So a folder with this blade style is next???:roll eyes: hey, a guy can dream.....
Great geometry, I am really liking the wider blades lately (since using a knife to cause internal injury to animals!!) The 'wider' permanent cavity makes a difference when you don't have a precision shot....

ss

First off, hope your hand his healing up well!

On folders: Mmmmmmaaaaaybe... :p Sometimes dreams do come true, you know.

Let me get a few more runs of fixed blades under my belt first. Once I decided I was going to embark down the production road, folders were a foregone conclusion, but building a production run of those is way different than doing 10 or 20 by hand, from scratch. I'm definitely going to take my time with that project, so I don't end up with 200 sets of parts that don't go together. :eek: Hell, there was a lot of stuff that I thought I had under control with these fixed blades when I started this run, and that just wasn't necessarily so. HUGE learning experience.

If you've looked at my previous work, well, you already know my feelings about big fat blades. :D One of the reasons for that is my meager knowledge of human physiology as it pertains to cuts and punctures. I'm sure I'm not telling anybody here (especially you) anything they don't know already, but we have two primary ways of ending an attack with a blade. 1) Neutralizing physiological structures that enable our attacker to harm us (including difficult ones like CNS). But mostly structures that enable motion. And 2) Loss of hydraulic pressure. The first one, the knife needs to be of an appropriate sharpness and design that it can reach structures that enable locomotion. The second one, any wounds we create by cutting or stabbing need to stay open. Which means that in both cases, the fatter the blade (and the larger the wound channel), the better, because the body has this tendency to want to be self sealing. If I'm wrong about any of this, please correct me.

As far as geometry, I say that I spent six years designing this knife. I wanted this to be the best compromise of a blade that could do anything you might want for an everyday-carry-sized knife to do. And I spent a lot of time thinking about compromises, because that's a big part of knife making. I'd be happy to share my ideas that lead to this knife, but I'm warning you now, it'll be wordy. (As if this isn't already!)

Like everything else, the creator of a tool tried to accomplish one or more goals: appeal to the masses with a generic/make a lot of people happy design or appeal to fewer with more highly refined designs that suit a particular need/use. Marketing 101.......
Sell few with higher prices or sell more with lower prices...enough to make your margin where you want it. But the appeal of individual makers, rather than mass producers is that despite the lower numbers sold , the end product is fulfilling a niche that could not otherwise be filled. It took many years of dream, design, refine and redefine to satisfy the artist/creator. You have a vision and put pencil to paper....or fingers to computer keyboard and some even listen to their intended audience for suggestions. It comes down to trying to please the most while still enjoying your passion and making a living at it. Special order designs are great, cost the end user more but take you away from your larger quantity production.......
I appreciate you're even thinking about it.
ss

In reading that, I'm humbled.

The economy of scale is just one of the many questions of business. That and figuring where in the market you want your pricing to sit. It's a balancing act. Case in point with these mid-techs - I wish I could blow them at $100 each, because honestly, I'd kind of like to have one of my knives in every household in America. :D But logistically and economically, that simply isn't possible. And if it were, it would also detract from the ethos of what me and guys like me do, which is one of the special things about custom knives. The beauty of the mid-tech is that, despite the "production" nature of it, it is still an inherently bespoke product. And the quantities are still very small, because as we know in business, rarity breeds desirability. ;)

I think one of the coolest things about this project was the speed at which everything came together and made it to market. Another would be simply learning as I went through the process and the pushing of my performance envelope.

DJ - Great job, You may not make a knife for every household, but I am sure everyone of your customers will be happy. That is our goal and I know you share that goal.

Dj,
Great milled pattern in those handles!
That will make a positive difference when keeping the knife in the hand.

Thanks so much, guys!

Mark: Hell yeah. Happy customers is the name of the game. We get to build cool stuff AND we get to make people happy? How awesome is that?

Bill: Once blasted, it ended up affording just about the perfect amount of traction. Super grippy, but it doesn't abrade you or your clothing. I'm really happy with how they came out.

Those of you going to Bladeshow, do try to stop by the table and say hi!

Table 18E.

And in case you can't make it, here are some more knife pics. :D Couple of nature shots, and one on the bench.

Very nice looking piece of steel you have there!

Thanks, TS! Glad you approve.

DJ... How long did you have to stalk the broccoli before you got the kill? :p

Not long at all. Around here, all you gotta do is just throw down a salt lick, squeeze some lemon on yourself, and bang a couple of florets together.

:D

The potatoes, on the other hand...

:eek:

Couple of Colubris vids I shot earlier this week. One on features and benefits, one on safety and preferred carry method. Hope these shed some light into the design of the knife.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AV6YEXT99j0&feature=plcp

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=12QCfId1QfY&feature=plcp

Just watched the first video and must admit I had a crush on this knife at 2:02 but fell in love around 6:24. Nicely done!

Nice.
 

