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Posted: 1/24/2012 5:19:38 AM EDT
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5/32 1095, machinist's dye, a pattern and a scribe
Cut away everything that does not look like a knife 
Grind away everthing that does not look like a Chupacabra 
Layout where the holes are to be drilled and drill the holes 
A Chupacabra between a Bush Monkey stamp, 12 tons of pressure and 1" steel 
The Bush Monkey stamp won. 
File notches in the spine of the blade. 
Bevel the blade - this one is a Saber (aka scandi) bevel 
Heat and cool the blade then heat and cool it repeatedly some more 
Sand blasted black G10 is epoxied to sand blasted orange G10 using a state of the art press. 
The treated blade and tools used to drill holes through G10 scales. 
Drill lanyard tube hole and mark mark center of other two holes using 1/4" bit. 
Drill holes to accommodate torx bolts and connector. 
Chamfer (countersink) all holes using a countersink. 
Grind away everything that does not look like a Chupacabra handle. 
Bolt the scales to the blade and grind the G10 away until making contact with the tang. Then, bring the temporarily bolted scales and blade to the router table. 
Turn on the router and watch Tony and a roundover bit do their magic act. 
A parkerized Chupacabra blade, Bush Monkey glue (aka bolts) and G10 scales foreground. Epoxy sealer can be seen in the background. 
The third mechanical connection is a stainless tube that is being flared using a die set available through USA Knifemaker. The epoxy sealer can be seen being squeezed out as the dies come into final position. 
This one will be final beveled, honed and finished sometime tomorrow. Stay tuned... |
| Thanks for taking a look. I hope the pictures are showing now. I will update this when I complete the knife sometime later this week. Blame the Marine Corps, summer camp in and around Ft Bragg and some other "life experiences" on the cleanliness of my shop - I am most likely beyond rehabilitation at this point. |
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It's better than easy...it's fun.
I have maintained that knifemaking is a relatively simple process since I began making knives. My ideas on this subject and the animus related to those ideas are fully explained on my website. Knifemaking is not arcane, its (relatively) simple. No hype here. A hardened stamp with 12 tons of pressure vs annealed (soft) steel can have only one outcome. thanks for taking a look, Jeff Quoted:
You make it look really easy! I had no idea you could stamp metal like that either. |
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Bush Monkey, I tip my hat to you sir. You have inspired me in many ways. I have just got into making hand made knives, looking at the knives and philosophies of many makers. I respect your 'form follows function' and take it into consideration with every knife I design. You exposed me to the scandi grind. This fit perfectly with the function of my knives and with the theme. Norse mythology has a heavy influence in everything I do.
Parkerizing was another thing that I never would have applied to knives. It is still a work in progress for me but I am starting to get consistent results. Your shop (IT'S F@#KING CLEAN) is many steps ahead of mine, well funded, and gives me some ideas on how to improve my workspace / equipment. I must give credit were credit is due (Jasun your knives are bad@ss too). Thank you for giving me inspiration. Some time in the near future I will post some of my knives. Oh, by the way, I was a 0331 a couple of years ago. Semper Fidelis. |
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Thanks for taking the time to look at this build, give it some thought and comment - I am glad many of you enjoyed it. You guys are being too easy on me though. I sent several of you PMs to answer specific questions. This particular knife was ordered about 2 weeks ago by a guy here in Texas and he picked it up yesterday.
"Winter" I still use the sawzall knife in the shop (almost daily). Took me almost 9 months to come this far - thanks for the compliment. Jeff |
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The buyer specified what he wanted in terms of G10 color(s), finish and fasteners - he made some good choices.
Epoxy forms a chemical bond and chemicals degrade over time. There is no substitute for a mechanical fastener and that is why I use them to "fasten" the scales to the tang. I use epoxy as a sealer (only) to prevent corrosion between the scales and the tang. I don't think of epoxy as holding anything "on". The third mechanical connection is a flared stainless tube - redundancy. Since no one knows what any particular knife may be called upon to do, it is sensible to always overbuild them. Good question, thank you, Jeff Glue 
Sealer 
Quoted:
I like the contrast of the knife with the orange, gray, black, and shiny grind. Why do you use screws with an epoxied and press fitted lanyard hole? Wouldn't it have been easier and cheaper just to use pins since you are already epoxying it on partially? |
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