The "Ask Nathan a question" thread

if Nathan unloads the 'blems' (a term of convenience at this point, not an indictment that somehow there are a stash of these sitting around) in general, we may see less fun Friday sales for gray zombie turds (that term is a mash up, and one of endearment, for the newer readers). Long live the gray zombie turd. Nathan does, in fact, turn out what appears to be remarkably few blemished blades and makes them available in various ways.

And, may we never, ever, have a series of second runs that actually leads to hate and discontent with the brand lest it be perceived as having become CPK's main focus to turn a quick buck........
 
Casinostocks said:
As a change of pace, would this be a good time to bring up, "whatever happened to the past talks and ideas about that CPK Custom Division"??? Nathan?
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I’d be interested in this as well. Some of the swedges and hollow grinds in particular. Would like an EDC with that treatment.
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Like this beauty with Mark’s hollow grinds.

dZWKf4d.jpg

rTetjnc.jpg



Nathan would likely need to staff up because I see that department getting slammed with orders.
 
argyle1812 said:
Not saying the price isn't good for what your getting. That does not change the fact that not everyone can afford a 400+ dollar knife.
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I would think that the guy that can’t afford the $400 knife could & should possibly change his own “personal situation” for his own good in life, & that knife-makers like CPK should keep turning out the amazing quality knives at the great affordable prices as they have to date.
 
Oyster said:
Point taken and it’s ultimately for Nathan to decide. I didn’t mean to suggest offering a lesser quality knife. I guess I was thinking of past offerings of “blems” where we all know they aren’t at all lacking in terms of their quality, merely in terms of how “pretty” they are.
But I’ll end my commentary here, too. I buy what I feel I can afford and let the rest pass by.
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Actually, I think the Fun Friday sales that feature a blem here and there is something we all would like to see continue, as the blems are, indeed, meant to be limited and are not confused with the production run models. Glad for the clarity here - on the same track.
 
I think Jackal and Argyle’s comments (and I’m sure my own) were in reference to the FK2 specifically. I don’t think anybody was asking Nathan/CPK to compromise standards in any way.
I took the comments to mean, “Will the FK2 be a ‘milled and tumbled’ knife (like the UF) or have a more refined finish?” And “If the FK2 is getting a more refined finish, could a ‘milled and tumbled’ version be an option?”
I’m pretty sure the questions are moot. I’m guessing, based on recent comments of Nathan’s, that the FK2 will be a “milled and tumbled” knife.

Either way, I will be getting one! Or more if possible. I see the FK2 being a large threat to the relationship developed between me and my EDC2.

I hope I articulated this well enough to not get dickslapped.
 
The upcoming Utility Field Knife will be much less than $400. It isn't a big knife and it isn't getting any fancy S grind, it will be like the original ---> milled and tumbled.

We started this way and will continue to make high quality, high performance, utility grade (user grade) working knives. The EDC is a very nice dressy knife with hand grinds. The big choppers benefit from complex bevel geometry that can only be applied by hand. The Heavy Duty Field Knife is a pretty fancy piece with all the "bells and whistles" but the regular Field Knife always was, and always will be, an affordable utility knife made for hikers and tradesmen who want a quality tool they can afford and use without concern. Our brand is about high performance and bang-for-the-buck without superfluous bling that doesn't add real value. We value substance. Maximizing "substance" can get very expensive (those comp choppers are very expensive, but they can also two hit a 2X4 <--- that takes a lot of substance), but it doesn't always have to be and this FK2 pattern doesn't need to be expensive to be optimized for its use and so it won't be too spendy.

I believe that our "as machined" quality is the best in the industry. It was always good and it has only gotten better. I hope that the folks who are receiving the new batch of Utility Fighters can marvel at the quality of the milling we do here in our shop, I'm very proud of our work. The UF was also originally a mill-and-tumble pattern. The lack of hand finishing on that pattern doesn't detract from its intended use and helps keep it affordable for everyone. The same will be true of the upcoming FK2. The geometry, attention to detail and heat treat have always been what separate us from the others, not removing every last tool mark from every surface. We did a good job when we put those tool marks on there, I'm not overly concerned with removing them on this pattern and this manufacturing approach will help keep that pattern accessible.
 
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Nathan the Machinist said:
The upcoming Utility Field Knife will be much less than $400. It isn't a big knife and it isn't getting any fancy S grind, it will be like the original ---> milled and tumbled.

We started this way and will continue to make high quality, high performance, utility grade (user grade) working knives. The EDC is a very nice dressy knife with hand grinds. The big choppers benefit from complex bevel geometry that can only be applied by hand. The Heavy Duty Field Knife is a pretty fancy piece with all the "bells and whistles" but the regular Field Knife always was, and always will be, an affordable utility knife made for hikers and tradesmen who want a quality tool they can afford and use without concern. Our brand is about high performance and bang-for-the-buck without superfluous bling that doesn't add real value. We value substance. Maximizing "substance" can get very expensive (those comp choppers are very expensive, but they can also two hit a 2X4 <--- that takes a lot of substance), but it doesn't always have to be and this FK2 pattern doesn't need to be expensive to be optimized for its use and so it won't be too spendy.