DJ,

Have you considered tapering the tangs? I know it will throw off the balance but it gives a knife a much slimmer "feel" even when the overall grip is of the same dimensions as the same knife with a flat tang.

MVP

DJ, you need to send one to me for Troll testing. I won't even charge you. :rolleyes: :D :cool:

DIYPatriot: This makes me happy.

MVP: That's a good question, buddy. I have not, and here's why.

1) Less steel means less strength. If you happen to be hanging over the side of a building hanging on your knife while bad guys are shooting at you, do you want a tapered tang with lightening holes drilled in it? Probably not. You want that knife to be as strong as possible. Does the Yarborough knife have a tapered tang? No it does not. Like that knife, these knives are built to go places and do stuff. Not everybody needs a knife they can hang off of, but you never know what someone is going to end up doing with something you built. So I'll always err on the side of strength.

2) As you mentioned, that would throw the balance off. While balance is certainly an important consideration, it's not the end all be all of knife design - by virtue of their designs, some knives are simply going to be blade heavy and some are not. However, if I've got a design where everything came together just right, it wouldn't make any sense to me to change it.

3) These knives already have slim feeling handles, and additional slimness would be of no benefit to the user. In fact, it might be a hindrance - from both a retention and a comfort standpoint. Take a steel bar, hold it like you would a knife, and whack stuff with it. Not very comfortable or stable. Now do the same thing with a steel pipe. Much more comfortable and stable.

x SF med: Actually, I'm doing a pass around on another forum. I'd be happy to get you plugged into that. :D Same goes for the anybody else interested. There are rules, though. ;)

DJ,

Really??? "If you happen to be hanging over the side of a building hanging on your knife while bad guys are shooting at you..."

I tried to say that the overall handle dimensions would be the same, not reduced. The tapered tang is compensated for by making the scales thicker.

Found this in a quick internet search: http://www.bladeforums.com/forums/sh...s-Tapered-Tang

MVP

Yes. Really. Not to me, but it happened with one of my knives. The knife in question was double edged, handmade custom, made of 1095, and was probably around 0.20-0.23" thick at the tang. Cord wrapped handle.

If you're removing tang to lessen weight, and you're adding handle material, then you're adding some of that weight back. If you're adding handle material to increase thickness to offset the tapered tang, then your argument for a tapered tang having a slimming effect on the handle becomes moot. Because now it's as thick once again as it was prior to tang tapering. The only other benefit to a tapered tang would be to adjust the balance of the piece. Again, a moot point with these knives, as you can see in my videos - neutral, balance point at the index finger, which is what I want. This will make even the heaviest knife feel light. These knives weigh under 9oz, so you can imagine how fast they feel in the hand.

DJ

Who: (maker and individual)

where:

MVP

You're asking about details of the incident I mentioned?

Like I said, I built the knife in question.

As to who the individual was on the end of that knife (again, wasn't me), I could certainly tell you that. But let me ask you something - If you told me a crazy story about something that you did with one of my knives while you were on the job, would you be comfortable with me telling the whole world enough info about you or that situation so that you could be easily identified? Right now it's just a guy with a knife. I start filling in blanks, and before you know it, that guy has a name. On a publicly readable Internet forum. Not good.

I don't know where precisely it happened, because it would not have been appropriate for me to ask. But I imagine that it was someplace hot.

This is not me being a jerk or being evasive. I am very protective of my clients. I may like to laugh and joke around, but I am very serious about my people and my business. And I promise you, I would do the exact same thing for you, bud.

Seems like a tall tale to me...

MVP

If you have an issue with the story, please PM me your email address, and I'll see about getting the guy to contact you, that way you can take up the validity of his story with him personally. Or maybe TS would like to step in and assist with vetting.

If it's an issue about whether or not someone was hanging off of one of my knives, without it breaking, here's a video I just shot. I weigh 190 lbs and that's about 50 lbs in the ruck. The knife I'm hanging off of is one of the rejects from this run of Colubris. The only difference between knife I'm hanging off of and an actual finished Colubris is strictly cosmetic. I could slap handles on it, sharpen it, and immediately start using it. This knife is actually thinner, shorter, and not as fat as the knife in the story. It also has more and larger holes drilled in the tang, which means it's not going to be as strong. Furthermore, the knife in the story was driven in at at an angle, so the load wasn't entirely lateral as it is on the knife in the video. Lateral loads are what snap blades (that and shock). Knives simply aren't strong that way. Hope you enjoy the video.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-4INcMAg7F4&feature=plcp

It was probably a secret classified mission and I don't have need to know....

No, thanks. I've lost interest.

MVP

And now, back to your regularly scheduled program.

Just finished these up over the weekend. Hope you guys dig 'em.

Mission??
 

