COLTIMPALA
Yo homie... is that my briefcase?
Recently I fell in love with the profile of the fiddleback forge camp knife, but I haven't seen FBF making any of these lately, and the second hand market (eBay) is ridiculous on their pricing.
So rewinding a couple years, a good friend gave me a sawmill blade that was 8670 tool steel. I'd kept it figuring I'd use it for something and this was the perfect opportunity.
I blew the FBF knife up on my laptop to the corresponding size, measured with a tape, then traced it onto some computer paper. I traced that onto a cereal box. I traced the cereal box onto the saw blade, and cut with generous margins in the middle of the night on the ground in the freezing cold using a plasma cutter, using a PTO generator ran off my tractor.
I took the rough cut and cleaned it up using a belt sander and angle grinder. I got the blank perfect, but I don't trust myself to hear treat or bevel, and given the amount of time invested thus far I chose to inlist the help of a professional. @opaul was incredibly generous to offer his services of heat treating and beveling the blade for me, and I could not have been more thrilled with his work. (If you're looking for a GREAT local knife maker, give him a shout.)
Upon receiving the blade back, I purchased some burlap micarta scales and hand formed them to the knife before attaching with epoxy and brass pins. I sanded everything smooth and did some finish work, and currently I'm having a good friend make a sheath for it.
So why'd I make this rather than just buy one? All in it would have been cheaper to just buy one off eBay considering my time invested. The answer is this; My daughter is 3, and accompanies me on all my various adventures. She squirrel hunts and coyote traps by my side, and LOVES campfires. We have a book of trips I've planned out for the coming years ranging from camping trips in Alaska to canoe trips on local and distant rivers. I plan to carry this knife for all of those adventures, and many years from now when I'm old and gray, I'll pass it on to her as a memento of all of our adventures together. I thought I'd share this here and show you guys how it came out and hope you enjoy.
So rewinding a couple years, a good friend gave me a sawmill blade that was 8670 tool steel. I'd kept it figuring I'd use it for something and this was the perfect opportunity.
I blew the FBF knife up on my laptop to the corresponding size, measured with a tape, then traced it onto some computer paper. I traced that onto a cereal box. I traced the cereal box onto the saw blade, and cut with generous margins in the middle of the night on the ground in the freezing cold using a plasma cutter, using a PTO generator ran off my tractor.
I took the rough cut and cleaned it up using a belt sander and angle grinder. I got the blank perfect, but I don't trust myself to hear treat or bevel, and given the amount of time invested thus far I chose to inlist the help of a professional. @opaul was incredibly generous to offer his services of heat treating and beveling the blade for me, and I could not have been more thrilled with his work. (If you're looking for a GREAT local knife maker, give him a shout.)
Upon receiving the blade back, I purchased some burlap micarta scales and hand formed them to the knife before attaching with epoxy and brass pins. I sanded everything smooth and did some finish work, and currently I'm having a good friend make a sheath for it.
So why'd I make this rather than just buy one? All in it would have been cheaper to just buy one off eBay considering my time invested. The answer is this; My daughter is 3, and accompanies me on all my various adventures. She squirrel hunts and coyote traps by my side, and LOVES campfires. We have a book of trips I've planned out for the coming years ranging from camping trips in Alaska to canoe trips on local and distant rivers. I plan to carry this knife for all of those adventures, and many years from now when I'm old and gray, I'll pass it on to her as a memento of all of our adventures together. I thought I'd share this here and show you guys how it came out and hope you enjoy.
