First Commissioned EDC

I'm trying to branch out a bit and work with new things and new material.

So far, it's going well. I've recently completed a project for my good friend Nick and I had to step outside the box a bit, but overall I'm pleased with how it turned out.

Nick, who I used to work with, is not only a hell of a guy but he's also great to do business with because he's so patient. He'd been at my heels wanting a knife for a while, and so I have finally gotten to a point where I'm comfortable with my level of craftsmanship to do a commissioned knife and Nick was the first on the list.

Freshly forged

I started with an old bastard mill file we've had floating around the shop for God only knows how long. Wayne said he got the whole collection of them back in the 70's. Holy moley that's ancient! ;) So I started shaping the tip, hammered in the bevel, moved on to the handle and cut it down to size. I did a different blade style for this one. It was kind of a tanto style, with a slight drop point, and not so jagged as you see a lot EDC tanto styles being. The nice thing about working with this file as a starter material, after annealing it was really soft.

After rough grinding

I knew I wanted to do something different for the handle. I was making a knife out of this old file, so I wanted something new for the handle to have a blend of old and new. I looked into some G10 and Micarta, and fell in love with a black and OD green layered set of G10 scales. I hadn't worked with this material before, but it was fun to work. I did everything with files, a cheap belt grinder (that fried halfway through. No worries, got the two year warranty on it!), and a Dremel. I just played with the pattern a bit and I came up with something I like. Once you start polishing the material the layers really start to pop and it looks really cool. I'll be using this material more often. I got the scales from USA Knifemakers. Of course, I had a mask on while working it :)

I took the blade, and like the dagger blade I've previously posted, soaked it in vinegar over night to give it this really cool, dark patina. I learned the hard way, however, that if you don't neutralize it with baking soda and water the bad boy will rust up in a heartbeat!

After rough shaping of the handle and the blade patina process.

Finally, after polishing up the handle and sharpening, it was time to make a sheath for the blade. I really liked the sheath I made for my Nordic style skinner but I wanted to modify it to fit better for every day carry. Nick wanted a black leather sheath, and I had some green stitch that I thought would look killed with the green scales. So, here's the final product. 

Now, it's on to the next few projects! A re-do of one of my first forged knives, some spike hawks for friends, and soon a machete out of a lawnmower blade! 

Cheers! 

Benton