Something a bit different - hand made knives

[Beachcomber]

Thought I'd post something a bit different so here are a few knives I've made over the past few years.









Lovely stabalised burl wood handle with vulcanised fibre.










Made this one using an offcut of corian as a handle.








Leather and corian handle - forged carbon steel blade from Finland.






More burl wood and 440C steel blade










Bit of an experiment - composite african hardwood and vulcanised fibre handle.










Another 'how hard can you make things for yourself' design!



Thanks for looking!

[wine~o]

Looking good..what are they used for? Not in the kitchen by the look of them..

[RobboDIY]

They look superb, do you buy the blades from somewhere? got a link?
Thats something I'd like to give a go, how do you attach the handle to the blade?

[Beachcomber]

These knives are camp / bushcraft knives - made some blades I made out of 01 carbon steel and sent off for heat treating, some were made by other knife makers and the forged finish blades I get from Finland.

There is an excellent knife supplies store there where you'll get all you need as well as tutorials - have a look:
https://www.brisa.fi/portal/index.php?o ... e&Itemid=1

Blades are fixed using 2 part epoxy and pins.

[RobboDIY]

Cheers, will have a look tonight

[royaloakcarpentry]

They look good especially the first and second ones down. I love the pentagram on the handle of the second knife down.

[Beachcomber]

........I love the pentagram on the handle of the second knife down.

Bit of an illusion that - it's actually a mosaic pin similar to the ones in the burl wood one just below it but one.

[royaloakcarpentry]

Aaahhhhhhhh, it looked like the circle was part of the design, rather than a border.

[ultimatehandyman]

Nice work

[lockie]

Nice work, nice designs.

[rotciv]

great looking handles and blades.

[StyXSIS]

There great looking knives and handles Beachcomber. The second to last knife is what id consider a bushcraft knife but id prefer it to have a hilt (i think its called that iirc, the bit that goes at the top of the tang and handle and before the blade right in the middle of the knife like the first knife has in brass but just a little bit bigger and stainless steel) when you split a small log for the fire it stops the handle from being damaged, The 1st would be a skinning knife and a meat prep and carver, the 2nd would be a hunting / carcass knife, the 3rd would be a fish knife because the tang isn't full and thick enough for much else and the 4th would be a hunting knife and the 6th would be another bushcraft knife but it needs the same as the first bushcraft knife mentioned above.

[Beachcomber]

Thanks for the comments, must dig out some more pics - got some folding knives somewhere.

There great looking knives and handles Beachcomber. The second to last knife is what id consider a bushcraft knife but id prefer it to have a hilt (i think its called that iirc, the bit that goes at the top of the tang and handle and before the blade right in the middle of the knife like the first knife has in brass but just a little bit bigger and stainless steel) when you split a small log for the fire it stops the handle from being damaged, The 1st would be a skinning knife and a meat prep and carver, the 2nd would be a hunting / carcass knife, the 3rd would be a fish knife because the tang isn't full and thick enough for much else and the 4th would be a hunting knife and the 6th would be another bushcraft knife but it needs the same as the first bushcraft knife mentioned above.

Close

1 - Spot on - food prep / skinning. I made this one with a slight angle to the blade to give a better angle for unzipping bunnies

2 - Blade made by UK maker Stu Barker called the PSK (Personal Survival Knife) Basically a compact utility knife used for everyday campcraft. I handled this one using an off-cut of corian - very good material for this use and lovely (although a bit stinky) to work with.

3 - Too thick for a fish knife (3mm blade) This one I modeled on the Scandinavian / Mora style Pukko knives. As for the strength of the tang - you can drive these style knives into a tree and stand on them, a favourite trick of the reknowned bushcraft expert Mors Kochanski.

4 - Same as 2nd knife

5 - Bushcraft knife - although at 5mm thick the blade is a little heavy for many campcraft jobs, but it is ideal for battoning.

6 - Another bushy knife - 3mm blade so more multipurpose.

As for the hilts - in most scandinavian countries it is considered a rite of passage when a child is considered competant enough with their knife that they can have one without the hilt
Bit like taking the stabilisers off your bike. Usually more often (but not always) the military style knives that have the hilts although many from the US have them.

If you like your knives I'd recommend a trip the the Bristol knife show in the summer - some incredible workmanship there.