Sunday, May 6, 2012

Xtreme Challenge knife Mk II update

The Mk II version is now ready for heat treatment.


I need to do the stock removal on four more big blades for the Blade Show and then I'll heat treat them as a batch, including the Mk II.

Notice that the false edge isn't as well defined on this one. I wanted to just even it up a bit and not thin down that section much, leaving it plenty thick for hammering.

I've had a couple of people question me recently about my integral socket handles being offset; they aren't. I align them with the blade. There's a little bit of asymmetry due to the ends of the socket preform moving differently than the middle, meaning that the seam side tends to be just a bit flatter than the opposite side. I put the seam to the inside of the fingers so that the more curved side fits into the palm, and when I wrap the handle I lay the end of the cord along the seam before wrapping around it, helping fill out the seam side better and also making the cord *really* anchored.

Here are some pics I took of a different integral socket handle to show what I mean.

The view of the seam side:


The view of the opposite side:


Looking at it from the top. Notice the handle is not offset to the blade but is aligned:


You can also see how much the end of the handle is rolled back on itself. This also makes for a stout anchor for the cord as well as adding some visual interest. Notice also that the socket is an oval cross section, making a mechanical lock in the hand to keep it from turning sideways while chopping. I'm all about handles having mechanical locks. :)

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