WIP The most EPIC kitchen knives ever! WIP

The suspense is brutal!

 

Always pushing the envelope Randy. We get to sit back and enjoy the journey with you! op

-Steve

 

SUCCESS!!!

Here is what it looked like right out of the pressure plates.



And after a little clean up we have this.


Goodnight and God Bless
Randy

 

This is going to be AWESOME!

 

Man what a late night I had. It was like 3:30AM when I came in from the shop last night.

Slept in today. lol

I did get some photos of the Damascus being forged.

 

Hello. Today I managed to get some images of the damascus being forged .

Jr started with the big ol block I described to ya yesterday.

He welded a handle onto it and threw it into the forge to heat up to forging temps.




Then into the press to start the drawing process.




After a few draw heats the block is starting to look like a bar.



and after a hew more draw heats its turning into a rather large billet! And must be worked in sections.




Go Jr, GO!! Its almost to the desired thickness and is long enough for the 4 knives for this amazing order!!!



I took another picture of the billet of mokume that was finished yesterday. After sitting for a few hours the copper alreay started to patina a bit and you can now better see the layers and how I configured this first piece.




Did I mention that these are gona be the most EPIC set of knife EVER?

Thanks for looking. Stay tuned as this process is going to take a month or so to complete and I will be posting as I can.

God Bless
Randy

 

oh my goodness... that's epic alright.. the copper found its thing really sets it off.

 

are they kitchen knives or swords randy?

 

Sorry about the delay. So here is a sneak peak at the damascus after cleaning it up and a quick etch.

 

Made some progress on the damascus blades yesterday . All are profiled and ready for Heat Treat.

The mokume is all made and now need to be rolled out to thickness. I have enlisted the help of my friend and teacher Del. He has the right tools and the experience get this stuff down to the desired thickness and sizes needed for this special project. Thanks Del.

So thats it for now. Im on hold for a minute while I wait for the Mokume to get back to me.


Sorry about the bad picture. The top 2 blades and one of the small paring knife blades are for this EPIC adventure. There is also going to be a 4th knife in this WIP but Ill probably wait and just show the finished knife. As Its sort of a surprise/gift. And not a kitchen blade.

You may also notice there is a few other blades in progress as well.

Its a KNIFE LIFE
Randy

 

Hello and Happy Thanksgiving to you all!

This one had been a challenge and I have a new respect for these materials and the guys who work with them. Yet after stepping away for a while to regroup We started working on this again. The first bar we made worked perfectly. The second and third did not. Beginners luck is all I can say, combined with Murphy law. Hes always hanging around!


So after a break. I went at it again hard. and managed to get the mokume forged and finished to the sizes I need to make all 4 of these knives!

I did learn alot. and mainly that what works for one person. in there shop. with there tools . doesn't always work in my shop! Delbert. (the king of precious metal mokume) Was very kind and helpful sharing his experience with me. And Im sure that this really helped me out alot. in getting these pieces forged. So a shout out to Del! and a thank you sir for your help and time. That said. I had to do some stuff different then Del does to get the results and finished pieces!

Through this I had some choices to make. I have been given the control as to the design. construction style and materials on these knives. Meaning, when stuff got tough. and things didnt work out. I could of simplified the design and "made it work" and still fall within the parameters of the original order. That said. I also know if I was ordering this set. I would want some things on these handles. Mainly I would want to see as much of the mokume as possible. rather then just a small cap on the front and back. So Thats what I was going for and was not willing to settle for less. Although I did have to change up my original ideas. to suit the materials. and moresomy ability currently to work the materials without them having catastrophic failures!!

So heres where I am at. The pieces of mokume are at this point. all solid and forged and cut to size to be the pieces for this project! I started on the hunter and rough shaped the guard and butt cap. cut the fossil walrus ivory. and drilled and fitted the guard and blade. I got started and worked for about 15 hours and forgot to take a single picture as we were forging or processing. But I did get a couple of images to share!

First of the 3 pieces. and one of the hunter where I stopped yesterday. and finally one of a piece that I am testing the idea of scalping the faces on the but caps as well as the fronts of the ferrules. Im not 100% sure on how or if I am going to do the fronts of the ferrules yet. But Im working it out in my head and will figure it out. Or just drop it from the equation. .

Sry to be all long winded. yet happy to finally have progress and something to show!

 

Bravo, sir. BAK, indeed!

 

Hello. I am happy to have some progress photos to share. First up is the Hunter. to be followed by a 3 knife kitchen set.

Today I started on the mokume bolster and guard for the Hunter. and after getting it shaped and perfectly flat on the connecting faces. I started shaping filing and sanding. Here are a few photos of the butt cap in progress and then a picture of the guard and butt cap when I called it a night!

Humble beginnings. Note how I precisely set up and marked my piece.



After much more file work I was here. And starting to question if I made the right call to do this sort of thing on the butt cap!



A hour or so later. I added some secondary cuts to help accent the round cuts!



Just in case anyone wanted to know. I am using a round bastard file. and a triangle flat file on this. Paired with sand paper. and elbow grease.

At this point. I was still not feeling it. So I started rounding the edges. and added a hole in the center. Took it to the buffer and I went from Not sure I liked it to. WOW. I am loving where this is going!!




Time to put it with the guard and handle to see how they look together.




Next will be final fitting and finishing on the handle pieces. Then etching the mokume to make it POP!!! Etch and apply makers mark to the blade. and final assembly!

Thanks for checking out the WIP comments or questions welcomed.
Randy

 

Holy shizot Randy! Every time I think I've seen it all you come up with ******** like this and blow me away again!

 

lol. Thanks for following along. This one has taken me a bit longer then normal. But the resulting knives are gona be so EPIC. its not going to really matter if it took longer!!

Blessing
Randy

 

Im jumping ahead a little But wanted to share the images b4 they get buried by new images in my computer.
This is the ivory I intend to use for the 3 kitchen knives. Its a piece of black fossil walrus tusk. The handles on the kitchen knives will be a frame style . This means the front bolsters and butt cap will be connected using a separate piece of something (have not decided exactly what im using there yet.) Essentially making a frame that secures everything together and gives me a base to use scales rather then a block of material. Then there will be ivory scales attached to this and to one another.

Ill show pictures when I get there. Until then check out this amazing ivory!!

 

Make mine a lefty :cool1. Owner is gonna love that hunter. Did you tell us about the blade composition?

 

The steel on all of these knives is our Stainless steel damascus blend. Its mainly AEB-L // Which is my all time favorite stainless steel by the way.

They are wood grain pattern. and should complement the flow and look of the knives..

 

Today I finished up the fit and finish of the mating pieces today and began tested a few different etching options for the mokume. Of the things I tested. one stood out far and above the rest!

 

are you going to heat co]olor the gane or let nature take its course