8670 First Run - What David Mary Custom knife are you waiting to see made?

David Mary said:
I thought I should change the title of the thread to reflect the focus it has taken on this run of 8670, hence adding "8670".

Here is what that bottom picture in the post above now looks like:

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Also, this is a whole sheet purchased for a very special commission:

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This is .225" 8670, which will have the umbrella shaped tang forged straight by Andy, and then heat treated. It is a 20" bladed Breitsaxe with a 10" tang. It will be finished by the customer with a traditional wood handle and scabbard. There may be enough material here for one more big knife.
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what's the benefit if any for forging the handle out straight from the umbrella handle as opposed to just making it that way to begin with and saving a step?
 
Correct.
 
David Mary said:
Also, this is a whole sheet purchased for a very special commission:

View attachment 1622978

This is .225" 8670, which will have the umbrella shaped tang forged straight by Andy, and then heat treated. It is a 20" bladed Breitsaxe with a 10" tang. It will be finished by the customer with a traditional wood handle and scabbard.
Click to expand...

Here are a couple of pics from Andy today:

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Andy came back to drop off the blades and talk knives. He did a lot of work on these for me, and was very generous in his pricing.

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I'm super excited to work on these, but will have to wait until I get caught up on orders now that I have MagnaCut to work on. It's nice to have them to look forward to though.
 
And nice to be able to get the run started up without needing to take deposits (except the huge seax). This is the direction I want to go in as time goes on. The community was very helpful when I was starting out as a full time maker, and the generous trust of many of you helped me to make some very special pieces that would not have been possible for me at the time without deposits. My goal is to continue investing into my craftsmanship journey like this so I can offer more and more as time goes on without needing to ask for that commitment which causes some people's hairs to stick up. Baby steps.
 
David Mary said:
And nice to be able to get the run started up without needing to take deposits (except the huge seax). This is the direction I want to go in as time goes on. The community was very helpful when I was starting out as a full time maker, and the generous trust of many of you helped me to make some very special pieces that would not have been possible for me at the time without deposits. My goal is to continue investing into my craftsmanship journey like this so I can offer more and more as time goes on without needing to ask for that commitment which causes some people's hairs to stick up. Baby steps.
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You seem like a good man and you’re clearly a talented knife maker.
 
I know there were other designs people would have liked to see as well, but this is what I ended up with in an effort to use the material effectively, while still producing a little bit of nearly every style I was hoping to cover.

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And the "spoken for" knives are the ones that I think might have a home lined up for, and will contact the person I have in mind for each once I am ready to build them.
 
David Mary said:
I know there were other designs people would have liked to see as well, but this is what I ended up with in an effort to use the material effectively, while still producing a little bit of nearly every style I was hoping to cover.

View attachment 1629453


And the "spoken for" knives are the ones that I think might have a home lined up for, and will contact the person I have in mind for each once I am ready to build them.
Click to expand...
Very nice!
 
David Mary said:
I know there were other designs people would have liked to see as well, but this is what I ended up with in an effort to use the material effectively, while still producing a little bit of nearly every style I was hoping to cover.

View attachment 1629453


And the "spoken for" knives are the ones that I think might have a home lined up for, and will contact the person I have in mind for each once I am ready to build them.
Click to expand...
Thank You.
It's always fun seeing the group shots, and the variety of what people want.
 
I switched it up. I decided to take the largest of the Prevail variants for R&D. You remember this one, with the... questionable pin hole scheme?

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So while I have been working on commissions, I have also been whittling away at this piece, and it is now functional, and being carried. Here it is now:

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It has thick stock but laughs at onions just the same:

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Here it is chilling out watching its MagnaCut brethren being born:

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I believe I am improving in my handle checkering, though it's obvious it was not done by a machine:

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Here is the Prevail 2XL next to a standard sized Prevail blank:

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It has already been out for a night of trail clearing and has put in some yard work, and I have to say I am super happy with this steel, grind and heat treatment so far. Takes a razor edge so easily. I just love it. This Prevail 2XL with a 5 1/4" handle and a 5 1/2" blade is handled in blue and Black suretouch, where the blue is G10 and the black is rubber. It's a bit heavy at 9.9 oz, or 12 with the sheath, but is so close to perfection for me in a camp/utility knife.

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I'll wear this one and beat on it for a while to see what else I can learn.
 
I went to the trail to test my first 8670 machete. I even hit rocks a couple times, and the blade incurred no damage that I can't handle with the sharpmaker. A tiny roll was baout all I could find, with a little flattening of the apex near the tip, but again, I will --- yes, easily fixed on the sharpmaker just now. Just looks like rolling. Bear in mind, I have it ground to .020" behind the edge on a full height convex blade. So it's a pretty decently massive blade, that comes to a really thin edge (the same thickness behind the edge, if not a little thinner than factory Spyderco Tenacious, Endura or Military).


I did a lot more than just what you see in the video, but I need a new way to record so I can really show how efficient my machetes are in the woods.

But here are some still photos.

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It was also sunny then rainy then sunny (I knew it would be, I wanted to see how it would look after working in the rain sans huile.

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Here is the sheath after I got home.

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And the knife after wash & wipe:

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