# My Very First Knife!



## NO ChoP! (Aug 12, 2013)

I had a work friend of mine, who happens to be a hobbyist here, cut out and grind the blade. It is 52100 and is hardened to 61 hrc. I drew the profile, based on the KS/ Sab profile. It's a touch taller, has a touch less pointy-ness, and a long, thin western tang. The grind was done especially for me as a lefty. The taper could use a little refinement, but the initial edge has produced great results.

The handle is stabilized redwood burl from Burl Source.
The pins are 3/16" from Jantz?
The saya is curly makore with a black walnut spacer. (it has a cool-color changing figure)

I rounded the choil and spine and mirror polished them.

I'm really pleased so far....








irate1:


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## Von blewitt (Aug 12, 2013)

That looks awesome Chris. Profile looks spot on. Congratulations on the first , I'm sure it won't be the last.


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## Mrmnms (Aug 12, 2013)

That is too freakin cool. I liked it so much, made me laugh. Great job!


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## Don Nguyen (Aug 12, 2013)

Dude that is _spot on!_ That is a lot of pins though :biggrin: Great work.


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## tripleq (Aug 12, 2013)

Beauty!


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## The hekler (Aug 12, 2013)

I love the smooth, clean edges on the handle, even with a couple extra pins it looks good. And damn what a saya, a sure step up from poplar.


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## NO ChoP! (Aug 12, 2013)

Thanks everyone for the enthusiastic responses, I really appreciate it!

The idea behind the handle comes from my love for long, slim wa handles; except I suck at doing wa's, and am getting semi-decent at westerns. I am super happy with how it feels in hand; it's exactly what I wanted. 

As far as the pins, what can I say...I'm a sucker for mosaics.
I did a rehandle project on an old Pimble Hickory that had a short tang, so I turned it into an integral, using the two original pin holes, and adding two more to the back of the handle to even thing out. I liked the results so much I thought I'd replicate it. I think as long as you keep the rest of the handle simple, it works.


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## Pensacola Tiger (Aug 12, 2013)

Nice knife! Is it a 270?


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## NO ChoP! (Aug 12, 2013)

It's 255mm on the edge, plus I left a machi-like area, as I wanted to replicate the feeling of a wa in-hand.

48mm at the heel

balance a pinch in front of the heel

225 grams

16" overall

5 3/4" handle

2.45mm at heel/ 2.0mm halfway/ 1.48mm inch from tip


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## don (Aug 12, 2013)

Looks great! Narrow western handle can feel really good, and the more exposed neck for a western is a good idea.


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## knyfeknerd (Aug 13, 2013)

Way to go Chris!
Looks killer. Especially nice work on the handle. It's also cool that it's lefty-o-centric for you.


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## marc4pt0 (Aug 13, 2013)

Very groovy man. Hope it performs at Least half as well as it looks!


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## andre s (Aug 13, 2013)

sweet looking knife man! good stuff:thumbsup:


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## Lefty (Aug 13, 2013)

You're a talented dude! Looks great, Chris!


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## eaglerock (Aug 14, 2013)

Great work, looks amazing !!


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## Bill13 (Aug 15, 2013)

I can not believe that is a first attempt, it really looks professional! How many hours would you guess you have in it?


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## NO ChoP! (Aug 15, 2013)

Well, I've done a few handles, and a few dozen sayas, but it's my very first knife that I've designed from the ground up.

I'd say I have three hours in the handle, one hour in the saya, a half hour rounding and polishing everything, and another hour cutting in the initial bevel and polishing it....


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