My new Damascus knife.

[ibosserman]

Hey all, I just wanted to show off my newly made knife. Just finished it last night. This one is for a customer. I have two of these to make. The other I will show when it is completed. In addition to the wood sheathe there will be a leather sheathe so it is easier to carry on a belt. The wood that was used is acacia from a hardwood floor. Let me know what you think. IMG_0228.jpgIMG_0229.jpgIMG_0233.jpg

[crashdive123]

Nice work. If I may offer one small bit of advice - when sanding wood with a belt sander use a new belt. If they are worn, the wood tends to burn a bit......which is good to know if you want to achieve that look as well.

[Winter]

Good looking knife.

[ibosserman]

Ok,thanks Crash I will keep that in mind.

[ibosserman]

Ok,thanks Crash I will keep that in mind. Also how did you know I used a belt sander. Just wondering.

[Woodmaster750]

Like it. It has class...

[crashdive123]

Ok,thanks Crash I will keep that in mind. Also how did you know I used a belt sander. Just wondering.

In your third picture you there appears to be burns that run across the handle. Can't to that by hand.

[finallyME]

Nice work. If I may offer one small bit of advice - when sanding wood with a belt sander use a new belt. If they are worn, the wood tends to burn a bit......which is good to know if you want to achieve that look as well.

I will do the majority of the sanding with the belt, and just live with the burn marks. Then finish it by hand to basically take off the burn marks. Since I am borrowing some else's belt sander, I don't get a choice in belts.

[1stimestar]

Nice. I love the wooden sheath.

[crashdive123]

I will do the majority of the sanding with the belt, and just live with the burn marks. Then finish it by hand to basically take off the burn marks. Since I am borrowing some else's belt sander, I don't get a choice in belts.

If you bought some stabilized burls for $50 to $70 a set you might feel differently.

[hunter63]

Very nice looking, good work....Thanks for posting.

Ah, yes, belt sanders, clamp them in a vice (the portable kind) set the "keep running all the time button.... and go for it.

They do a nice job, but can belt sand your hand real fast as well as the wood.....so after carefully sanding down a cherry wood set of scales, completed the finishing, blood stains raise the grain nicely, took it to rendezvous....got into a hawk and knife throw and busted them all to pieces on the first throw.....offered them up to the fire god that evening.

[ibosserman]

Thanks all. Crash those burn marks are actually the color of the wood grain. I started with a belt sander then did a lot of had sanding to finish it off. Hunter I used my knees as a vise on this one. And yes it does smart when you get your knuckles in the belt.

[hunter63]

Well it's tough to get finger prints from sanded fingers......LOL

[JPGreco]

Crash. does that apply to belt sanders like the grizzly as well or only the portable power tool?

[crashdive123]

Crash. does that apply to belt sanders like the grizzly as well or only the portable power tool?

Yep. If you use a fresh belt you are less likely to burn the wood.

[JPGreco]

Thanks Crash. I wasn't sure if it was a result of having back pressure on things like portable belt sanders causing the friction or a bad belt.

[Bushman]

back in the late 70's...early 80's I work in a foundry cleaning up castings as a 'fettler' (damn DIRTY job if there ever was one !! )............ stood at a BIG linishing machine all day..........72" between centers.......4" wide belts. Now THEY could remove stock tout sweet !! We were mostly working stainless and aluminium castings and 60-80 grit belts, but the 'edge' would get knocked off them in minutes on the heavy stuff and we'd change belts about every 10 minutes or so. Comes a point on a belt where it is too worn to 'cut' and you just end up 'burning' the piece...........plus you're cutting into the bosses time/quote for the job.

so change your belts frequently !! You can re-use the old belts for 'polishing' sometimes. I used to take home the worn belts on the little sander/linisher and use for stockmaking and use them from time to time. Eventually figgered it was easier just to buy finer grade belts............up to 800-1000 grit...................cut better, and lasted longer..........doing things 'on the cheap' is ok for a while, but eventually you have to factor in a 'consumables-cost' and charge that to the customer...........