydex and have it shipped to him - just let me know how you want to do this

post here or PM or email me

Bill Flynn
 
ONeill said:
Is there regulations on what sheaths can be carried by our military ? I was told once that only certain ones are allowed , but I do not know for sure .
Click to expand...

What Ohen said obviously comes from experience. I have a few knives in service with Kydex/Molle rigs and have heard no complaints.
 
Well, just got the waterjet cutouts in from Mark at Leading Edge (H2Oknife here on bladeforums)
I figured I'd have to do a little pre grinding on the edges before sending them for the blade grind.
No such need. These things far exceeded my expectations. Time to retire my band saw. :D

cutouts.jpg


Thanks again to Mark and to Aldo Buno for supplying the A2.
 
BTW, we still need someone who can do the etching.
Does anyone have etching capability and would be willing to donate it for a great cause?
 
I have access to a laser at work. What kind of etching/lasering do you have in mind? I will see if I can get it done for you.


Here is an example of what I did for an auction knife a few years ago

1007.jpg
 
THAT would be awesome.
Thanks.
Right now it's just lettering but he's trying to get me a digital copy of their insignia.
 
justin, the recurve should not be a problem to sharpen. i am going to fix up some pads with abrasive belt attached that they can lay out on a flat surface and sharpen the knife easily.
 
roxtar said:
THAT would be awesome.
Thanks.
Right now it's just lettering but he's trying to get me a digital copy of their insignia.
Click to expand...

Let me know what you have in mind, and I will get it done.

Any idea when they will be ready?
 
melsdad said:
Let me know what you have in mind, and I will get it done.

Any idea when they will be ready?
Click to expand...
Probably not for a while. Phillip Patton sounds kind of buried in work. He'll be grinding them as he gets available time.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top