And here they are a-lying in a bunch.

In case you’ve been wondering what I’ve been doing rather than shitposting about knives lately. The answer is, making knives to subsequently shitpost about. And also camping.

My store is semi kinda-sorta restocked. I say this because I updated my Emperor listing the other day with the example I just made and I swear I did not have the son of a bitch up for four whole minutes before somebody bought it. I’ve updated the design with a new radial grind, fancier handle scale options, and now even thicker steel.

I suppose I kind of let slip with this knowledge when I posted this photo elsewhere.

Here’s another one:

I used some new steel from a new supplier for these, and I can’t say that I’m 100% happy with it. The surface finish isn’t the greatest and there are some pock marks and gouges in the stock that are too deep for me to realistically sand out, or at least until I accrue enough to afford a surface grinder. But on the bright side it’s even thicker than before, at 7.47mm or 0.295", even greater than a quarter inch. These things are a slab.

I only made one because I used that chunk of steel to produce two of a new design:

Meet the Humbolt, a pattern that takes the absurd choppiness of my stock all the way to its logical conclusion with a straight profiled basher that’ll be equally at home splitting your firewood at camp as it would be felling the tree it came from in the first place.

I’ve also been fooling with transparent ABS as part of my handle scales. Well, translucent by the time all is said and done, really. I’m particularly fond of this “Ectoplasm” colorway which incorporates alternating layers of translucent and bright green, and lets sunlight shine through it. It doesn’t glow in the dark, alas, but it almost looks like it ought to.

I have a smattering of S variant Kings in stock as well in various colorways. Some of ‘ems nicer lookin’ than others. These are thin enough to fit in my Ruixin jig, by the way, so I make these in particular stupid sharp before I ship them out.

Also!

Check it out. Badass wind chimes. (Actually, these are dangling while my rust preventative coating dries.)

  • dual_sport_dork 🐧🗡️OPM
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    24 days ago

    You probably want one made out of some manner of stainless for that kind of duty. I’m doing a custom commission for a guy in 154CM pretty soon. Maybe while I’m ordering steel I can see to it that some extra arrives.

      • dual_sport_dork 🐧🗡️OPM
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        23 days ago

        Just for giggles, this is the initial profile of the other commission I’m doing:

        This one is probably also going to have permanently pinned handles depending on the client’s preference. We still haven’t nailed down the handle material, or if they want a tubular rivet at the tail, or what. This is also going to be a kitchen knife after a fashion.

        • verity_kindle@sh.itjust.works
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          23 days ago

          Gah, SJW is getting in my way, expect a potential 3 copies of the same reply! I like that design. It reminds me of a santoku, but BEEFAY. I’ve been using a cheap 5" one for almost all kitchen jobs for 8 years. It now looks like hot garbage.

        • verity_kindle@sh.itjust.works
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          23 days ago

          I like that design. It reminds me of a santoku, but beefy. I’ve been using a cheap 5" one for almost all kitchen jobs for 8 years. It now looks like THIS:

          • dual_sport_dork 🐧🗡️OPM
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            23 days ago

            Yes, that’s broadly the goal. This one will use 1/8" thick stock, or at least 1/8" before surface finishing and polishing. The blade is nominally 6" in length. I’ll be using CPM 154, the stock for which I actually put on order today. I got the answer on the handle also: The client wants it dismountable similar to the current Emperors/Kings/whatevers, although the profile is obviously different.

            On my latest supply order I did score two slabs of stabilized walnut, though. Just throwing that out there.

            BTW, your picture didn’t attach.

          • dual_sport_dork 🐧🗡️OPM
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            10 days ago

            Psst.

            This is sitting on my bench right now. I haven’t put it online yet (nor ground the edge into it, or engraved it…) and you’re the first to know.

                  • dual_sport_dork 🐧🗡️OPM
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                    10 days ago

                    Shipping included, yes.

                    It’s 1/8" stock before finishing. After polishing, etc. it’s probably minutely thinner by a few molecules but not enough so’s you’d notice. I don’t have it in front of me right now but I’ll put the calipers on it when I get home later today. I’ll weigh it as well.

                    It is indeed stainless, CPM (powder metallurgy) 154. It’s quite corrosion resistant.

                    The pattern is the same as my King-S but in the aforementioned steel and with very different handle scales. The stabilized walnut scales are sculpted similarly to the normal King/Emperor scales but by hand. They are pinned, not hollow screwed, and also epoxy sealed to the tang. They are absolutely proof against ingress of water or chicken juices. Although with the wooden handle, jury’s out on whether you should stick it in the dishwasher. The handle pins are stainless steel, I believe 316 alloy or similar. As a result of all of this the scales are not dismountable anymore, but that’s how it works. They’re pretty chonky as designed, but I could thin them out or round them down a bit more on the belt grinder if you prefer. I finished and sealed the surfaces with Tung oil.

                    Per your original suggestion I also did not drill a hanger hole in it. Edit: Oh, and for similar reasons I did not put the three jimping cuts on the thumb ramp. If you prefer them I could easily do so, though. Well, maybe two. The scales come further forward than the normal ones, occluding slightly more of the ramp.