Pictures here! On the Bench

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I was kind of wingin it with three of these sheaths, no plans, really- just went by feel. Sometimes it's hard to switch gears, but once the gear gets switched, things start to happen more freely.

My knife making approach lately has been 'extremely hardcore', and it's pretty hard on the body. So taking some time to work with soft materials will be a bit of a break and recovery time. 50 is literally around the corner, and I am definitely noticing that working hard isn't cutting it- I'll have to start leaning more on the 'smart' end of the spectrum 😂
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Lorien said:
got me some handles glued up, shaped and sanded. Just need to build some sheaths and sharpen these lil guys
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If I saw this picture posted with no comments anywhere else on the forum, I would easily know that these were Lorien made knives. You have established a unique signature style, particularly with your unsurpassed handle shaping and ergonomics, that is consistent across each model you make.

I agree with RayseM RayseM that the red skeleton knife is the one that really interests me. As much as I liked your first prototype of this model, this one is even better. I hope this one becomes a staple production item in your line-up. As an aside, I would like to see a photo of this knife side-by-side with the CPK EDC for a size comparison.

Thanks for sharing the WIP photos along the way. Good stuff Lorien.

Phil
 
Comprehensivist said:
If I saw this picture posted with no comments anywhere else on the forum, I would easily know that these were Lorien made knives. You have established a unique signature style, particularly with your unsurpassed handle shaping and ergonomics, that is consistent across each model you make.

I agree with RayseM RayseM that the red skeleton knife is the one that really interests me. As much as I liked your first prototype of this model, this one is even better. I hope this one becomes a staple production item in your line-up. As an aside, I would like to see a photo of this knife side-by-side with the CPK EDC for a size comparison.

Thanks for sharing the WIP photos along the way. Good stuff Lorien.

Phil
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Thanks so much, Phil, for taking the time to type that up! Humbled and honoured up in here!

I'm really liking this little knife, too. Tried some different things, like the jimping is different from what I've done in the past, and the swedge on this little guy is sharp. It's definitely more nicely finished that the first one, and I chalk at least some of that up to the fact that I didn't use that extremely frustrating lightning strike carbon fiber. As for the overall design, I feel like it's almost there, and will likely have blanks for it cut some time down the road. Cutting the windows out of the tang is really finicky and time consuming, so having that waterjet cut- or better yet, machined- will make it a viable pattern to make multiples of once I'm ready to go that route.

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RayseM said:
You know how to contact me right? ;)
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Don’t worry Ray. I am not trying to trump your Dibs request on Red Skelton (for those of us old enough to remember him. 😉) Just acknowledging that we share similar taste in exceptional small fixed blades. I hope you score this one when Lorien is ready to cut it loose. 👍

Phil
 
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Not to worry for either of us Phil. I understand there will be others and that they will keep getting better. 👍 I've been teasing - tongue in cheek - as who can know what the Lorien mind is planning. RS is a nice one. And, yes I am more than old enough. :oops:
 
Today I forged steel for the very first time! Don Hansonn III W2, no less:cool:
Now the I've done it once, I totally get it and my plan for advancing into forging knives as well is probably going to accelerate beyond what I'd planned. Which is fine by me!
There is a local fellow who is world renowned that teaches blacksmithing and I'ma sign me and the kid up for a bladesmithing course in the spring. The will be a smithy on this property soon enough as well
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Lorien said:
Today I forged steel for the very first time! Don Hansonn III W2, no less:cool:
Now the I've done it once, I totally get it and my plan for advancing into forging knives as well is probably going to accelerate beyond what I'd planned. Which is fine by me!
There is a local fellow who is world renowned that teaches blacksmithing and I'ma sign me and the kid up for a bladesmithing course in the spring. The will be a smithy on this property soon enough as well
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That 'local fellow' is Branson?! That's not even fair! Can't beat that. I look forward to seeing what you come up with in this new direction.
 
Richard338 said:
That 'local fellow' is Branson?! That's not even fair! Can't beat that. I look forward to seeing what you come up with in this new direction.
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Oops! Now that I read it over it's a little confusing...
Stuart had me over yesterday to forge a knife, (which is subcritical annealing as I type this) and the blacksmith is Jake James. Our 18 year old and myself will be taking this class in February.
I'll probably go back to Stuart's for heat treatment. The plan is for hamon, so I have some research cut out for me. Probably won't work on it again until I've worked through some stuff that's currently on the bench

Stuart, of course, is also world renowned. Immense gratitude on my part for having access to such skilled and creative people.
 
Lorien said:
My knife making approach lately has been 'extremely hardcore', and it's pretty hard on the body. So taking some time to work with soft materials will be a bit of a break and recovery time. 50 is literally around the corner, and I am definitely noticing that working hard isn't cutting it- I'll have to start leaning more on the 'smart' end of the spectrum 😂
😭
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this knife here has a few things going on that are firsts for me;

-the finish I think is my best effort yet. It has a 2500 grit satin finish- which I admit is not perfect- and I'm happy enough with it to move along. Getting a perfect hand rubbed finish has been elusive thus far, but I'm learning and will get there with time. I've been having challenges with my finishes lately and this one is encouraging, I'll leave it at that

-it's tang is tapered. I don't think tapering a tang is the way to go with every knife- features should be informed by intended use, imHo- but on a sleek like fighty thing, that taper can serve a purpose AND look awesome. Learning how to do it properly will take time, (this example isn't perfect) and the best way for me to learn is to jump right in and try it out. The worst thing that could happen would be I'd fuck everything up, but even then- especially then- there is MUCH to learn.

-a lot of pins. Five pins, all reduced to fit the drill bits I have, and from material I have on hand. Namely, stainless rod from SKS German fenders and a piece of solid 6Al4V titanium from a Selle Italia Flite saddle. Fitting pins through a tapered tang handle is not straight forward, but I figured out a foolproof way to do this which makes me happy. Which means I'll be doing it again, lol

-museum fit handle scales. The handle scales stand slightly proud, (around .5mm in this case) of the tang in order to accommodate unstable handle materials like this unstabilized koa(?) I have here.

There's still lots of room for fuck ups, but the really hard stuff is in the bag. Can't wait to glue this lil sweetie together! Just a little adjustment here and there and she's good to go.
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got er all glued together yesterday and today cut those pins down and ground the handle fairly flat. Sculpting is the next step and I think that might be my favourite part, in general, of making a knife.
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