# Something custom and unique!



## Strider (Mar 8, 2017)

On Facebook I've seen somebody wanting a knife for a special purpose. I have contacted him and after a while (darned facebook none-friend messages go to other, unseen folders) he responded. The deal was made- I was to make a mushroom knife! :) He gave me a photo of the style he would like, but with me having artistic freedom. Well, through my eyes, functional freedom. This is something he wanted the knife to resemble.





I've sent him some photos of the woods I have in stock and he chose spalted oak burl. It is nice, yes, good choice. The one on top.




Without further ado, I grabbed the piece and worked out the dimensions.




Then we talked about steel the knife was supposed to be made out of. N690Co is what he wanted, as it is the only stainless piece that would fit the dimensions he preffered. Apart from that he wanted me to make a full tang handle. Fine by me, it's been long since I've done one. 
The sketches were made; he liked them.




My piece of N690Co steel came in a form of a bar 25 cm long, 2,5 cm wide and 4 mm thick. So, in order to make a nice curve, I had to forge it into shape. Something I've done not that many times and certainly not with N690Co steel. High carbon steels forgive, I am not sure about the super stainless ones.








Getting there and with no apparent issues! :) Except the hammer leaving bad impact marks, so i rounded it's corners off.




This is how it looked before the hammer struck!




Odd colors after constant heating. As it will be thin, I didn't want to use the angle grinder that much...better yet, I couldn't! The steel got so hard after heating, due to air quench I couldn't work on it even with a laminated #40 grit disc! It measured around 58 HRC. I left it in the furnace overnight to become butter soft, which it did.




Due to constant heating on high temperatures and hammering, some pitting occurred. Removing them was tough work. I used sandpaper and stones.

Reactions: Way Cool 2


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## Strider (Mar 8, 2017)

Once that side was done I had to get the other one as well. It is very bumpy and uneven due to forging. But, somehow I managed to keep it straight during forging! :)




I had to forge the handle a bit to fit the handle. I tried not to hit the edges, but rather use the peen side and hit the middle part parallel with the edge, which will be glued either way. As you can tell, some hits on the edge have happened which made me quite angry and I had to thin the whole handle out.




Better yet, I've done it in vain since I didn't quite like the design I intended. Too...bulky and awkward palm grip. I chose the pointed one, as it won't interfere no matter which way you grip the knife, you can choke on it rather well, and it will be comfy even while wearing gloves.




Choil making.




Edge and tip shaping.




After initial oil quenching, the results were good! Oh, I forgot to say- even when annealing the blade in the furnace, I've placed it in a cementing granulate, to add a few carbon atoms it lost during forging at that high temp. So have I done now!








But the bastard bent. Me angry again! 




Nice and sanded smooth.

Reactions: Way Cool 1


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## Strider (Mar 8, 2017)

Second quench process is imminent, but I had to straighten it prior that. This time I took no chances so I've plate quenched it and it did good. 
I'm stealing Facebook photos now, so I'll add other later. 
Scratch test on the very edge- the thinnest and the hardest part. I can't meassure it on the machine. The blade is generally harder than the handle as it is thinner and loses heat more dramatically (bends more likely because of different heat transfer).
See the piece mark and it's hardness. If it scratches WITHOUT any force applied, it is harder than that. When it stops, it is the same hardness, and when it loses material, it is being worn out because it is softer. Logic.




S21 piece- 52 HRC




S23 piece- 55 HRC




S32 piece- 57 HRC




The hardest part which is not on the paper- around 62-64 HRC. Scratches barely. Good result!





The fun part now- handle! Drilling the holes in the wood and in the metal to lighten the blade a bit.





Gluing fast since I am using a 5 min epoxy. It is good, but I have to be fast. I chose to put the leather liners again since the handle surface is hammered. I am paying more attention now, so I've clamped the bolster and the end part really good! Also, no more saving pins. They go all the way through, even if the handle is a bit big now. I can't afford taking it all down now.




Checking the handle. No errors this time. Waiting untill it is fully dried. 




Rorschach, is that you!? Beautiful grain!




Rasp still rasps!

