Show us your knives
Discussion
very nice collection there 
- i see you have a kershaw trooper there - i have one too - the first knife i ever bought - about 31-32 years ago 
. it's one of my favorites - the shape of it, ebony wood handle etc. is yours numbered? they are now apparently, but mine isn't and i'm not sure when they started.
do you have any folders?
- i see you have a kershaw trooper there - i have one too - the first knife i ever bought - about 31-32 years ago . it's one of my favorites - the shape of it, ebony wood handle etc. is yours numbered? they are now apparently, but mine isn't and i'm not sure when they started.do you have any folders?
Trooper is 2259 and I have a typed certifcate in the box signed by Peter kershaw and that is dated January 1980. I have some folders & will get a picure up. Lots of Kershaw/Kai, afew Al Mar, small old skool Buck , Schrade and one or two other obsure Yank ones ! I had a lot of Victorinox but just moved that on its not my thing.
Ziplobb said:
Trooper is 2259 and I have a typed certifcate in the box signed by Peter kershaw and that is dated January 1980. I have some folders & will get a picure up. Lots of Kershaw/Kai, afew Al Mar, small old skool Buck , Schrade and one or two other obsure Yank ones ! I had a lot of Victorinox but just moved that on its not my thing.
thank you - and that's a very nice collection you have there SpydieNut said:
many thanks
you may see now why I chose the name i did.
as mentioned, it took many years to build up - thankfully, when I started all those years ago, Spyderco wasn't very well known, so I managed to get some very good deals. It also helped that at that time, you could buy and sell knives on eBay (UK).
I collected knives that I either liked the look (shape) of, or that had interesting materials (like carbon fibre or titanium). I've never used any of them - just keep them in the safe and a few times a year take them out to admire and re-oil them.
My EDC is a little Spyderco UK penknife
ETA - this is the first knife I ever bought - in about 1989/90
here's mine you may see now why I chose the name i did
.as mentioned, it took many years to build up - thankfully, when I started all those years ago, Spyderco wasn't very well known, so I managed to get some very good deals. It also helped that at that time, you could buy and sell knives on eBay (UK).
I collected knives that I either liked the look (shape) of, or that had interesting materials (like carbon fibre or titanium). I've never used any of them - just keep them in the safe and a few times a year take them out to admire and re-oil them.
My EDC is a little Spyderco UK penknife
ETA - this is the first knife I ever bought - in about 1989/90
Edited by SpydieNut on Friday 17th October 12:47
- photos of some of my collection posted on this thread Oct 2014Edited by SpydieNut on Thursday 3rd June 13:25
Garemberg said:
Liking that Gerber Nk2 I've wanted one for no other reason than watching Aliens when I was a kid. What year is it?
014980 not sure what the year is but early 80s I would say. I did not buy it new. Always wanted one as a kid but obviosuly could not afford it back then. I only managed to get one 'grail' knife back then and it was a Cold Steel Master Tanto. I think that was around £150 in c.1985 it was a lot of dosh for a teenager.
As we will be starting our Scout Group back up next term, and so camping gear won't be wasted, decided to treat myself to something I've been missing for a long time - a half decent bushcraft/wood knife.
I have plenty of knives, but I have concentrated on UK legal EDC knives, and the smaller/lighter end of those, even. Which is fine for everyday, but not the best in the woods.
Dithering between a fixed blade (top of the list: Viper Borr (gone out of stock in the last 2 days at HH!)) or a locking folder... I was thinking a sheath knife might not be the best when all my camping trousers don't have an external belt to hang it off... but folders are just compromised by their very nature... when I found the reviews on the Cold Steel Finn Wolf
https://youtu.be/fS5X_jbfo1A
https://youtu.be/lW-shWUW3ko
Seemed just about perfect for me... I won't be doing anything more than they're showing and it'll still tuck away in my pocket.
So ordered on Friday with regular postage - seems HH still have their deal/blackmail with Royal Mail, as it turned up this morning
Blue was the only one they had in stock... It's different to my other knives, should help me find it if I drop it, at least.
It's not pretty like most of my other knives, but boy it means business
I have plenty of knives, but I have concentrated on UK legal EDC knives, and the smaller/lighter end of those, even. Which is fine for everyday, but not the best in the woods.
Dithering between a fixed blade (top of the list: Viper Borr (gone out of stock in the last 2 days at HH!)) or a locking folder... I was thinking a sheath knife might not be the best when all my camping trousers don't have an external belt to hang it off... but folders are just compromised by their very nature... when I found the reviews on the Cold Steel Finn Wolf
https://youtu.be/fS5X_jbfo1A
https://youtu.be/lW-shWUW3ko
Seemed just about perfect for me... I won't be doing anything more than they're showing and it'll still tuck away in my pocket.
So ordered on Friday with regular postage - seems HH still have their deal/blackmail with Royal Mail, as it turned up this morning
Blue was the only one they had in stock... It's different to my other knives, should help me find it if I drop it, at least.
It's not pretty like most of my other knives, but boy it means business
egomeister said:
Just had this delivered today, a Real Steel Sidus. Liner lock and luminous carbon fibre handle. It's a bit excessive for opening parcels etc but it'll do the job 
Very nice 
I'd say add a thumb screw for opening and it'll be even better ... like my Luna, further up the thread. It was over a year of general use before I needed to sharpen it! Your D2 steel blade may go even longer
defblade said:
Very nice
I'd say add a thumb screw for opening and it'll be even better ... like my Luna, further up the thread. It was over a year of general use before I needed to sharpen it! Your D2 steel blade may go even longer
That would spoil the lines!I'd say add a thumb screw for opening and it'll be even better ... like my Luna, further up the thread. It was over a year of general use before I needed to sharpen it! Your D2 steel blade may go even longer
I'm very pleased with it. Looks great, sits in the hand really well and seems to be built very nicely. The size and locking mean it's not legal to carry but that's probably the only criticism I could make.
