Starting a couple of hidden tang hunters - First Damascus Knife.

[tomsm44]

I should know better by now than to post a knife before I finish, but I'm gonna do it anyway.  Here's a couple of hidden tang hunters I'm getting started on.  I haven't done very many hidden tang hunters because frankly, full tangs are easier and more fun to me.  But I think it's about time I tried to really figure it out where I can do it right if I ever want to.  I actually posted pictures of a Bowie almost a year ago that I had started, and it's still laying on my desk waiting to be finished, so that's actually three hidden tangs I hope to work on in the coming months.  I recently met a knifemaker from not too far away from me, and he gave me a piece of Damascus to play around with, so I'm getting my first chance at a Damascus knife.  I'm planning to keep it for myself since I never keep any knives I build.  These two will be pretty similar, except the Damascus one will have a straight clip point and the other will be a drop point like the sketch.  Not positive what the handles will be yet.  I left the tangs a little beefy until I get the blade ends mostly finished and decide exactly what the handles will be.

 

[tomsm44]

A little tip for anybody kinda new to this.  At least it works well for me.  When rough grinding a clip point blade (full stuck removal), I find it's easier to get nice even clips if you grind them first and then do your primary grinds.  That also allows the transition line between the clip and primary grind to act as a sort of guide when doing your primary grind to help grind your distal taper evenly on both sides.  On a forged blade with distal taper forged in, that's not the case, and on the few blades I've forged, I've found it easier to grind the clips last.

 

[KSCATTRAPR]

Cant wait to see the finished product, keep us posted on the progress.

[just_a_hunter]

Originally posted by KSCATTRAPR:
Cant wait to see the finished product, keep us posted on the progress.

X2!! Looks to be an awesome build.

Todd

[Bodork]

Looking forward to seeing more updates!

[Steve Nuckels]

Cool!

Steve
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Potomac Forge
Member, W.F. Moran Foundation
ABS Apprentice

[tomsm44]

PING!!!!!!!!       I've had good luck this far in my little knife making adventure.  Guess it had to happen eventually.  Oh well, on to the little Damascus one now.

[Lin Rhea]

That can be discouraging Matt. But don't let it stop you.

I might ask, what is your quench medium?

[tomsm44]

I was doing a clay coated water quench with Aldo's 1075.  I knew it was risky going in, but was trying for a really active Hamon.  It's my second try at it and the first went fine, other than a warp that I was able to get out during my second temper cycle using a technique I picked up from you.  I started the first one two years ago and still haven't finished it.  Some might call me a procrastinator.

[Doug Campbell]

That's a shame Matt, I broke three or four blades, (one spectacular come apart) trying to use water on W2 before breaking down and getting some fast quench oil. I'm sure Lin and some others have similar sad tales. Tough thing to put all that time in a blade then have it break in HT... Just sayin...

Looking fwd to your Damascus blade.

[D.Ellis]

I feel your pain......chalk it up to experience and learn all you can from it.......definitely break it, if it is only cracked, and look at the grain, maybe try different etch techniques to see what they look like with the pieces......that sort of thing.
I tried water and brine quenching a few times......one 1095 blade actually opened up along the clay coat line like a crocodile mouth.
I had better luck using an interrupted quench.
I stick to oil for quenching now FWIW.    
Darcy

[srtben]

Get a bucket of parks 50 and don't look back.  

[tomsm44]

Making a little progress on the little Damascus clip point.  I have it ready for HT, other than filing the guard shoulders.  I went ahead and hand sanded it to 220 and did a quick etch to see what it looks like.  The guy that gave the billet to me meets with a group of knifemakers from around north Louisiana on Sundays to goof off in one of the guy's shop.  He invited me to come over once it's ready to HT and we'll use his electric HT oven so I can get it just right.  Not sure when I'll have a chance to go over there, so it could be a while before I do any more on this one.  This billet was made using ball bearings.  Not sure the exact steel, but I'll try to find out when I meet up with him.  Not my favorite Damascus pattern by any means, but I'm still excited to finish it up, being my first one and all.  I'm thinking I'm going to do a guard/handle setup similar to the sketch in my first post, but I'm going to add a bone or antler spacer between the guard and the block of Koa I have picked out for it.  By the way, the tang is a piece of mono steel welded to the Damascus.  The odd looking dark part of the tang in the last picture is part of the weld.  

 
 
 

[tomsm44]

I met up with the guy that gave me the Damascus billet (Ralph Forester) Sunday and went with him to Dan Graves's shop.  Not sure if any of you are familiar with Dan, but he's a knifemaker in northwest Louisiana. Mr. Ralph is more of a hobby maker, but he's a little more serious with it than I am. I had a great time visiting and working with a good, and somewhat odd group of guys.  I've met one or two other knifemakers before, but this is the first time I had a chance to actually work along with another maker.  I've been invited back to forge some Damascus myself, and I have to say I'm looking forward to that.  I won't get to meet up with them as often as I'd like because they meet on Sunday's, and it's about an hour and a half drive, but I hope to go back over there from time to time.  While I was there, we got this one hardened, and I got to watch most of the process of forging a Damascus billet.  I should get the blade finished out and start fitting up the hardware and handle this week.

[D.Ellis]

 Fun when you can get together with like minded weirdo's eh! Doesn't happen too much for me up here.....me and my good friend Bruce Culberson in a vast desert of knife knut knuthingness!   :D  

Darcy  

[tomsm44]

Haven't had a lot of time to work on this one much in the last week or so, but I spent some time on it yesterday.  Everything is fit up other than the pommel, and I started getting the handle and fittings shaped.  Still have some more shaping and a lot of sanding/polishing to do, then I'll have to etch the blade and put it all together.  I went ahead and put a little cold blue on the guard for the picture.  It has stacked blued mild steel with SS spacers, a whitetail antler spacer (that's still dirty from the wood dust), and Koa handle.  The pommel will be blued mild steel as well.  Still undecided on if it'll have a pommel but or be permed into a button.  

 

[tomsm44]

Double post.

[D.Ellis]

That's looking real good Matt    
Darcy  

[tomsm44]

There we go.