Bunch of Knives

Some of these are from the most recent batch, others are as much as 2 years old.  I finally got around to finishing the handles, sharpening the blades, and taking pictures.

But what am I going to do with all of these?

I should explain that I don't work to particular patterns.  I normally make two of any knife I am making because I work two irons in the fire most of the time.  One piece of steel is heating while the other is being forged.  It is efficient use of fuel and time.  Several of these knives, as you can see, are either duplicates or close cousins.  That's just because of how I work.

There are a lot of knives represented here.  Some are experiments, some are just knives I like to make.  I'll tell you about them all.  Don't worry.  You can skip the words and just look at the pictures if you like.

1. A basic drop point all-purpose knife.  Hand-filling birch handle. Blade about 4" long.

2. Clip point with birch and caribou antler handle.  This one is very comfortable.

3. Smaller brut de forge blade, about 3.25", birch and caribou again.  This one was inspired by a Norwegian knife I saw, so the bevel is rather abrupt, but there is no secondary bevel at the edge.  Good wood working edge.

4. and 5. Efforts at simple seax blades from a couple of years ago.  Maple and caribou antler.  These are very pointy and the handles are just a little small for my hand.  I like them, but not as much as I want to like them.

6. Small seax with octagonal handle.  This one feels really good.  When I stamped my touchmark, the hammer bounced and there's a slight double-stamping.  Too bad, because I really like this blade a lot. 4" blade.

7. Forged in the same day as the above.  Very similar, but without the double-stamping.  Both have chokecherry handles.

8. 3.5" blade and a lathe-turned handle.  I was inspired to do this when I saw a medieval knife in one of my favorite books (Knives and Scabbards from the British Museum) with a lathe-turned handle.  This one is my first such handle.  Possibly my last.  Being completely round, it is hard to index where the edge is just by feel.  I don't like that loss of control.

9. Smaller puukko-inspired knife, using smaller steel stock than the previous knives.  Slender birch handle.  This would make a pretty good carving knife for spoons or similar projects.

10.  Almost the same as above, but the handle is a little different.  This one offers a little more variety of gripping options, but slightly less control.  You sort of have to take a choice with carving knives as to whether you want great control in one position or good control in several positions.

11. Detail carving knife.  I've done several spoons with smaller blades than this one, but it is sort of a hassle.  This is better for carving small figures and projects.  I like this one.

 My "Alaskan Puukkos" are not truly puukkos.  I wouldn't claim to make a perfect representation of a particular knife from a different culture.  I love the "blacksmith puukko" and these are some of my recent efforts inspired by this knife form.  Blades are from 3.5 to 3.75 inches.

12. Amur cherry handle

13. Birch

14. Chokecherry

15. Birch

16. Amur cherry

17. Amur cherry

18. 3" blade, Amur cherry. I don't recall where I saw this blade shape, but I liked the look and wanted to try it out.

19. The mate of the above.

20. 5.5" blade, slim, pointy.  I don't remember why I made this one, but it was a fun one.  The slim handle feels really good and that Amur cherry is just pretty.

21. Chokecherry handle, octagonal, 3" blade.  This one feels like a nice little "getting things done" knife.  I really like it.

22. Paring knife.  Forged thin, birch handle.  Nothing fancy, but it will work hard in a kitchen.  As if I needed another paring knife, right?

23. I'm calling this a Peasant Knife.  Blade just over 4".  I don't know if I like it or dislike it.  It feels good, it is very sharp, and the chokecherry handle is really rather pretty.  But the blade is so primitive that I'm not sure whether I love it or want to hide it.  This was me trying out a particular technique that seemed to make more sense in my head than it did when I was at the anvil.  Yesterday's post showed this blade with its mate, which is not shown here.  The mate is actually just bad looking.  I slapped a cruddy handle on it and will destroy it testing for performance.  If I get to that soon, I'll update the blog with what I do to test blades periodically.

For all of these knives, I used salvaged spring steel and almost all of them have handles made of free wood.  The wood all comes from branches or saplings that have been cleared or trimmed and would not make good firewood.  I just love transforming the stuff that would otherwise be thrown away into knives that will last for years and make wonderful tools.

I have not made sheaths for any of these knives.  Don't know if I will keep any.  I might keep one of the seaxes.  I love that blade form.  If I do, I will make a sheath, of course.  I just don't enjoy leather working very much.  I make a very good sheath, I just don't smile while doing it.  But it is an important part of the knife maker's skill set.  Thing is, someone who will pay $100 for a knife without a sheath won't pay the $40 more that the sheath is worth, in terms of time and effort.  The expectation is that the sheath is a freebie along with the knife.  If I were making something that I enjoy, I wouldn't mind that so much.  But I'd rather spend that time and effort working on another knife.

Well, that's a look at some of my recent work in the shop.  Tomorrow I'll be working on homework and trying to get an assignment done that I've been putting off.  Less than a month to go until graduation.  Whee.