My new Nakiri style kitchen knife damascus blade and walnut handle. Handle may be a little large for some but it suits my big hands. A birthday gift from my other half.
From here if anyone is interested in learning for themselves.
From here if anyone is interested in learning for themselves.
I was just going off what the guy at the forge called it. He made the block of steel not me and then they showed me how to make the blade and handle. It was a great couple of days and the result was way better than I expected I'd be able to make. It helped that they had a good supply of power tools I'm not sure I could have done it without the power hammer to save my arms.
They're in the North West near Preston and I'd highly recommend the classes that they run. They do an axe making or general blacksmith course too.
They're in the North West near Preston and I'd highly recommend the classes that they run. They do an axe making or general blacksmith course too.
DocJock said:
These days what we get/make is technically "Damascus pattern". The forging process is the same but we don't know the exact combination of ores and additives which made true Damascus, aka Wootz steel, so it looks the same but is mechanically different.
So what we know as "Damascus" is really just the aesthetic appearance, as opposed to the actual Damascus steel itself?I find it fascinating that will all the knowledge and tech available to us, we still can't replicate a process that was in use circa 2500-3000 years ago!
TheJimi said:
So what we know as "Damascus" is really just the aesthetic appearance, as opposed to the actual Damascus steel itself?
If I remembered this right. The dark/light is the steel with a high carbon content (Darker) and high nickel content steel (lighter) where it's been forge welded/cut/ground stacked repeat in various ways to make the pattern.The wiki page has it all: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Damascus_steel
But tl;dr - kinda. Lots of people can make something which is near-as-identical to the original items, but the actual technique isn't 100%. We also have the problem that the materials used now are much purer, a lot of the original stuff is down to small impurities etc which were beneficial.
But tl;dr - kinda. Lots of people can make something which is near-as-identical to the original items, but the actual technique isn't 100%. We also have the problem that the materials used now are much purer, a lot of the original stuff is down to small impurities etc which were beneficial.
If anyone's interested some pics and steps of the knife build. I didn't get chance to take pics of the steel billet/start of the process but some pics from my couple of days...
It was at the Friargate Forge in Lostock Hall near Preston. My girlfriend booked it as a birthday gift and the guys there where superb I'd highly recommend it to anyone that likes crafty stuff and I'll have the memories of that every time I cook with it.
During forging
Rough shape created and normalising after all the heating and hammering.
After first stage of grinding. Those belt grinders can really remove steel quickly.
Heated and quenched to harden the blade edge.
After quench, you can see the pattern a little here under the scale.
More hours of grinding and polishing to final shape.
Acid, ferric chloride, dipped to bring out the pattern I understand this causes the high carbon steel to corrode quicker than the nickel steel. Also made a collar/guard to protect the end grain of the handle.
Talking of handles. I opted for an oval profile but with a bit of a western profile on the bottom. I can't chop like a pro so this will be comfier for my hand. All done from a block of wallnut using the same belt grinders with sanding belt and then finished by hand.
All assembled, the wallnut had a dark light section so I split this to the left and right halves of the handle. which is a hidden tang drilled filed slot in the wallnut and then epoxied in to secure.
It was at the Friargate Forge in Lostock Hall near Preston. My girlfriend booked it as a birthday gift and the guys there where superb I'd highly recommend it to anyone that likes crafty stuff and I'll have the memories of that every time I cook with it.
During forging
Rough shape created and normalising after all the heating and hammering.
After first stage of grinding. Those belt grinders can really remove steel quickly.
Heated and quenched to harden the blade edge.
After quench, you can see the pattern a little here under the scale.
More hours of grinding and polishing to final shape.
Acid, ferric chloride, dipped to bring out the pattern I understand this causes the high carbon steel to corrode quicker than the nickel steel. Also made a collar/guard to protect the end grain of the handle.
Talking of handles. I opted for an oval profile but with a bit of a western profile on the bottom. I can't chop like a pro so this will be comfier for my hand. All done from a block of wallnut using the same belt grinders with sanding belt and then finished by hand.
All assembled, the wallnut had a dark light section so I split this to the left and right halves of the handle. which is a hidden tang drilled filed slot in the wallnut and then epoxied in to secure.
That looks great, I would love to have a go.
I spent a long time wanting to make some kitchen knives after finding out about powder metallurgical stainless steels where I work.
I have some Uddeholm Elmax (PM) blanks that need finishing off, but as I am still very much a beginner i wanted some "cheaper \ easier" material to practice and learn with.
I bought a plate of Böhler N690, chopped it in to blanks and had it heat treated, with the goal of having some pieces to practice with and some to potentially sell.
Here are two knives i have made so far.
The mirror polish on the top knife was absolutely pain staking - it took me AGES with sandpaper, i only did one side!
I spent a long time wanting to make some kitchen knives after finding out about powder metallurgical stainless steels where I work.
I have some Uddeholm Elmax (PM) blanks that need finishing off, but as I am still very much a beginner i wanted some "cheaper \ easier" material to practice and learn with.
I bought a plate of Böhler N690, chopped it in to blanks and had it heat treated, with the goal of having some pieces to practice with and some to potentially sell.
Here are two knives i have made so far.
The mirror polish on the top knife was absolutely pain staking - it took me AGES with sandpaper, i only did one side!
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