Let's Talk Knives

I got a package from OR today

 

Ray @gosolo the mini is a nice touch.

 

I have a Leatherman surge and a machete.
Covers all my needs. I've had a few typical folding blades over the years, but I find the Leatherman much more useful than just a blade. I use it every day. I had a skeletool for a while, but the blade wouldn't hold an edge and the handle was horribly uncomfortable.
The surge is heavy, especially worn on your belt, but it's a great tool. I especially like that the blades open from the outside when it's folded up.
I have a few machetes and the cheap one works best. It has to be sharpened often, but the balance is right and the blade is nice and thin.

 

Ordered a couple miscellaneous knives

 

Knives can be beautiful! And useful! Or occasionally, both!

 

Obviously, you are a collector. I bet you drink expensive scotch to,lol!

 

Yeah, that’s a little perk. Cute for a keychain, but actually useful for a box cutter.

 

A lovely pair

 

Haha! Just getting into the knife hobby

Current collections include guns, legos, video games, and now knives. I don’t drink much, so no liquor collection yet. But that whiskey thread sure makes me wanna start one

 

Yep. And a conversation piece.

 

They are. I appreciate a good knife.
It's just that for what I do, a multi tool is a better daily carry if I can only carry one thing. It's not a multi tool vs a knife thing. I used to have a very small collection. I just ended up needing the Leatherman and use it constantly. And it has a nice blade. So i never bother keeping a knife with me any more. I do still have my trusty old buck, but I keep it put away so it doesn't get lost.

 

I collected multi knives for a while. My favorite carry was a gerber. I have several that are mini’s. Great for a really compact bug out pouch.

 

traded one of the above posted knifes for this variant.

 

Really like the inserts in the scales

 

Finished this mosaic Damascus boning knife this morning. Scales are stabilized mahogany. Shipping out to Flagstaff, AZ.

 

Now that is a sharp looking knife!! Looks very NICE!!

 

Thanks, they call it blood money. Shredded U.S. currency with red epoxy dye mixed through it, it’s also glow in the dark. Available at voodoo resin if you ever want to play with some

 

Stabilized?

 

Wood is submerged in resin and placed under a vacuum. After all the air has been sucked out of the cell structure, you release the vacuum and the resin flows into the wood filling the cells and small voids. After that, you can check the success by confirming that nothing floats. When that’s confirmed it goes into an oven at around 200*f for a couple hours to activate the resin and make it hard.
This way I can be pretty sure that there’s no expansion or shrinkage of my scales.

 

Gotcha. I know very little about knife making. I know people usually stabilize weak stuff like burl, or punky wood, etc. But I thought mahogany was pretty tough. It makes sense that you'd want it a lot tougher for knife scales though.
That must open up the the options quite a bit for different woods to use.

 

Yeah, this spalted piece of maple was like cork, before stabilizing

I didn’t use to worry about it with dense and oily woods like iron wood and Purple Heart. Years back, I had 2 cases where the untreated wood had expanded or shrunk and I replaced the scales. Now, I stabilize or epoxy encapsulate everything except micarta and antler. Even the antler, I soak in wood hardener to make the core solid.

I know that unstabilized woods were used for centuries, but if I can add a little bit more quality, why wouldn’t I do it?

 

Awesomeness^^^^^

 

Beautiful knife Ray, nice work

 

A thing of beauty

 

I hate you all

I'm now always looking at what is out there and really critiquing what I actually carry daily and how I use it. I'm currently debating placing a pre-order for a knife that isn't released. Its nothing fancy but before all of you, I never would have thought to pre order a knife that wasn't already released hahaha

I've been really enjoying SOG knives. They fit my budget and so far have handled what I've thrown at them. You guys got me to buy Benchmade and I do loves what I have, I'm just conscious of what it would cost to replace those knives and it becomes counter productive. SOG is about to release their Adventurer which I will be picking up and using instead of my Bugout Mini. I will be leaving this knife clipped to the shoulder strap of my pack so its there and ready. Will update when it arrives unless one of you with better connections beats me to posting about it.

 

I finished this knife this week. Canister Damascus from chainsaw chain and powdered steel with buffalo horn scales.

 

Black as coal!^^^^ Very nice Ray, I must say your finished fitment is spot on.

 

I’m not sure how much I like it. Don’t think I will do horn scales again. They were badly warped from the supplier and finished with a look like polished plastic. Almost all the streaks in the bone were lost or hidden.

 

^^^^ can see a couple in there still. I was looking wondering how come it looked so new?

it still looks nice