# New Knife



## Cody Killgore (Sep 19, 2013)

Hand forged out of AEB-L, and hand sanded to a mirror polish. I did the heat treat myself and Rockwell tested it at 61.5 HRC. Design inspired by Murray Carter's original neck knife, requested by customer. Handle material is desert ironwood from Marcus (mja979).

Just wanted to share. Can't wait to use some more wood I've gotten from the forums!!


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## barry richardson (Sep 19, 2013)

That's a work of art!


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## kazuma78 (Sep 19, 2013)

barry richardson said:


> That's a work of art!



Man thats one sweet knife!


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## Foot Patrol (Sep 19, 2013)

Awesome looking knife Cody. Great lines and the Ironwood really pops.


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## rdnkmedic (Sep 19, 2013)

Beautiful. Almost scared to use something like that. Would be a shame to get blood on it. But I could probably be talked into it.


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## Cody Killgore (Sep 19, 2013)

Thanks guys. I really appreciate the kind words!!


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## Wildthings (Sep 19, 2013)

Very very nice!


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## Sprung (Sep 19, 2013)

I really like that! Very nice!


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## phinds (Sep 19, 2013)

Really nice looking knife.


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## NYWoodturner (Sep 20, 2013)

Cody - Awesome job ! Beautiful polish and an awesome grind!
Scott


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## justturnin (Sep 20, 2013)

Cody, that thing is amazing. What a polish. It looks like you had it Chrome dipped. WOW!!!! Love that shape. I bet if you walk up to a deer w/ that in hand the skin would just fall off.


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## rdnkmedic (Sep 20, 2013)

mja979 said:


> Wouldn't the finish keep away any blood stains? Seems this would be an excellent heirloom!



Just a shame to get it dirty.


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## rdnkmedic (Sep 20, 2013)

I agree. It's kinda like buying a new 4 wheel drive truck. No mudholes until the new car smell goes away. I definitely would be proud to carry it and skin a buck with it. 

Probably could shave my face with it too.


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## robert flynt (Sep 20, 2013)

Boy, That's a neat little knife!


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## SDB777 (Sep 20, 2013)

So many question about this one, where to start.....


Finish on the scales?

How do you get the mirror finish on the steel? What kind of grit are you using?

What is the length and weight?




Sure is a great looking completed knife! I sure am glad you took it out into the sun for the photo op....it makes the grain do its 'thing', and really shows off the mirror.


Scott (attention to the details...you done 'em) B


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## Kevin (Sep 20, 2013)

It's a blue ribbon effort in my opinion. Thanks for the picture - salivation factor 10.


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## Cody Killgore (Sep 20, 2013)

Thanks again everyone for all the great compliments. You all are way too kind. It does seem to repel moisture very well. It beads up water like nobody's business. My friends always make fun of me because I have random patches of hair left on my arms and legs all the time from making sure all my knives are hair-popping sharp.

:thanx:


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## Molokai (Sep 21, 2013)

Great looking knife, i love mirror polish. Did you anneal the knife after heat treatment? What was the size of the piece it was forged out. Round bar?


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## Cody Killgore (Sep 21, 2013)

Molokai said:


> Great looking knife, i love mirror polish. Did you anneal the knife after heat treatment? What was the size of the piece it was forged out. Round bar?



Hey man, thanks!
As for the heat treatment, annealing is typically done after forging but before the hardening and tempering. This insures the structure of the steel is stress-free, uniform, and as soft as possible for grinding/drilling/etc. 

The only way I have been able to find AEB-L is in flat stock. And because it was specifically engineered for razor blades, the thickest stock I can find is 0.13". I will say though, that I thoroughly enjoy forging blades out of round stock. It is more actual shaping with the hammer.

Just to clarify on the heat treatment, this was my process (it may be TMI)
After forging, it was heated up in the kiln and slowly cooled at a rate of 50F per hour for the anneal. The blade was then ground to near final form. After this, it was heated up to 1980F and quenched in medium-fast speed oil. This was immediately followed by a further cooling to approx -95F to eliminate as much retained austenite as possible. Then I did 2 tempering cycles for approx 2 hours each. Lastly, the blade was finish sanded, sharpened, and handles attached.

