Marc Dixon 255mm W2 'Tall' Gyuto

So what's the verdict? I hope everything went well!

 

It was...rough. The judge was brutal, apparently this was my lawyer's FIRST TRIAL (wish they'd have told me that from the beginning), and basically all I managed to do was delay the full order for 50/50 custody until the beginning of next summer. In between will be a 'step' plan to transition from supervised visits to the ridiculous 50/50 that this state requires for any parent not guilty of murdering any of their other children. I also was able to force a mandatory psychological evaluation, but all it will do is force her into counseling if the eval picks up on anything serious. My kids are pretty well devastated.

So, now begins the mental and emotional preparation for them to be forced into a home they don't want to be in, with people they don't want to live with, every single Monday and Tuesday, and alternating weekends (Friday is considered a weekend day and alternates in conjunction with Saturday and Sunday), until such time as I can figure out a way to end it for them.

About the only good thing I can say, is that it could have been worse.

Anyhow though, thank you again everyone for all the well wishes. We'll figure out how to keep things solid here, and with the financial burden of the lawyer and the time sink of the preparation gone, hopefully I can get back to full production and making you guys beautiful tools to use in your daily lives.

 

Good to hear that it went as well as could be expected. And hopefully you can keep looking for a permanent solution.

And can't wait to see so more knives being made

 

Might not have been the outcome you wanted but as you said, it's not the worst. I can't imagine what this must be like Cris.

Stay positive!

 

ya cris im sorry it didn't really go in your favor.... having been on the wrong side of court dealings enough times it can be tough to keep positive especially when faced with the expense.
mostly i hope your kids stay positive because beyond all the hoopla the real hope is their happiness isnt lost in the process. luckily kids usually will be kids and they are vibrant and resilient.

 

Thanks guys. Its definitely been tough. I've had some really long discussions with the little ones about it this weekend and am hoping for the best.

Back on topic though! I'm hoping to get another blank for this one forged out this week. I'll be sure to post it up when I do .

 

Alrighty! So...needless to say some of you guys know this knife is actually finished now, lol. I've mostly been updating in my 'What's On My Bench' thread, but for the sake of it...I'll update here as well. I seem to have lost some in between photos (which I has sent to Marc), but you guys have seen that from me enough to get the idea.



So the big hold up (recently anyway) on finishing this was picking some handle wood. This has been a 2yr process with Marc, lol...but up until this last week there had been no pressure. He finally settled on this gorgeous piece of two-tone Arizona Ironwood burl from Arizona Ironwood LLC. Yes ladies and gentlemen. This is actually ironwood rather than redwood burl.


Some pictures of the hamon at 800 grit.


We had tossed the idea of a wrought iron spacer around, but instead I ended up forging this piece of copper nickel mokume.


Ironwood, mokume, and nickel silver, all glued up.


Rough shaped.


Polished out on the knife.


For those of you who've had your hands on the passaround, this is how it compares in size.


First sharpening (so I could make some lunch and test it out). I guess you could say those edge bevels are a bit thin lol.


And a few different types of post polish etch. All of these are at 5000 grit, with varying after effects.

 

Final touch ups! From here I fit the handle, sharpened her up...and....

 

Steel - AISI W2 from Aldo at New Jersey Steel Baron

Handle - Stabilized Arizona ironwood burl from Arizona Ironwood LLC, nickel silver and copper/nickel mokume.

And here's something new I'm thinking of including with every knife. SOOOOO many times, the lighting in still pictures just doesn't show the hamon to the effect it should be shown. You can use all the reflectors and absorbers and 5000k bulbs you want lol, but sometimes things just don't cooperate. So, I figure I might start adding a final video of the fully completed knife, taken in the excellent light of my little photo box, to help give you guys a feel for the knife in shifting light, and in hand.

Let me know what you guys think, and remember to click 2160p resolution to get the full detail!

 

I received this knife yesterday and did some light dinner prep at home.
It's a most Wonderful feeling having this knife in my hands, knowing that it's mine and staying. I've played around with 2 other knives from Cris, both loaners with an expiration date.
With all the editing/changes Cris and I have rapped about during the course of this knife's inception, Cris has built an amazing cutter that will definitely earn its keep at work.

 

Very nice! This may be incentive for me to hit B'more sometime soon...