Hello all,
I finally got someone to lend me some photographic expertise to get a couple of pictures snapped of one of my pieces, so I figured I'd share.
This is my third knife, and I think it turned out pretty sharp. The blade and handle are made from one solid billet of 1095 steel, the scales are Amboina burl, the hanger is bead-blasted 304 stainless, and the base is black walnut.
Pictures are here:
The blade lifts off the stand for use, and sits as shown for display. It was forged to rough shape, then the slot was milled in the center of the blade, and then ground to final dimensions before heat-treating. Final grinding was done freehand with a 4" angle grinder with an 80 grit flap wheel. File work on the handle was done freehand with a chainsaw file and a triangular file, as was the pommel.
The scales are attached with two-ton epoxy using "epoxy rivets" (holes through the steel allow epoxy to connect the two scales through the blade, and slightly larger stopped holes in the scales allow the epoxy to form a "head" on either side)
Topcoat on the scales is polished acyrilc conversion finish, and the blade was polished through the grits up to white rouge. (The dull spot on the blade in one of the pictures is a thumb print) Only the cutting edge is hardened, to retain flexability as much as possible. I got tired by the time I turned the walnut base, so it only has paste wax as a finish.
The hanger was laser cut from 14 ga stainless steel, and bent to shape with a vise and hand pressure.
My total time on the project was about 60 hours, but I'm pleased with the results. I ended up giving it to my father for last Christmas, as he's a bit of a knife buff- probably a bit extravagant, but he's agreed that it will return to me someday, and not be given away or sold to anyone. Anyhow, thought I'd share.