We used to have lots of guys showing up with stuff they wanted to sell to SOF at SWC. Got to a point where some guys were looking for a mission for the bling instead of the bling being designed to fill a mission requirement. What is the requirement for a modern "war hammer"? Perhaps I am just a FOG and don't get it. I once read that only the newbies and the fog's carried issue gear. The newbies because they couldn't afford anything else and the FOGs because they knew what worked.

MVP

A lot of guys carry music on missions, had nothing to do with the mission either......:munchin

Nice looking hammeraxe DJ.

Art
 

Once had a TS that carried a bunch of un-used stuff. He had three knives, a saw, and a hawkbilled wirecutter from the engineer's kit. To carry this stuff he fashioned a ruck from two jungle frames strapped together with as I recall two alice medium bags. We were always waiting on him because he was overweighted with personal s**t (couldn't ski either, but could spell snow). I used to carry a cassette player and cassettes, those were comfort items. Being a former 10th guy I get concerned with unnecessary weight, got to worry about the generator...

Damn those look good. :D

MVP,

I'm just a dumbass knifemaker but I get to spend some time in Ft. Bragg a couple times a year and talk with a few guys about gear.

I don't make any 'hawks or hammers but I know they are carried and have proven useful among some fairly seasoned troops in various units.

The bigger part of the knives and breaking tools picture is we try a lot of stuff out and the better we makers get at our end, eventually the end user has the option of better gear even if it ends up being mass produced by industry.

Bill,

As I said perhaps I'm a FOG and just don't get it.

What ever happened to Gil Hibben, he used to do a lot of this fantasy/art stuff?

MVP

I'm a FOG, too, but even when I wasn't, I found two knives were plenty for me - an issued demo knife in my pocket and an issued combat diver's knife I picked up while at NAVSPECWARUNITONE on my harness. I keep the demo knife in a tool kit in my car and the Mk3 is still on my STABO-harness up in the attic somewhere.

Personally, I never understood either the fascination with or the desire to spend $$ on custom knives like some of my contemporaries, but that's just me and it certainly had nothing to do with my appreciation for the skills, commitment, efforts, talents, quality of product, or the knifemaker's art that I could see went into making them.

And so it goes...

Richard :munchin

Gill Hibben is still active and is a hell of an amazing knifemaker, so if anybody is comparing my work to his, then I consider that to be a high compliment. Thank you very much for that.

Ever since the dawn of time, people have been trying to categorize things. As far as my knives are concerned, what the hell are they? Are they fantasy? Are they art? Are they tactical? I say who cares. Call them whatever you want, as long as people recognize them for what they are at their most fundamental level - tools built to get you through your worst day. Tools built to withstand the rigors of life. I have never claimed to make the most badass knives on the planet, nor have I ever made a perfect knife, but what I do make are some pretty great looking blades with excellent performance, built for guys who actually use blades. Cool looks, cool design, and actual real world performance need not be mutually exclusive. Case in point, look at a Colt Python. Cool looks. Great design. Runs like a top. My knives are no different, although I probably care a great deal more about my knives than Colt does their guns, since everything that leaves my shop and bears my mark passes through my hands. That's not me bagging on Colt, that's just reality. And that's not just one of my knives you're holding in your hand - that's a piece of me.

Those of you who have had kind things to say and who have supported me in my endeavors, I can't thank you enough. That really means the world to me.

To my potential detractors, as it were, some food for thought: I would appreciate it if each of you would sit down and take a moment to reflect on your vocation. Ask yourself why you do it, and how much you believe in what you do. Did you choose your vocation, or did it choose you? I suspect that, like me, many here are driven by an inner force that compels them onward. They were called to their work. Now ask yourself this: What makes you think I believe any less in what I'm doing than you do in what you're doing? I damn well better be in this every inch of the way, because this is for real. Because if I screw up and a knife fails when somebody's ass is on the line, probably the best case scenario is that someone ends up injured. Knifemaking is not a joke to me. I do this for keeps. I have to. Because this is my life. I hope you understand where I'm coming from.

Best to everyone, and stay safe out there.

DJ - I really think your knifemaking has come along way and you are making some great knives. Knives are a lot like opinions, some are given freely, some are paid for; some are wanted, others are not; some are made with thought and intent and some are not; some are peices of crap and should be ignored.

Thanks so much, Mark. Appreciate your support. And you've gotta know by now that I dig your knives too. :D

Looking forward to seeing you in Vegas, bud. Gonna have that folder proto with you again?

Beautiful tools, as always, sir.

Claemore: Thanks pal. Glad you like.

And now, some big scary stuff:

Nice sharps! Is that a patina on the first hawk? What did you use to get it, if you don't mind my asking?

DJ... that pic just makes me want to say..."Bonk, bonk on the head..." (old Star Trek references, sorry... TS, and TR should get it though...:D)

Thanks so much, guys.

Barbarian: Axes on the far left and far right are both blued. There are many ways to do this, but I use an oxpho blue.

x SF med: I like that. :D