I believe that our "as machined" quality is the best in the industry. It was always good and it has only gotten better. I hope that the folks who are receiving the new batch of Utility Fighters can marvel at the quality of the milling we do here in our shop, I'm very proud of our work. The UF was also originally a mill-and-tumble pattern. The lack of hand finishing on that pattern doesn't detract from its intended use and helps keep it affordable for everyone. The same will be true of the upcoming FK2. The geometry, attention to detail and heat treat have always been what separate us from the others, not removing every last tool mark from every surface. We did a good job when we put those tool marks on there, I'm not overly concerned with removing them on this pattern and this manufacturing approach will help keep that pattern accessible.
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Very articulate!
 
You ought to know that, at least when it come to BFC. You were his first ever customer :D
 
Just wanted to confirm, I remember that after the skinners he was making videos of chopping cinder blocks with his "Shivs" and at that time he lost me because I had no need for chopping through cement or earthen walls. Little did I know at that time what it meant to have a tool that would withstand that kind of punishment with out breaking!:confused::) Plus, he would post four or five skinners that would last almost a week.:rolleyes:
 
woodysone said:
Nathan, now that this discussion has a answer, what was the first pattern you offered?
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That would be old the D2 skinning knives:



Test001.jpg~original



Knife making was a hobby 10 years ago that I started doing as filler work in the shop. We only started focusing primarily on knives a few years ago.

Being a hobby I made what I needed, which at the time was a good skinning knife. That turned into a pattern that I offered here on the forum.

Some of the first blades I made were replacement blades for folders to improve the edge retention on knives my FIL and I carried.
 
Some of those D2 skinners had some of the early low temp, non-secondary hardening, tweaks I became known for. A few were ground down to a very thin, above tangent, big deep hollow grind that you could flex on your thumb nail. They were nearly straight razors with a belly. I enjoyed a ridiculously thin hard sharp knife but some people tore them up.


little known fact: D2 with these heat treat tweaks ended up being used in an industrial cutting application where the carbide blades they replaced were getting around 15,000 cuts in Kevlar fiber (in the jacket of fiber optics cable). The goal was perhaps 5,000 cuts with steel (which was much less expensive than the carbide blades they'd been using) but once we had it dialed in they were getting 250,000 cuts out of a blade without sharpening or any other maintenance. <---no joke, no exaggeration.
 
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I'm reposting the photo which Nathan had posted a couple of posts above,
because his photo bucket linked picture did not work on my Safari browser
but worked on Firefox. This way, it shows up on my Safari as an actual pic
and not a blue square box with a ? inside it :confused:

Test001.jpg~original


Test001.jpg~original


Oh, FFS! Nevermind :mad:
 
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Nathan the Machinist said:
Some of those D2 skinners had some of the early low temp, non-secondary hardening, tweaks I became known for. A few were ground down to a very thin, above tangent, big deep hollow grind that you could flex on your thumb nail. They were nearly straight razors with a belly. I enjoyed a ridiculously thin hard sharp knife but some people tore them up.


little known fact: D2 with these heat treat tweaks ended up being used in an industrial cutting application where the carbide blades they replaced were getting around 15,000 cuts in Kevlar fiber (in the jacket of fiber optics cable). The goal was perhaps 5,000 cuts with steel (which was much less expensive than the carbide blades they'd been using) but once we had it dialed in they were getting 250,000 cuts out of a blade without sharpening or any other maintenance. <---no joke, no exaggeration.
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Quoted for posterity till his majesty the monarch of Morro Bay wakes up :p
 
Nathan the Machinist said:
Some of those D2 skinners had some of the early low temp, non-secondary hardening, tweaks I became known for. A few were ground down to a very thin, above tangent, big deep hollow grind that you could flex on your thumb nail. They were nearly straight razors with a belly. I enjoyed a ridiculously thin hard sharp knife but some people tore them up.


little known fact: D2 with these heat treat tweaks ended up being used in an industrial cutting application where the carbide blades they replaced were getting around 15,000 cuts in Kevlar fiber (in the jacket of fiber optics cable). The goal was perhaps 5,000 cuts with steel (which was much less expensive than the carbide blades they'd been using) but once we had it dialed in they were getting 250,000 cuts out of a blade without sharpening or any other maintenance. <---no joke, no exaggeration.
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:eek:

Any chance we might see these reappear in the future? I might need to skin a few kevlar animals at some point, and this seems to be just the ticket.:p

On a more serious note, I've heard a lot about these D2 Skinners, and the potato knives, and there's something to be said about the fact that they NEVER show up on the secondary market. Owners like em so much, they apparently fall in the 'cold dead hands' category.
 
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