It comes full circle

Post by **KurtHuhn** » Thu Sep 13, 2007 2:52 pm

If you've heard me relate the story about how I got into making pipes, you know it's a humorous little thing about being a failure at making knives. I've never lost interest in knife making, but my efforts have largely been reduced to finishing kit knives - both folders and fixed blade kits. And if you were at the NASPC show in 2005 you might have seen one of those kit knives fully assembled.

Well, it turns out I just had to "grow up" for a couple more years before developing the patience to make one. I finished one off this week using the tools I originally bought to make knives, that ended up being used to make pipes. It's simple, utilitarian, and not at all flashy, but it's a usable knife with an edge that holds up better than any knife I've ever bought.

I know, this thread is useless without pics. I'll snap some when I get home. I was just thinking about it while sitting here at my desk, and found it interesting how some things come full circle.

Post by **KurtHuhn** » Thu Sep 13, 2007 10:06 pm

It's not the prettiest, and it's not at all flashy, but it's my knife, and I made it all by myself.

It's is bead blasted, made of O-1 tool steel, and has a paracord wrapped handle. The paracord is actually in two layers - a plain wrap underneath, with an interlocking twist over the top. It's quite comfortable, and there's no chance in hell it will slip out of your hand. The blade is 3.75 inches from the choil to tip, and about 8 inches overall.

Frank · Post by **Frank** » Fri Sep 14, 2007 4:42 am

An excellent little no-frills utility knife. Properly hardened and tempered, O-1 should have very good edge holding. Should last a few lifetimes, if looked after.

souljer · Post by **souljer** » Fri Sep 14, 2007 5:39 am

Hey that's great!

I love the braided handle. Clean, functional and beautiful. Where can I learn how to do that?

Nick · Post by **Nick** » Fri Sep 14, 2007 8:48 am

Awesome Kurt!

Post by **KurtHuhn** » Fri Sep 14, 2007 4:32 pm

Frank wrote:An excellent little no-frills utility knife. Properly hardened and tempered, O-1 should have very good edge holding. Should last a few lifetimes, if looked after.

You ain't kidding!! It took me, literally, 2 hours to sharpen that edge - and I was using diamond hones! The only other blade that ever did that to me was one from a kit that was made of AUS-8 stainless and was cryo-treated after hardening and tempering.

Post by **KurtHuhn** » Fri Sep 14, 2007 4:36 pm

Souljer wrote:Hey that's great!

I love the braided handle. Clean, functional and beautiful. Where can I learn how to do that?

Thanks! I just sort of made it up as a I went along. I knew that the braid alone wouldn't be thick enough to be comfortable, and it would let the tang show through, which I didn't really want. The secret is to keep everything tight - and by 'tight' I mean, your fingers should probably hurt by the time you're finished.

The next time I make one, I can snap some pics of the wrapping process.

Frank · Post by **Frank** » Fri Sep 14, 2007 5:46 pm

KurtHuhn wrote:It took me, literally, 2 hours to sharpen that edge - and I was using diamond hones!

I'm just curious, was the steel annealed when you did the profiling & shaping? If so, did you do the heating, quenching and drawing out yourself?

Post by **KurtHuhn** » Fri Sep 14, 2007 6:02 pm

Frank wrote:
KurtHuhn wrote:It took me, literally, 2 hours to sharpen that edge - and I was using diamond hones!
I'm just curious, was the steel annealed when you did the profiling & shaping? If so, did you do the heating, quenching and drawing out yourself?

Yep. It was fully annealed and normalized when I got it, and I did all the shaping on my belt grinder and belt sander. All the profiling, and the grinding of the distal taper was done on the belt grinder, and I moved to my 1x42 Delta belt sander to shape the convex grind on the blade.

Once I had it shaped to where I wanted it, I cleaned it up with 220 grit on the 1x42 and took it out back to heat treat. I used my oxy-acetylene torch to heat it just past where a magnet wasn't attracted and held it there for a moment, then edge-quenched in some used motor oil that was pre-heated to about 100F. Then I cleaned it all off, bead blasted it, and took it inside to temper - 375 for one hour, twice.

The next time I heat treat, though, I'll use a forge. I ordered some refractory materials earlier today to build myself a nice backyard forge - using the torch was a bit of a pain. Effective, but a hassle.

GbpBulgaria · Post by **GbpBulgaria** » Sat Sep 15, 2007 3:23 pm

Hey Kurt
Wonderful blade!
what about briar handle

Karol · Post by **Karol** » Sat Sep 15, 2007 4:16 pm

very nice knife and thanks for all the info.

LatakiaLover · Post by **LatakiaLover** » Sat Sep 15, 2007 4:39 pm

An even fuller circle would be making all your pipe shop's blade-style tools yourself. Files, too. Have a few hundred hours lying about you don't know what to do with? There you go.

Nice job. Really clean, really tough blades have a primal appeal.

Post by **KurtHuhn** » Sat Sep 15, 2007 7:11 pm

GbpBulgaria wrote:Hey Kurt
Wonderful blade!
what about briar handle

Thanks, guys!

I toyed with the Idea of a briar handle, and my still do it. I drilled the tang prior to heat treat to accept two 3/16" pins,and that paracord will come off in a jiffy.

Actually, the handle area is much more graceful than it seems in the photos. The paracord wrap adds a lot of bulk to the back of the knife. And if I want to put it in a sheath, that paracord might have to be replaced anyway....

Frank · Post by **Frank** » Sun Sep 16, 2007 3:40 am

Just as frustrating as uncovering a briar flaw halfway through making a pipe - a crack in a knife handle. I got this far with this cocobolo & natural bone handle before the heat wave struck and left it on my workbench. The broiling heat expanded the resin filling in the bone cavity. Ah well.
Happy knife making, Kurt, LOL.

JSPipes · Post by **JSPipes** » Sun Sep 16, 2007 12:18 pm

Kurt, not to hijack your thread or anything

(great looking knife by the way), someone mentioned briar scales for the handle.

Well, I tried making some briar pistol grips for my revolver. Liked them so much I've set up shop and am now making them for sale. http://www.jsgrips.com

Joel

Post by **KurtHuhn** » Sun Sep 16, 2007 2:05 pm

Nice grips, Joel!!

Every once in a while I find a block that can't be used for pipes for one reason or another, so I set it aside for those days that I have the resaw fence on the bandsaw. So far I cut them mostly into knife handle slabs, but a friend has been asking me to make a set of grips for his wife's S&W 599. I just haven't found the time yet.