Reactions: Way Cool 1


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## Strider (Mar 8, 2017)

One side of the bolster split as the leather deteriorated and torn out. At first, I thought it was the glue. I dug it out and filled it in with epoxy and bog oak dust.








Heating it slightly to set faster.




Filled the filework with CA and the very same dust.






After lots of sanding and filing...Voila! 
The back of the blade represents a vine, and the end of the handle is the earth. On the belly the filework represents the root system, a random one!








No more issues with the pins ;)
I have applied three or four coats of linseed oil and beeswax cream onto the wood and heated it in front of that same heater. The oak soaked it really good. The customer wanted a natural finish so that's why I've chosen the cream. It darkened nicely, and still shows quite a bit of spaltnesssssss! 









More to come: the sheath and something I came up with! (I have college lectures now)

Reactions: Like 1 | EyeCandy! 1 | Way Cool 5


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## Strider (Mar 8, 2017)

Hope you don't mind me and my long, picture heavy WIP threads :P

Reactions: Like 1


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## Tony (Mar 8, 2017)

Very interesting so far!!

Reactions: Thank You! 1 | Agree 1


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## barry richardson (Mar 8, 2017)

Great thread!

Reactions: Thank You! 1


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## Don Ratcliff (Mar 8, 2017)

The knife is awesome but WTH did you do to your hand?

Reactions: Agree 1 | Funny 1


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## Wildthings (Mar 8, 2017)

Don Ratcliff said:


> The knife is awesome but WTH did you do to your hand?


Look at the next picture and his hand is normal

Great Build Loris!! Love all the pics!

Reactions: Thank You! 1 | Agree 1


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## Strider (Mar 8, 2017)

Hahahahah we have a month-or-so lasting carnival and the main closing parade called Karneval each February. World famous, after Brazilian and Venetian we hold (or used to) 3d place. If I startled you, I apologize! Just some glycerin, gelatin and hot water, 1:1:1 ratio. Add some grooves, color, makeup...and you get these.. nice scars! :p

Oh, and the customer of this knife is also American :S I'll get him hooked to the forum sooner or later LOL

Thanks all!

Reactions: Like 2 | Informative 1


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## gman2431 (Mar 8, 2017)

Very cool process Loris! 

Thought you reached into that oven bare handed for a moment!!!

Reactions: Thank You! 1 | Agree 2


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## ripjack13 (Mar 8, 2017)

Wow...for a second I thought you barbecued your hand...

The knife looks great....

Reactions: Agree 1 | Funny 1


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## robert flynt (Mar 8, 2017)

Loris, The next time you get a warp like that try c-clamping it to a length of angle iron with shims under the center of the warp then temper it at the normal draw temp. in your kiln. By over flexing using the shims you can usually straighten the blade.

Reactions: Informative 5


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## Strider (Mar 9, 2017)

Yes, sir, I usually do it that way, but my hardware is relatively narrow and the beak of this knife goes beyond the angle iron, which would damage the edge as it rested on the edge itself since it twisted as well.
It still shows a minute curve- I had made a small swedge before the first HT and bending which can be seen, but barely. Such a thin piece!

Reactions: Like 1


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## Strider (Mar 9, 2017)

Those promised other photos :P

Flatness after forging. I was so happy! (except the lower side of the spine above ricasso- hammer strikes)


 
Cementing granulate.


 
And afterwards. That was the annealing process.


 Shaping the bevel...


 
Making the tang flat. You can clearly see how I widened it- peen side, parallel to the edge.


 



 
Making a swedge- false edge. Why? Because I can! :P


 Markings for the filework.


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## Strider (Mar 9, 2017)

Lower side


 
Making more holes to lighten it with a cobalt drill bit.





Flakes tell a lot about the steel- hardness etc

 Other side...



The most precise choil and ricasso I've ever made! Difference being premade round marks that act as a later plunge line.





 


 
No sandpaper yet- only files, coarse and fine.


 
Have to repeat lol! Check the premade plunge lines.

Reactions: Way Cool 1


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## Strider (Mar 9, 2017)

fine filing until I reach the guard.

 Coarse filing on the other side.




 


 
Paper time!


