FINALLY some shop time!

[Jeremy]

With everything that's been going on it's been a very long time since I've gotten into the shop, but I spent some time over the weekend and the better part of Monday morning working on a few knives.

Here's a little something for DW, if'n he likes it.  1095 blade clay coated and etched, alligator juniper scales.  The juniper is from a stump my father brought back from NM... not too much left, but it makes for some fantastic handles!
 
 
 

Here a a few other blades.
 
The top is for Tom in exchange for an outstanding '57 Kodiak.  There's vine filework on the spine.  The guard and handle are all ready to go on and should be finished up this weekend.

The bottom blade is for the St Jude auction this year.  All ready for the heat treat.  It's going to get dressed in antler and cocobolo, or maybe ebony - haven't decided yet.  The antler is from some Curt gave me.

A knife for a friend of Curt's (guess where he got all the antler   ) is still nearly finished.  I just need to do some wire inlay on a walnut disk before I inlay that into the antler crown.  I think I've shown a pic of that before, so I'll wait until the inlays are done.

There's also a gorgeous damascus skinner that's going to Bjorn... it's all taped up for finishing... I'll get a pic or two up tonight or tomorrow.

I'm hoping to rough out a knife for the swap tonight in between coats of finish and changing diapers.

[Leftieshot]

Hahaha, diapers!  I'm right there with you Jeremy!!!

[elk ninja]

HOLY SMOKES!  I LOVE that knife.  
Mike

[Jeremy]

I heard - Congratulations!!  My "little guy" is 9 months old and never stops moving.  I wouldn't trade a minute with him for anything else  

[Lin Rhea]

Great looking knife! Nice stamp. Lin

[imskippy]

Beautiful knives. Enjoy every minute of time with those little ones they grow up too fast. My oldest turned 5 yesterday.

I'm curious about the stamps you all use onthe blades for your makers mark. Are these custom made and how do you do it? Thanks Skippy

[Kevin Evans]

Beatifull!!!
You need to spend more time in shop!!

[Jeremy]

Skippy, I had the stamp custom made by RAS engineering (I think that was who).  There are a number of companies that make 'em.  You can also make them yourself, even the complicated ones if you've a mind too: etch, engrave and/or stamp your design in annealed steel (flat stock), harden it, then heat a tool steel rod up real hot and strike it into the design to make the stamp.  The stamps can be used on annealed steel or stamped into hot steel while forging.

I'll get a pic of the damascus knife up in a few hours once the latest coat of finish is dry enough to touch.  It's a nice one  :D

[imskippy]

Very cool thanks for the info. I'm going to have to work on something. There would be much satisfaction in having a makers mark. Skippy

[Jeremy]

Twist damascus, leopardwood with a purpleheart swoop.  The purpleheart will get darker with age, so the contrast in a year or two is going to be sweet.  The blade has a modified cutlass grind on the front half; you can sort of make out the trasnsition in the pic.  It needs another 4 coats or so of finish (and an edge).

hmmm... photo looks a bit washed out.

[skullworks]

Sweet job Jeremy!!!!

[DW]

Jeremy, the knife is perfect!! I couldn't ask for a more beautiful blade...THX Don

[OconeeDan]

Those look great!

[MYSTIKBOW]

Jeremy,  What an absolutely BEAUTIFUL combination that Leopardwood and Damascus makes.
Outstanding!!!      

[Leftieshot]

What finish will you use on both knives?

[LEOPARD]

Very nice!

[Jeremy]

Leftie, both knives are getting hand-rubbed coats of marine epoxy.  The first coat on the juniper was diluted with acetone to get it to penetrate deepers and highlight the grain better... I could have diluted it further and gotten a high gloss wet look, but opted for a slightly toned down satin instead.  The rest of the 6 coats were undiluted.  The leopardwood is just getting 6-8 full strength coats.

I like the marine epoxy for a few reasons.  The first being on soft woods, like the juniper, you can saturate the outer layer of wood with the stuff and make the really soft woods usable/durable.  I think it would even work on balsa, but am not about to try!     Second, even the undiluted epoxy highlights the wood's grain.  Not as much as an oil, but more than any polyurethane or varnish I've used.  Third, the resulting finish is tough!

I wipe the epoxy on, let it sit for a few seconds and then wipe off the excess.  Each coat is pretty thin doing it this way, but you'll never get streaks that need to be sanded out.  After 2 hours put on another coat.  Every 2 or 3 coats I let it cure overnight, then scuff if with 400 grit before putting another 2-3 coats on.  It'll end up filling any voids in the wood (like with the eyes, cracks and spalted areas in the juniper) and make the whole thing dang near bomb proof.

[Montauks]

Jeremy,
  About how long did it take to bang out that damascus, it looks nice and tight.

[Jeremy]

Gene, I bought the steel (I'm not up to forge welding yet) and since I didn't want to mess up that twist pattern it's a strictly stock reduction blade.  I actually prefer a much less complicated (and fewer layers) random damascus - or none at all.

[Montauks]

Very nice