A pocket knife I made-Jon's retirement gift

[george wilson]

This is my journeyman's retirement gift. It has a quarter sawn elephant ivory handle. The bolsters are nickel silver,and the name plate is solid 22 karat gold.

Jon's favorite knife steel is W1,and this W1 is from a stash of very old Brown and Sharpe tool steel that is from the 50's. It was so old that the paper sleeves it was in had gotten all torn and dirty,so the merchant offered me the whole stack. I was delighted to get good,old,real American W1 steel.

The knife has a locking mechanism seen as the little checkered rise on the top of the handle.

The file work on the knife is something I suddenly came up with because I found I could incorporate the name "JON" in the middle of it. You sort of have to look for it.

The blade is rather massive,being 1/4" thick. It is 4" long,and was freehand ground and polished. Highly polished hunting knives resist taking etching from blood for a while. If you wipe the knife down soon,the blood won't yet have had a chance to bite into the steel.

Since Jon is a hunter,I thought this would be a useful feature,though I really don't want him to get this knife messy!! Actually,he has not carried it since he tends to lose pocket knives.

It stays on his mantle.

I should get around to making myself one of these.

[Leigh Betsch]

Simply beautiful. I'm out of superlatives so that will have to do. Best looking knife that I've ever seen.

[Patrick Tipton]

Gorgeous work.

I admire the craftsmanship, but more importantly, the desire to keep pushing yourself to learn/do/make new things.

Thanks for sharing!

Regards, Patrick

[Charles McKinley]

Hi George

What a wonderful gift from a wonderful friend.

Your work is a true inspiration.

[Mark Baldwin III]

Wow! That's gorgeous!

[Bruce Haugen]

and very, very snazzy file work, George. If I had all of eternity I doubt I could produce something that fine.

BTW, is that a slip joint?

[Pat Zabrocki]

George, I think you are on a quest see if people will run out of adjectives to describe your work... and you're succeeding!

Amazing as always.
cheers
Pat

[george wilson]

What do you mean by a slip joint? Like pliers?

[Bruce Haugen]

a slip joint knife relies on spring pressure to hold the blade in position, contrasted with a liner lock or lockback. For instance, the famous Buck 110 folding hunter is a lockback, with a blade that is notched to match a notch in the spring. It requires release of the locking mechanism to close, whereas a slip joint just takes pressure to close.

[Will Boulware]

Beautiful work, as usual. Question, though. You said it was quarter-sawn ivory... How does the sawing layout affect a material such as that? This is rather interesting, as I've never even thought about how one would go about cutting such a thing.

[David Weaver]

Very very nice, as usual George. I can see why Jon wouldn't take it hunting. I've never lost a knife, and I still wouldn't take it for fear of rain.

[Andrew Gibson]

I don't think I could carry it either, if its heavy enough to not want to jump out of your pocket, it's more then likely to find a way through a hole in the bottom of the pocket.

I love pocket knives, this one is wonderful.

[george wilson]

Ivory is just like wood in having growth rings. This piece was quartered and showed each growth ring quite clearly,like quarter sawn wood would.
P.S.,I got the harness maker to make a leather scabbard to carry it on the belt. In a pocket,the knife would get scratched up,and rusty from sweat,etc.,being non stainless steel. Plus,this is a heavy knife.

Not a slip joint.When you open the knife,a little square detent from the thumb operated lever on top of the knife engages the blade. The lever has a spring to hold it in place. When you depress the checkered lever(too small an image to see the checkering),the blade can be folded back. I have made a few other folding knives,and have used the same locking mechanism on all of them.

This is in the folding hunter category. Jon says that anything over 4" for a hunter is too long.

I don't hunt myself. I wouldn't want to kill the deer,though I know that if they aren't thinned out,they will over populate and starve. Jon only eats wild meat as he doesn't want to eat the hormones,etc. found in store bought meat.

[george wilson]

I gave Jon a German "Eye"brand trapper's knife. He promptly lost it!! I found an OLD new stock Puma stockman's knife with a carbon steel blade,my favorite commercial knife. They are not available now,for many years. I paid $200.00 for mine. I think Jon's was $100.00. He soon broke the point off cleaning a deer with it.

My knife collection was stolen by the movers. It took me forever to build the shop's interior,and get unpacked. It was some years before I got everything unpacked and discovered they were gone. Also,my collection of vintage books on musical instruments was missing.

[Ron Petley]

George, once again a most singular object, my only wish is a close photo to really see the quality of this knife.
Yes moving is the seventh ring of HE double hockey sticks, is about all I can say about it. Or is it the 5th, can't rembember I have blotted it out like a bad dream. Cheers Ron.

[Jeff Hamilton Jr.]

George,

It seems each piece you turn out is unequally amazing. You are one awesome craftsman . . . and you never disappoint!!

