Popular Post Rifletuner Posted October 5, 2023 Popular Post Report Share Posted October 5, 2023 Last time I visited AH member Gryphon, he showed me a box of wood he had salvaged and had been meticulously drying the pieces out over the years. Gryphon kindly gave me several pieces of his stash to use for putting handles on my knives builds. When I got home, I decided to make Gryphon a knife and handle it with some of his wood. I picked out a piece of sheoak, and wanted the rest of the knife to match the quality of the handle material. Historically knife steels can have good edge retention, good strength or good abrasion resistance. But knife steel hasnt had all three of these criteria in one steel. So the knife maker has to decide which characteristic they are prepared to compromise on when they choose a steel to make a knife. Magnacut is a relatively new stainless "super steel" which was made specifically for knife making. It is formulated to balance out the three desirable characteristic of edge retention, strength and corrosion resistance, and has proven to be vary popular with knife makers since it was released a couple of years ago. When the first shipment of Magnacut arrived in Australia at the end of last year, I immediately bought some, and though it was a fitting steel to pair with the Sheoke handle material. The knife I made for Gryphon is the first knife I have ever made from Magnacut. The blade of this knife is a full flat grind in 3mm steel. The design pf the knife is my version of the Bark River Gunny Hunter. Once I shaped the handle, I found the grain in this block of wood is really stunning. I added red G10 liners, brass Corby bolts and a brass lanyard tube. I gave the handles a hand rubbed oil finish, and it really set to wood off I think. I wanted something special for the sheath too. I sent the knife a friend in Queensland as I am not set up for leather working yet. I got him to add a sambar motif to the sheath and really think the sheath sets off the knife well. I was able to drop off the finished knife to its new owner last weekend, so looking forward to hearing about it being put to use on the deer. 11 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Burners Posted October 5, 2023 Report Share Posted October 5, 2023 Very nice RT 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Duncs Posted October 5, 2023 Report Share Posted October 5, 2023 Wow! Great looking work! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
grunf Posted October 5, 2023 Report Share Posted October 5, 2023 This is just beautiful mate. Do you sell knives or this is something you do for yourself and friends? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rifletuner Posted October 5, 2023 Author Report Share Posted October 5, 2023 8 hours ago, grunf said: This is just beautiful mate. Do you sell knives or this is something you do for yourself and friends? Hi mate. I started dabbling with knife making in 2016 in a very limited capacity. During the lockdowns of 2020, I started to really get into making knives, and have continued in most of my spare time since then. My early knives were functional, but very rough by comparison to what I can do today. Like any "craft", knife making needs time on the tools to develop skills. And the more you do it, the better feel you have for how to do things and what works best. So up until recently, all my knives have been given to friends and family. Frankly, I didnt feel like I was at a standard to take someones money for what I was producing, even though it was the best work I was capable at the time. And I have learned a lot about what equipment I need and have invested in a lot of the gear to help improve how I make a knife. Plus I now have a much better feel for the materials I prefer to work with. This year I feel like I have progressed to the point where I can actually offer a decent knife, and have sold a couple of knives when people have asked me to make them a specific pattern they have wanted made. Next year I will probably book a table at one or two of the state knife shows and actually exhibit knives for sale. 4 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Yowi Posted October 5, 2023 Report Share Posted October 5, 2023 Awesome looking knife great job👌 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Foxdog Posted October 5, 2023 Report Share Posted October 5, 2023 Thats looks great Rifletuner, he should treasure that. Would look good sitting alongside a beer mug and a magazine. Especially when they are a bit dirty and showing signs of plenty of use. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
grunf Posted October 6, 2023 Report Share Posted October 6, 2023 19 hours ago, Rifletuner said: This year I feel like I have progressed to the point where I can actually offer a decent knife, and have sold a couple of knives when people have asked me to make them a specific pattern they have wanted made. Next year I will probably book a table at one or two of the state knife shows and actually exhibit knives for sale. Mate as someone who salf-taught myself from zero to become quite decent at website building and graphic design I applaud your effort and skill as I can appreciate how much research, trials, persistence, work and effort you put in, in order to get to this level. As a keen collector of knives I would not hesitate to buy a knife from you based on the craftsmanship and quality of the one from the above photos. Well done! 