Feather Damascus Suji and Gyuto WIP

[HHH Knives]

Its very cool! :cool2:

Great looking pattern. I like the profile and wouldnt change it much if any.

 

[WillC]

Wow, thanks Guys, I don't think I can go renaming it, the pattern has been around much longer than me. No one knows who invented it. The method of stacking to forge the pattern out on top is known as "Turkish". So maybe it hails from there. I could name the knives "The Squirrel" Maybe I would be immortalized in Dave's silly names thread:lol2:

 

[jmforge]

The crushed W's make all the difference in that pattern. You get kind of a combination of the best of a feather pattern and something similar to firestorm or explosion. IMO, you can go a bit bolder and it looks great. The disadvantage that you may have with kitchen knives is that you probably don't want to etch as deeply as a presentation/collectable knife and I would think that you wouldn't want to use some of the more common methods of getting super high contrast like cold bluing or parkerizing on a knife that you plan to use on food.

 

[WillC]

I've been playing with the handle idea. The plan was for tapered octagonal wa, in damascus and stabilized wood. But thought maybe something a bit more naturalistic could go well with it?

Feedback would be very much appreciated, practical considerations of use etc.

 

[TB_London]

The curve at the heel goes the wrong way IMO, if it swung down would fit the palm better. The curved handle I put on the petty I made at yours is really comfy and makes a change from my wa handles. I'd put a swell in the middle too but that may just be a personal thing of what I find comfortable

 

[WillC]

Thanks Tom, I think i'm going off the curvy handle for now, needs some work. I think I'll do a nice octagonal taper.

 

[stevenStefano]

Will if you look in this thread I think you'll see what TB_London means. Fish was the original rehandle master and he did a lot of downward curved handles and they looked fantastic

 

[JMJones]

Great work!

 

[Michael Rader]

Very nice feather. The hard work paid off nicely there.

-M

 

[WillC]

Thank you very much, very much appreciated. I can't wait to get going on these again. Thanks for the link to the Fish thread, I'll certainly try something like that on this 240, the two others will be octagonal I think. I'll try this one first. At the moment i've got lots of different things started, so I had better get on and get something finished.:biggrin:

 

[tk59]

Nice looking blade, Will. I'm going to dissent and say that the upward curvature might not be terrible if there is enough room for the palm to sit comfortably in front of the upsweep. You might also consider putting a little dip right before it. It might also have balance issues and it would certainly look wierd.

 

[Eamon Burke]

I think it's cool. Got a chef nearby you can test things on?

 

[WillC]

I could do a mock up of the upturn in ply. I think I will leave it for a future experiment though. I'm sure this will evolve in the right direction, certainly wanting to try something a bit different on the 240, Many thanks Guys.

 

[WillC]

Some Grinding n polishing. Logo etched, time to etch the damascus! The "Turbulence" Petty also ready to rock.

 

[Eamon Burke]

Can't wait to see them etched!

 

[zitangy]

Been busy again... waiting the see the art of damascus on the blade...

 

[WillC]

In between a bit more polishing then etching blades, I got the damascus for ferrules and endcaps done.
Started with a W's billet cut to 4, welded restacked, forged to about 30mm square and gave it a good tight twist.

And forged it out into a square bar about 20mm

Cut to 4 and made a 2x2 stack,

welded and forged to a 30mm square bar. Cut to 4 on the diagonal and restacked. So the interior of the twisted W's is now the exterior.

Welded that down to a 25mm square bar and left it in the furnace to anneal for drilling and grinding.
I'm looking at some lovely polished etch blades here, when there is some daylight i'll get some pics.

 

[TB_London]

Ooooo looking interesting, those are going to be some cool ferrules

 

[WillC]

Hope so mate, Really wanted to have a sneaky peak, but avoided the temptation and left it to fully anneal. I can't resist using that lovely bit of Chestnut burl for the feather one. I have a plan for the handle. Its going to be wa but with a 20mm damascus cap on each end of the chestnut, no spacers hopefully nice and clean and natural to go with the pattern. I'll see what the pattern looks like tomorrow to be sure and if I've got enough width for damascus on the back after grinding it flat and true.

 

[jmforge]

Nice, Will. I twisted a single W bar and Ferry flipped it and ended up with a pattern where it almost rises up from the edge like a wave or solar flair in some places. And the twisty bits did show on the spine even when tiled out.

 

[WillC]

Thanks Joe, that sounds good, hope the twists did not get too stretched, have to see, either way be nice for ferrules. Clear some space in your inbox btw, just tryed to send you a message.:biggrin:

 

[jmforge]

Mailbox cleared!!! Actually, it was a pretty bold pattern, but both knives were smaller. I would stack at least one more time for a finer starting pattern for a kitchen knife blade.

Thanks Joe, that sounds good, hope the twists did not get too stretched, have to see, either way be nice for ferrules. Clear some space in your inbox btw, just tryed to send you a message.:biggrin:

 

[WillC]

Managed to get some quick pics of the finished blade this morning.

Got all the handle bits drilled/slotted and flat and square, also made an assembly jig so I can grind it dry, etch and assemble. Still not 100% which bits i'm using. I'll get some pics when i've decided.
Here's the Chestnut burl, I think it will go nicely with a squirrel tail

And the pattern for the ferrule/endcap

That could be it till xmas, have a good one everyone.:biggrin:

 

[TB_London]

That billet came out niiiiiice
That's going to be stunning when it's finished

 

[kalaeb]

Good show Will. Turned out great. Thanks for the WIP.

 

[Eamon Burke]

:hatsoff:

 

[WillC]

Evening all, some handle progress. i'll be brief as my computer is playing up.
Jig assembly to grind prior to epoxying has made this job easier.

More to follow when i've sorted out my puter.

 

[WillC]

Some details I got with this rather nice piece of stabilized horse chestnut.

"This block came from a tree planted in 1727 on the Duke of Buccleuch's Northamptonshire estate. Nearly 300 years old. They have the planting records of every tree ever planted on the estate.."

 

[Eamon Burke]

Wow, NICE.

 

[WillC]

Thanks Eamon, the light was lovely that morning, i'm liking the frosted glass as a wintery backdrop, its actually my lapping plate.