Fun, fun, fun to look at your flawless creations.

jeff

[Bryan Wuest]

My knife collection was stolen by the movers. It took me forever to build the shop's interior,and get unpacked. It was some years before I got everything unpacked and discovered they were gone. Also,my collection of vintage books on musical instruments was missing.

George,
That is an exceptional gift you gave Jon, phenomenal craftsmanship.

Don't you just hate thieving movers. I'm in the Army and have moved 14 times. With every move something is broken but only once was something stolen. It was a walnut case I made to hold my 8 Robert Sorby turning tools my Dad gave me. I got a check to cover the cost but no one can pay you for the theft of something you created or your father lovingly selected and gave to you to pass on the woodworking tradition.

[george wilson]

I'm bumping this so Rob Lee can see it.

[Mel Fulks]

A hundred years out, when the knife is auctioned, it will be listed as an 18 th century item believed to have been made for one of the Russian czars. Who else could afford something like that? Some how I don't think anything you make is ever going to show up at a yard sale. Dang!

[Mike Henderson]

That's just beautiful, George. You're an amazing craftsman.

Mike

[Matthew N. Masail]

So amazing.... what can I say, I love your sense for things that go together, and that you don't rigidly plan your item before making it.

[Gary Hodgin]

Wow! George, that's amazing. I don't know what I'd say if someone handed me something like that. Thank you just doesn't seem to be enough. I'm sure he will always cherish that knife.

[ray hampton]

George, making folding knives and having them to work may be easy or quick for a tool-die but this would take the average greenhorn a month or two if he are working without a pattern

[george wilson]

Folding knives,especially locking folders ARE more difficult than a fixed blade knife!! A few more parts. Most knives I have seen these days(and a LONG way back in time) are sloppily made: The back of the handle is supposed to be flush with the back of the blade,like this one is. BUT,TRY to find one correctly made. They just seem to have forgotten how to design a proper folding knife. Not even Puma(who used to make good knives before they went Asian),did not get this feature correct most of the time. I think knives not made with this correct feature really look bad.

No tool and die work here,Ray. The blade is freehand ground and polished,and every part was individually made,not stamped out. It does take a long time to make one of these knives piece by piece. I don't make any el-cheapo retirement gifts for my friend !!!!:):):)

The steel it was made from is OLD USA Brown and Sharpe W1 steel,as mentioned. It may even have been pre war. The finish on the ground steel was SO much smoother than the finish they put on precision ground steel these days. Close to a mirror finish,as opposed to the much coarser grind they use today. I'd like to know what wheels they ground it with,and how they kept the steel from warping from using such incredibly fine surface grinding wheels. Surface grinding thin steel can get tricky in a big hurry!! Obviously,they used lots of coolant,but you'd have to see how finely ground this steel is,and have done surface grinding to understand what I mean. The steel looks like it was ground with an Arkansas stone wheel,super fine. None of the original finish remains on the finished,polished blade,but it is just nice to have it start that way. If it was not scratched during sawing it out,filing,etc.,it would make a good final finish for a fine infill plane.

To the dealer,the old,falling apart wrappers made it "not new" to sell to customers. I'd have bought 100 times the amount if he's had it. As it was,I got a stack 4" high.

[ray hampton]

May I ask you to explain how you locate the blade hole and how you drill it

[george wilson]

I usually find it wise to make stiff paper mockups of the parts and make sure the hole will be located where the blade can swivel open and shut,and get the spring right so it doesn't break from being bent too much. Use a straight pin at first to find the ideal location for the hole in the blade. Then,the inside shape of the knife has to be able to hold the closed blade. I make at the beginning of the knife edge a little protruding spot to rest upon so that the cutting edge does not hit the inside of the back when it snaps shut. Most knives have this,or they very soon get flat spots on their sharp edge.

Hope this is clear enough. It takes mechanical understanding and experience and careful planning.

[Joe Fabbri]

Very impressive. Thanks for sharing it with us.

Joe

[David Weaver]

I found an OLD new stock Puma stockman's knife with a carbon steel blade,my favorite commercial knife.

I remember reading this, and I didn't know what puma was. Now I have an enhanced appreciation for just how good one of their knives would be, as I had a puma razor for a while, a vintage one. I checked online, and the logo is the same one that was on the razor scales. The steel was super fine (super doesn't even explain it, it polished to a buttery finish), the kind if steel you wish someone would make chisels out of. They are well known, and I ended up selling it just because people will pay a lot for them if they're vintage and clean.

[george wilson]

I paid $200.00 for mine. Now,they make a SIMILAR LOOKING one,but it is $29.00.No doubt Chinese,or some such cheap make. Very disappointing. I wish they at least would still offer their REAL ones,for the microscopic few who would pay for a good knife.

