What's going on in your shop? Show us whats going on, and talk a bit about your work!

Hengelo_77 said:
All I know is that olive cracks a lot.
Just have fun :)
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Thanks, I for sure will.

Stacy E. Apelt - Bladesmith said:
Olive needs years to dry right. 5-10 years is not uncommon, and 20 isn't crazy. Once dried, you have to cut down the cracks to get pieces that are clean. I think you'll get curved lines around those burls.

Paint the ends with house paint and just set aside for 2025.
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Thanks, Stacy, the piece had one big split down the middle that I used to wedge in the axe and split it in half. Judging by the weathered marks on cut ends and the split it looks really dry (I got it from south of Croatia and it was meant to be fire wood, so I think it was cut at least couple of years ago). I will slab one piece, measure the moisture and see how it reacts.
 
I finished this one up finally. Apart from squaring the spine up and rough grinding the contouring into the handle, this one was done the old fashioned waye with hacksaws and files and sh... Took a long time, and there was a point where I had to say f... it, I'm stopping at 1200 grit and etching this m.....f.....! Glad I did. I was planning for a mirror finish blade and a matte handle, but ended up doing the reverse and I think it came out a little better than I thought it would.

A buddy traded me for a watch awhile ago, and I had this box kicking around that the watch came in, so I glued on that bamboo medallion another friend of mine made up for me and stippled it up with some exterior latex. Looks kinda pro, but not really lol!

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This knife marks my entrance into professional knife making, since I got paid for it. It's a great feeling to get compensation for bringing what's inside out and making something that a person can tune into. If I can keep doing that and keep a roof over our heads, that's what I'm gonna do.

And another thing I'm stoked about is finally identifying and ordering the size drill and reamer I need to complete two other knives that are otherwise ready to go that I did not plan very well! Let's just say the hole size is not particularly standard and bigger than they should be. Anyway, turns out they'll be exactly the right size for some 6Al4v round stock I've been hoarding for just such an occasion.

Happy holiday ya'll!
 
Long day, but I managed to reach down inside and find the energy to grind these bevels I even managed to do some hand sanding, at least enough to get it ready for heat treat. It's a tiny bit thicker on the edge than I like but a stacked leather handle might encourage people to use it like a chopper so a little thick behind the edge is probably a good thing! There's a little ripple near the plunge lines that has to come out but that's no big deal, I can't stand ripple!
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FredyCro said:
That looks cool. I put a 10" hollow on this nakiri yesterday, I wonder if it will make any difference, wished it would have been a bit nearer to the cutting edge.
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Can walk the grind down both directions without much work. How I did the first 2 I finished. This one was with a 36” radius platen
 
steelhog said:
Man you all make some amazing stuff. I crossed a personal milestone today by making my first set of knives that did not absolutely suck. Still really working on my detail work but they are at least rustic functional for my own collection.

https://imgur.com/a/c9DSNjq
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You just gave all of us pause for a moment to remember our arrival at that point on our path. Very cool. Congrats, and, thanks!
 
steelhog said:
Man you all make some amazing stuff. I crossed a personal milestone today by making my first set of knives that did not absolutely suck. Still really working on my detail work but they are at least rustic functional for my own collection.

https://imgur.com/a/c9DSNjq
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I think the best thing you can do is make knives for yourself
 




I've just finished a fairly niche knife (and only my fifth or so full tang knife). This is an experiment for an ultralight backpacker. I was trying to see how light I could get a proper knife without compromising the utility or durability of the blade (granted it's clearly focused at light use, not anything too abusive). It started as 0.084" AEB-L stock and I tapered the tang down to 0.010" at the base of the handle. The handle was also lightened by drilling out a large portion of the handle with 0.201" holes. The 3/16" pins are grade 2 titanium and the scales are walnut. (Not positive about the scales, the wood was scrap that had been kicking around for a long while.) The final weight is 41.6 grams (1.47 oz) for a knife with a 3" blade and 7" overall length. I quite like how it handles. The balance point is right at the front pin, uncommonly far forward for a knife of this size. Please feel free to leave any comments or critique!
 
CallumRD1 said:




I've just finished a fairly niche knife (and only my fifth or so full tang knife). This is an experiment for an ultralight backpacker. I was trying to see how light I could get a proper knife without compromising the utility or durability of the blade (granted it's clearly focused at light use, not anything too abusive). It started as 0.084" AEB-L stock and I tapered the tang down to 0.010" at the base of the handle. The handle was also lightened by drilling out a large portion of the handle with 0.201" holes. The 3/16" pins are grade 2 titanium and the scales are walnut. (Not positive about the scales, the wood was scrap that had been kicking around for a long while.) The final weight is 41.6 grams (1.47 oz) for a knife with a 3" blade and 7" overall length. I quite like how it handles. The balance point is right at the front pin, uncommonly far forward for a knife of this size. Please feel free to leave any comments or critique!
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Great project. I was very much into lightweight backpacking. To save even further weight, you could have shortened the ricasso and brought up the grind to a full hollow. And use carbon fibre pins. 🤓
 
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