 
Lots of deep grooves



Loss of deep grooves :D


 
Love this photo.


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## Strider (Mar 9, 2017)

The last quench preparation.


 
Scale hole drilling.


 

 Liners out of suede...


 You've seen this part.


 Amateur dust maker ;P





 

 
This speeds it up...


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## Strider (Mar 9, 2017)

Now my newest funnest part! :D Sheath making!


 


 


 
Making grooves. Later I widen the edges a bit.

Reactions: Like 1 | Way Cool 1


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## Strider (Mar 9, 2017)

Now, I had to solve a problem- which fastening system to use. All of these below proved very bad. So I wandered through the city for a couple of days, and sought online, but never found the name of the...stud. Military stud. That's what's it called, I guess. Found it at last and used it.


 
A new trick- hammering the leather while it's wet produces a tighter grain and thinner sides. Side result is it becoming hard.


 
Thinning is a must! Both for the fit and the aesthetics. 


 


 
Belt loop inside groove. Don't want the handle or the blade to catch the threads!


 



This piece was meant to be a safety strap, but the leather is flakey and...crumbly. You can see the stud in the background.


 
Cutting the curve for the safety strap...


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## Strider (Mar 9, 2017)

Crumbly leather piece.



I tested everything before mounting it on the sheath.



Stitching.






Decided to cover the inside screw plate/base not to damage the handle.



And chamfering it.



I used CA glue on the screw. So that it may be taken down if needed. Epoxy would never do that.



After painful stitching I cut off excess leather.






And wet form the leather. It's coated with BLO/BW cream and awaits photos :D I will decorate it some more.




Hope you all like it!

Reactions: Way Cool 2


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## Strider (Mar 10, 2017)

Alright, alright! I couldn't keep my mouth shut any more! 
I also wanted to put a brush on the knife, but since it would be a first, I'd ruin it probably. Hence this project :S I hope it will prove useful!

Step one- finding natural bristles, hairs in form of lady make up brushes, paint brushes etc...
After three or so days of searching, I found some brushes I might have use from. Pig bristles in a paint brush.


 
But just for the amount I settled for this shaving brush. Pig bristles, Italian market, cheap.


 
And I instantly wanted to know how they glued it up.



Picking the wood parts- shaft, base and endpoint.


 
Olive it is! (since customer wanted spaltness, I chose the most color striped wood). 


 
Preparing. Internet has no info on the bristle brush making topic, so I had to improvise. 


 
Random shape experimenting.



End cap was a nice piece of plum wood. But it broke along the grain.

 
Trust me, this is no easy task. 



But first, factory epoxy has to hit the ditch.


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## Strider (Mar 10, 2017)

I used way to many epoxy- hence the tests. But here it is, the brush. It's sturdy and the bristles don't fall out.


 
The shorter they are, the stiffer they get, the better brush they will be. 


 
Time for a new one. Mark 2!


 
After browsing internet for quite a while, I finally found a boar brush making English factory walk through. They showed me a few tricks. You even them out by vibrating the canister or tapping it. Also, the mix between the short hair, mid hair and long hair gives better strength. 



Chamfering the end. White ebony spade on the other end. It can serve as a hard dirt remover. Initially it was supposed to go through the loops on the sheath, one way only, as an arrow, but that would mess it all up.



Roughening the bamboo chopstick for gluing.


 
Heating the tin can with both of the brushes inside, to speed up the curing and hardening time.


Rough shaping. No plans about the looks of it.


 
Shaping the olive base.


 
One peak to go from full octogonal.


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## Strider (Mar 10, 2017)

DOne!


 
End part shaping. Perfectly centered. I liked working with white ebony. Fun.


 


 
I made a paper funnel to make bristles' insertion easier.



See? Easier to handle as well. I cut the bundles into three sizes. 


 


 
Preparing for the gluing process.

Reactions: Like 3


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## Wildthings (Mar 11, 2017)

Loris what is the brush used for?


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## Strider (Mar 11, 2017)

Most mushroom knives have it for removing dirt and debris from mushrooms since washing them is not advised. I have never tried it so I didn't want to ruin the handle by adding the bristles

Reactions: Like 1


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