I've also got an OLD,carbon steel "White Hunter" hunting knife,with the old carbon steel blade,not the new stainless. It is a sort of bizarre looking knife with about an 8" blade,suitable for skinning a rhinoceros,I suppose. It has a flat spot just behind the rounded front edge of the knife,which I surmise might be for hammering it through bone,or something tough. I have absolutely no use for it,but an old carbon steel one will take a great edge,and is hard to find. I would not call it pretty,but I suppose it is carefully designed for big game hunting. Quite a tough,heavy knife. Now I have to go find a 10 bore double rifle,jodhpors (sp?) and etc..

[Klaus Kretschmar]

I'm bumping this so Rob Lee can see it.

Thank you for bumping the thread, George. I missed it in 2010 and am happy that I'm allowed to admire this piece of jewelry now. It's not only the perfection of your work that impresses like always. It's another example of your work that shows the enormous width of your skills. It seems that just anything that your hands touch will get a piece of art even if you do it the first time. Did you ever create a tool or an instrument that isn't breathtaking?!!

In awe
Klaus

[george wilson]

Klaus,coming from a true perfectionist such as you are, I am honored. Every time I bring up an old post,there are tons of people who didn't see it the first time!!

I can assure you,everything I make is not perfect!! Special gifts are necessarily extra effort jobs. Klaus,how is your wood allergy coming along?

[ray hampton]

I usually find it wise to make stiff paper mockups of the parts and make sure the hole will be located where the blade can swivel open and shut,and get the spring right so it doesn't break from being bent too much. Use a straight pin at first to find the ideal location for the hole in the blade. Then,the inside shape of the knife has to be able to hold the closed blade. I make at the beginning of the knife edge a little protruding spot to rest upon so that the cutting edge does not hit the inside of the back when it snaps shut. Most knives have this,or they very soon get flat spots on their sharp edge.

Hope this is clear enough. It takes mechanical understanding and experience and careful planning.

good answer, people can be born with mechanical understanding but NOBODY ARE born with experience

[george wilson]

I forgot: The name plate on the side of the knife is solid 22kt. gold. It is about 1/32" thick,inlet into the handle,and about 1 1/2"long.

[Bill White]

George, when are we gonna be able to access ALL of your superlative work in a video format?
Talk about eye candy...............
Are you doing all the photo work?
Bill

[george wilson]

I have put up dozens of pieces of work. Search "George Wilson I made". I started all of the posts using these words so they can be easily searched. Many BAD photos,some good that I did not shoot!!

[Klaus Kretschmar]

Klaus,how is your wood allergy coming along?

It's funny that you ask it now, George. After a break of more than 8 weeks, I visited my shop the first time again today. Just 2 hours and the problems are back. Asthma and all the stuff one doesn't want to deal with. I'm very disappointed right now.

Klaus

[george wilson]

Klaus,you probably already have all the options explored,but,could you wear a plastic or paper lab suit like they wear when dealing with dangerous germs,and a helmet that blows filtered air into itself? Woodcraft might still sell those. Would be a big inconvenience for sure,but with your talent,you should try every option to keep working. I know you need 100 % protection from the dust getting on your skin,or inhaled. COULD you possibly use plastic impregnated wood for handles? Stuff like Dymo Wood(sp.?) is not as pretty as regular woods,but is pretty locked up in a resin matrix. How about a DECENT looking plastic,like black counter top material,Corian-(not the "granite" looking junk). Another builder was using it,but I hated his choice of "granite" looking material. At least black would resemble ebony. But,the important thing is,your exacting sculpting would still be there.

[Klaus Kretschmar]

Thank you for the worthy hints, George. When I was in the shop a few hours ago, I used a professional breath protection. So it really seems that the skin has to be protected, too. It's kind of hard for me to replace the beloved wood with plastic or another stuff. But if nothing else helps, that step probably has to be done. The next step I will do is to renovate my shop. All things I don't need to have there always will fly out and the walls and the ceiling will get new paint. I want to make sure that there isn't another source for my issue than the wood dust.

Klaus

[george wilson]

The suit WOULD protect your skin. I know you cannot get the wood on your skin. Some kind of light weight suit,with nitrile gloves might help. But,it is EASY to wear a hole in nitrile examination gloves. I know you don't want to wear dish washing gloves. What a TERRIBLE problem. There are no injections that could help your condition? Maybe wear the nitrile gloves,and wrap some "Alligator skin" tape onto the finger tips. Alligator skin is a sticky,gauss like tape that stays put when you wrap it on your fingers. It is sold to protect finger tips when sanding a lot,or for applications where you need to get a good grip,like handling sheets of paper in printing shops. When I took printing,we put sandpaper strips,taped to a finger tip.