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rifletuner Posted October 6, 2023 Author Report Share Posted October 6, 2023 3 hours ago, grunf said: Mate as someone who salf-taught myself from zero to become quite decent at website building and graphic design I applaud your effort and skill as I can appreciate how much research, trials, persistence, work and effort you put in, in order to get to this level. As a keen collector of knives I would not hesitate to buy a knife from you based on the craftsmanship and quality of the one from the above photos. Well done! Thanks mate. Appreciate the feedback. Its always good to hear peoples thoughts on my builds. It can be surprising sometimes what people like or dont like so much. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gibbo 30.06 Posted October 7, 2023 Report Share Posted October 7, 2023 That’s awesome Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
advpat Posted October 9, 2023 Report Share Posted October 9, 2023 Beautiful job, well done. your knife has turned out better than some of my attempts at knife-making Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gryphon Posted October 9, 2023 Report Share Posted October 9, 2023 And to another AH member along with RT many thanks also for the rifle sling ...with sambar motif. 7 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rifletuner Posted October 11, 2023 Author Report Share Posted October 11, 2023 Nice combo. The tooling on that sling looks top notch. Great looking pair 👍 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ken thorn Posted October 11, 2023 Report Share Posted October 11, 2023 On 05/10/2023 at 5:06 PM, Rifletuner said: Last time I visited AH member Gryphon, he showed me a box of wood he had salvaged and had been meticulously drying the pieces out over the years. Gryphon kindly gave me several pieces of his stash to use for putting handles on my knives builds. When I got home, I decided to make Gryphon a knife and handle it with some of his wood. I picked out a piece of sheoak, and wanted the rest of the knife to match the quality of the handle material. Historically knife steels can have good edge retention, good strength or good abrasion resistance. But knife steel hasnt had all three of these criteria in one steel. So the knife maker has to decide which characteristic they are prepared to compromise on when they choose a steel to make a knife. Magnacut is a relatively new stainless "super steel" which was made specifically for knife making. It is formulated to balance out the three desirable characteristic of edge retention, strength and corrosion resistance, and has proven to be vary popular with knife makers since it was released a couple of years ago. When the first shipment of Magnacut arrived in Australia at the end of last year, I immediately bought some, and though it was a fitting steel to pair with the Sheoke handle material. The knife I made for Gryphon is the first knife I have ever made from Magnacut. The blade of this knife is a full flat grind in 3mm steel. The design pf the knife is my version of the Bark River Gunny Hunter. Once I shaped the handle, I found the grain in this block of wood is really stunning. I added red G10 liners, brass Corby bolts and a brass lanyard tube. I gave the handles a hand rubbed oil finish, and it really set to wood off I think. I wanted something special for the sheath too. I sent the knife a friend in Queensland as I am not set up for leather working yet. I got him to add a sambar motif to the sheath and really think the sheath sets off the knife well. I was able to drop off the finished knife to its new owner last weekend, so looking forward to hearing about it being put to use on the deer. Made with Love .... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Foxdog Posted October 11, 2023 Report Share Posted October 11, 2023 4 hours ago, Rifletuner said: Nice combo. The tooling on that sling looks top notch. Great looking pair 👍 I have to agree with that. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
17dave Posted October 11, 2023 Report Share Posted October 11, 2023 That's an awesome knife RT. Don't doubt your skills or the market that is out there to pay for that craftsmanship. Made more complete with the sheath and that's also a great sling Gryph. Although I really like the subdued colour under the sheath is a master piece. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gryphon Posted October 14, 2023 Report Share Posted October 14, 2023 RT`s knife got a bit of paint on her this morning. Stag had his head showing above a berry bush from where I was. As he reached for a bite I gave him one from the old 7mmRM. I could only see his head at the time. 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Foxdog Posted October 15, 2023 Report Share Posted October 15, 2023 A mans got to eat, nice, ........and collect a couple of small knife handles. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gryphon Posted October 15, 2023 Report Share Posted October 15, 2023 2 hours ago, Foxdog said: A mans got to eat, nice, ........and collect a couple of small knife handles. mailed you. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gryphon Posted October 15, 2023 Report Share Posted October 15, 2023 And 'opening up' treatment at home with another of RT`s knives. Mulga wood handle/scales. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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