Hope that cleared it up


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## Molokai (Sep 21, 2013)

I meant tempering, lost my self in translation. 
Thanks for the explanation and i also didnt found anything thicker. I bought mine from Brisa, a website in Finland.


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## Cody Killgore (Sep 21, 2013)

Molokai said:


> I meant tempering, lost my self in translation.
> Thanks for the explanation and i also didnt found anything thicker. I bought mine from Brisa, a website in Finland.



I had a feeling you meant something else. 
That website looks cool, may have to check it out. Mine came from Aldo at New Jersey Steel Baron


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## robert flynt (Sep 21, 2013)

Cody Killgore said:


> Thanks again everyone for all the great compliments. You all are way too kind. It does seem to repel moisture very well. It beads up water like nobody's business. My friends always make fun of me because I have random patches of hair left on my arms and legs all the time from making sure all my knives are hair-popping sharp.
> 
> :thanx:


I use thin sheets of paper and save my hair.


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## Cody Killgore (Sep 21, 2013)

robert flynt said:


> Cody Killgore said:
> 
> 
> > Thanks again everyone for all the great compliments. You all are way too kind. It does seem to repel moisture very well. It beads up water like nobody's business. My friends always make fun of me because I have random patches of hair left on my arms and legs all the time from making sure all my knives are hair-popping sharp.
> ...



That's probably a wise decision. Last time I went to the beach, none of my friends wanted to be seen with me as there were bright white random hairless spots all over my legs.


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## Cody Killgore (Sep 27, 2013)

SDB777 said:


> So many question about this one, where to start.....
> 
> 
> Finish on the scales?
> ...



Somehow I completely missed this post.

The finish is actually just highly polished. I always use stabilized wood with the exception of ironwood and a couple others. With ironwood, I hand sand it to 12000 with those micro-mesh pads then hit it on the buffer. I do usually put some type of wax on it but that doesn't last long. It doesn't seem to need anything else to me.

For the mirror finish, one thing is super critical. That is, to make sure you get *ALL* the scratches from the previous grit out before continuing. I usually start at around 150 grit and make sure I get all the grind marks from the grinder out. Then move to 220, 300, 400, 600, 1200, 1500, 2000. Every grit I switch the direction I sand just a bit. This allows you to actually see when you get rid of all the scratches. I do use WD-40 as a sanding lubricant. It's good to work directly under some type of fluorescent lighting where you can catch a reflection...as it really helps to better see scratches as well. After 2000, I do hit it on the buffer with some buffing compound.

The knife is around 7" (I think) overall length with just under 3" blade.

It weighs 2.1 oz.

Really sorry I missed this post...no idea how that happened :dash2:


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## manbuckwal (Oct 11, 2013)

Beautiful knife ! I want one :hookup:


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## Cody Killgore (Oct 11, 2013)

manbuckwal said:


> Beautiful knife ! I want one :hookup:



No problem. Getting some started next week. I can probably fit you in


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## SDB777 (Oct 12, 2013)

Cody Killgore said:


> SDB777 said:
> 
> 
> > So many question about this one, where to start.....
> ...



I go with the old saying, better late with really awesome information then never....

You say the scale are always(for you), stabilized...do you know with what? Would the Thompson Wood Hardener stuff work? Or does it have to be that fancy 'Juice' stuff.

I am thinking the sanding is quite similiar to turner's sanding procedure...it is a must to get all the lesser grit values sanded out prior to moving on.




Again, awesome finish!!!







Scott (I guess I need to do some scales) B


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## Cody Killgore (Oct 12, 2013)

SDB777 said:


> I go with the old saying, better late with really awesome information then never....
> 
> You say the scale are always(for you), stabilized...do you know with what? Would the Thompson Wood Hardener stuff work? Or does it have to be that fancy 'Juice' stuff.
> 
> ...



I either stabilize my own or buy pre-stabilized blanks. I try not to skimp on the stabilizer. I use either Jon's resin or Cactus Juice when I stabilize. I have a couple of Jon's glass chambers hooked up with a manifold. Works great. Sure makes the wood easy to finish 

The sanding is very similar to the turner's sanding it just seems like steel takes a lot longer to get those scratches out :dash2:


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