WIP-Fikes Jungle Honey - Finished pictures added!

Phillip Patton

Knifemaker / Craftsman / Service Provider
Joined
Jul 25, 2005
Messages
5,341
Howdy all,
A while back, someone ordered a custom Jungle Honey, and we agreed to make it a WIP thread, which I haven't done in a while. So, here we go!

I'm making it of W2 steel, with a hamon, which I also haven't done in a while. This particular piece of W2 was some of the first W2 that I bought from Don Hanson back in '06 or '07.

Being a short piece of steel, I welded it to a handle or re-bar. I don't like tongs...

021319-1.jpg

Then it's warmed up in my propane forge:

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I didn't get any action shots of the forging, but here's a pic of my hammer:

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After the first heat:

021319-4.jpg

Second heat:

021319-6.jpg
 
Third heat:

021319-7.jpg

After it's flattened, I forged in the tip:

021319-8.jpg

I didn't get any more pics of the forging, so I'll just describe it for you. After this point, the bar had to be drawn out width-wise, then the profile refined and the handle drawn out. I didn't forge in the bevels on this one.

So here it is after forging:

021319-9.jpg

It's right about 30" long, and the blade is about 2-1/2" at the widest point.
 
Next, thermal cycling. I don't have an oven long enough to fit the whole thing in, so for long pieces, I put a ceramic wool "dam" in the opening of the oven, and insert the blade through a slit, like so:

021319-10.jpg

I do three cycles, one at 1615,

021319-11.jpg

then 1515,

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then 1415:

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And that's all for now folks. To be continued tomorrow...
 
A Don Fogg blade made with Don Hanson W2... hard to get much better than that! :cool:

I really look forward to watching this unfold, it's looking great so far. I have a little bit of Don's W2 in 7/8" that I've been itchin' to use more of but no power hammer or press to draw it out, so after the first one I drew out by hand, which made every part me (including my glutes) sore, I set the others aside for later lol.

Thanks for sharing.

~Paul
My Youtube Channel
... (Just some older videos of some older knives I've made in the past)
 
Phillip, what diameter bar was that? We bought our W2 stock at the same time, so I a sure that I have one. :D
 
Win, how thick is the blade on your JH? I have heard rumor that they are surprisingly lightweight considering their size .
That's going to be awesome!! I'm fortunate to have an original JH, one of my prized possessions. You're right, this is a Jimmy Fikes design, he and Don Fogg did a collaboration, the Cloud Cutter.
 
Thanks for all the interest and comments!

Phillip, what diameter bar was that? We bought our W2 stock at the same time, so I a sure that I have one. :D

It's 1-1/4". The first bit that I bought was shipped, then I drove out there and bought a trunk full of 3' bars. I think that was the beginning of the end of my cars shocks...
 
I have 3 pieces of the 1.25 left. Is an 11 inch chuck enough for a JH? I also have like 3 1/4 pieces of the 1.75.
Thanks for all the interest and comments!



It's 1-1/4". The first bit that I bought was shipped, then I drove out there and bought a trunk full of 3' bars. I think that was the beginning of the end of my cars shocks...
 
After thermal cycling, the blank is then soaked in acid overnight to remove the scale. I used to grind the scale off, but that's a lot of of work, and really hard on abrasives.

022119-4.jpg

I still have to grind it clean, and remove all the pits from the forging. For which I use a cup wheel on my big angle grinder:

022119-5.jpg


Then I grind it flat and smooth and straight on the belt grinder, and refine the profile:

022119-6.jpg

Then the edges are painted with Dykem, and the center lines scribed:

022119-7.jpg

022119-8.jpg

And here's a pic of my shop cat. I think he doesn't like productivity:

022119-9.jpg
 
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