# Sweetgum Knife



## Woodman (Dec 7, 2013)

The blade of this kitchen knife was cut by waterjet from an old carbon steel handsaw. It is about .05" thick and is a fine slicer. The handle is spalted Sweetgum. I just traded a turkey call for a box of crosscut spalted Beech from windyridgebowman. Certain woods look very good when they are crosscut and his Beech is one of them. Locust and Oak are a couple more that I like. This Sweetgum is not crosscut.
http://i594.Rule #2/albums/tt28/lakeridge3/SpaltedSweetgumKnife001_zpse8da7cc2.jpg

Reactions: Like 1


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## Woodman (Dec 7, 2013)

This one is spalted Maple.
http://i594.Rule #2/albums/tt28/lakeridge3/KitchenBlades_zps52c9312c.jpg

http://i594.Rule #2/albums/tt28/lakeridge3/AmbrosiaKitchenKnife001_zpsca759e10.jpg

Reactions: Like 5


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## ironman123 (Dec 7, 2013)

I say, those are some handsome utensils. That spalted maple really shines. Is it finished with CA?

Ray


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## Molokai (Dec 8, 2013)

The spalted Sweet gum looks knife very nice, and i love how you shaped the handle. 
Did you made some HT process? What steel is it? 
if not, did you test the blades for Rockwell hardness?


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## woodtickgreg (Dec 8, 2013)

That's pretty cool, especially having access to a water jet. The skeleton of the saw looks pretty cool as well, it should go on the wall. Nice job on the knives.


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## Woodman (Dec 8, 2013)

I'll answer all the questions here. The finish on the sweetgum also shines just like the maple but I was taking the picture indoors and I had to block the light coming from the lamp because it was creating too much glare on the top of the handle. The finish is 2/3 spar 1/3 mineral spirits.
My simple way of testing the old saws is to lay them on my garage floor and then I use a steel punch with a fine point, I hit them with a 3 pound hammer. If it's hard for me to make a dimple then I like the steel. So far all the old handsaws pass the test and I use them for kitchen knives because the blades are thin. For hunting knives I use circular sawblades and many of them fail the test, meaning the steel punch leaves a dimple easily. This especially happens with blades that have carbide tips.
I don't know what type of steel is in the handsaws but a rough guess would be L6. I have no idea what type is used in circular sawblades as long as they pass the punch test. I also get a good idea of the hardness when I'm applying an edge on the belt sander.
I also trade wood for forged blades and I buy Lauri(from Finland) blades. Always hidden tang, I have no desire to make fulltang knives.
The skeleton of the old handsaw is hanging as wall art, so is the skeleton of a circular sawblade. I spray painted them flat black.
The antler knives at the top and bottom of this photo have circular sawblade steel. The top right is a Lauri blade from Finland.
There is a demand for rustic/primitive lower priced knives with no pommels, guards, inlays, etc., so it keeps me busy. 
http://i594.Rule #2/albums/tt28/lakeridge3/Sheaths4001_zps1fd29d01.jpg
http://i594.Rule #2/albums/tt28/lakeridge3/DaggersWharnyBlades_zpsf2c117d4.jpg

Reactions: Like 5


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## Wildthings (Dec 8, 2013)

Really Cool!!


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## Kevin (Dec 8, 2013)

Great knives. Love all the info. Just curious about why you do not like to make full tang knives?


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## Woodman (Dec 8, 2013)

Kevin said:


> Great knives. Love all the info. Just curious about why you do not like to make full tang knives?


Kevin, it's just personal preference, just as most of my fulltang knifemaker friends have no desire to make a hidden tang knife. Different strokes......

Reactions: Like 2


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## robert flynt (Dec 8, 2013)

Hidden tangs in wood are a little lighter and you can get more blades out of a lenght of steel but I don't have a preference I like them all. Most bladesmiths seem to prefer hidden tang blades, probably because there is a lot of grinding to get a forged full tang blade tang flat enough for scales.


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