Chisel-ground tanto, long time coming

This was a request from a fellow who really likes the work of Phill Hartsfield.  Which meant he wanted a chisel-ground tanto with a cord-wrapped handle.  We were originally thinking of it as an aikuchi, meaning without a guard, but I tried it with a Turk's head prior to applying the epoxy and we decided to go with it.

This project took way longer than it should have.  The issues were largely mental on my part; there were some aspects that were more difficult for me with it being chisel ground, but not that bad.  Still, I kind of feel like I should have included a certificate with it like Bob Loveless did with his one Damascus knife.  :D

The blade is 9" long, forged from 1/4" x 1" 5160 steel.  The spine is rounded.  This is a chisel edge for a righty, and I'm a lefty, but I think I did all right.  :)

 

The handle has a foundation of neoprene, followed by black paracord and coyote tan paracord, with a black two-strand Turk's head knot, all impregnated with West System marine epoxy.

With the lighting and my camera acting wonky, it was kind of difficult to catch the bevels well, but I think they show up better in these in-hand shots.

And finally, a coyote tan Kydex sheath to go with it.

 

I thought that sharpening might prove tricky, but it went smoothly.  I just made sure to keep a burr from forming on the back side.  It ended up pretty much scaring the hair off my arm.  :)

I'm still not a fan of chisel ground blades, but I'm rather pleased with this one.  :)

Tantos for sale.

These three tantos are posted in the Available Work section.

 Available Work

More copperhead bush sword

The owner surprised me when he sent me some pictures of what he had done with the left-over copperhead paracord that I had sent with the bush sword.  He said to honor the maker, he put my touchmark on the sheath as well.  :D

Matches the stamp on the blade pretty darn well!  I was very impressed.

Copperhead sinuous bush sword

I had a customer request a bush sword as close as possible in profile and bevels to one that I forged a couple of years ago for Knife Rights' Ultimate Steel fundraiser.  Fortunately, I had traced the blade on a piece of cardboard before I finished it out, so I was able to make a pattern.  Making any forged blade match exactly what has been done before is always boogery, but the pattern helped.

I forged it from 80CrV2 steel, with a 14" blade and an integral socket handle.  Like the original, the clip is a false edge, though thin enough that it could be sharpened.

The customer wanted me to do the handle wrap with a patterned paracord called "copperhead" that matches pretty close to the scale pattern on the actual ophidian, with the Turk's head knots in a solid color called "rust" that compliments the copperhead well.  The cord always darkens when the epoxy is applied, but the pattern still shows up.  Just not as obvious at a distance.

The customer is a lefty like me and liked the edge-forward left-handed cross draw setup I had done on my test mule camp knife.  He wanted to wear it lower than I did, so I gave the quick-detach, double-adjustable shoulder sling an extra foot of webbing so he could adjust it to where he wants it.

He expressed his satisfaction with the rig in no uncertain terms.  Always glad to have another happy customer.  :)

Shorty Benghazi Warfighter

I had a fellow who is a combat medic with the Antiterrorism Assistance Program request a knife from me.  He gave me some basic parameters like blade length and what kind of uses were intended and then gave me pretty free hand with the rest.  What we ended up with was a Benghazi Warfighter about an inch shorter than usual at a 5 1/2" blade.

Of course, when I find something that works I tend to stick with it, so I forged it from 1/4" thick 80CrV2 steel and built the handles from black Tero Tuf with flared stainless steel tubing rivets.

He wanted to be able to swap between wearing it on his belt and carrying it on a plate carrier MOLLE vest.  So I set up a modular carry rig for him.  Kydex sheath, MOLLE locks, and a removable Kydex piece I made with a Combat Loop attached for belt carry.  Want to go from belt to MOLLE carry?  Just pop open the MOLLE locks, stow the modular belt piece, and attach the sheath to the vest with the MOLLE locks.  The belt carry height is adjustable by moving the Combat Loop up or down on the modular belt piece.

And his comment: "The blade feels great, that space between the handle and blade, choil area is perfect. I feel like I designed it and I didn't! The handle material is comfy, yet grippy just like you said and the sheath is fantastic. It's definitely going with my first line gear."

Always glad to have a happy customer.  :)

Long Aggression bush sword

This project is a variation on my Aggression style of blade, lengthened a couple of inches and bringing it into the realm of what I would consider a bush sword.  The 14" blade is forged from 80CrV2 steel, and the handle is coyote tan paracord over black on top of a neoprene foundation, all impregnated with West System marine epoxy.

The top edge is fully sharpened, and the butt of the tang is left exposed.

The stout leather sheath was made by Luke Swenson, with several carry options.

The customer said that although he hasn't had a chance to give it a good workout yet, his wife laughed at him a bit because he hadn't set it down much over the weekend.  :)

Primal/tactical tanto

This primal/tactical tanto is up for sale.  It's forged from 1084, with a blade 5 7/8" long, a spine 3/16" thick at the base that tapers distally to the tip, and an overall length of 11 1/8".  It shaves hair nicely.  :)

The handle is two layers of paracord (coyote tan over black) over a foundation of neoprene, with a two-strand Turk's head knot, all impregnated with West System marine epoxy to make it rock-solid and waterproof.

Coyote tan Kydex sheath.

Price is $240 plus shipping. Carry hardware available at cost.