A new batch of Vinegaroon started

I've finally done something knife related again.

When I moved out of the old house, I threw away the vinegaroon I had made up.
What is vinegaroon, you ask? It's simply a dye for leather that turns it black.

The difference between this and commercial dyes is that it actually causes a chemical reaction in the leather to change the colour, plus I can make it myself.


It's really easy to make, but takes a while to do, which is why I started the batch off now so I have some ready as and when I need it.

This is what you need - some wire wool and some vinegar (whatever's cheap)

then get a good sized container (this is the one I used for the last batch)

and pour in the vinegar...

followed by the wire wool...

(you can do those last two steps in the other order, if you prefer...)

That's it done, for now.

Leave it on a shelf then every couple of days open it up to give it a stir. The wire wool will slowly dissolve. Gases are released as well so make sure that the container you use isn't too air tight. Opening it up for stirring will help take the pressure of the gas away.

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New Beginnings.

A big change in my life that's been taking up a lot of my time.

Moved from my maisonette in Hertfordshire to a house in Aylesbury.

glad it's finally done, although lots of work to do.

I finally get a workshop of my own.....soon!

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Two stick tang knives glued up...

 Two quite different knives glued up yesterday.

The one on the left is a blade made of Takefu Suminagashi, a Japanese multi-layered steel. The handle I've attached is African Blackwood at the front then two blocks of Kingwood from Brazil with some leather spacers between them all.

The right hand knife has a blade by Nic Westerman. It's a little whittler for me and is sharp, sharp, sharp!
The handle on this one is made from home cut Boxwood at the front and the main section of Tambooti, an African wood. there are four thin wood veneers between them - two darker and two lighter to hopefully mirror the Boxwood and Tambooti.

Quite a bit of shaping to do! Think I'll leave the Kingwood one until I have a new bandsaw blade!!

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Enzo Necker Part II (Trapper Conversion)

Part I here: Playing with Stainless Enzo Trapper

The blade shape was changed a while back. Now to putting the scales on.
I've settled on Thuya Burl and Carbon fibre pins.

A bit of drilling and using pins to make sure everything lines up.

One done ...

 Two done...

All of one side done - breakout of grain on the other side. Should have used something to support underneath but shouldn't be a problem.

Starting the next side...

all done, all lined up...

Next thing is to shape the front of the scales.  My bandsaw would be handy here but the blade is blunt and I haven't got a new one yet so it's a glorified storage unit!

By hand instead....

Ready to glue....

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More doodling

This one is an idea that i've had for a while but was reminded of again recently.

It's a fixed design based on the Spyderco Balance that was designed by Ed Schempp.

Video on the Balance

The balance has a more downturned blade but is restricted to how it sits by being a folder. I'm thinking this could make a handy little kydex sheathed neck knife.

I'm undecided on the handle cut-outs at the minute and am playing with some more ideas. I like it looking a bit like bones and the angles make me think of a dinosaur!

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Hoodlum Hell Hound

Recently saw this and I'm tempted to make my own copy:
http://www.tactical-life.com/online/tactical-knives/hoodlum-hell-hound/

It's on the long list!

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General utility

Got a part finished blade from Rob J Evans in -  the middle one here:

He described it as like a Rat Izula knife and I didn't look at the measurements so was a bit surprised when it turned up. The Rat Izula is a lot more petite than this one!

This is a 5mm thick piece of steel and a good handful.

The bevels on it as it arrived were a high flat grind with a thick edge on it still. I couldn't resist convexing the bevels - I didn't get round to taking a picture before I started, unfortunately!

5mm thick, nice wide blade and a convex edge will be a beautiful slicer but strong as anything!

Handle plan is black micarta with stainless steel fittings. Maybe some red liners too.

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A doodle...

 The blade shape isn't right yet. I struggle to get the clip of the spine and curve of the edge right on bowie / fighter type knives.

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Tetrarch Neckers - Part 1

 Named after the Tetrarch light tank, these are going to be small but strong little neckers.

 The plan is for a chisel grind, vinegar etch (or depending on where I'm at with it, something more interesting), jimping on the spine, large hole at the rear for lanyard. No scales.

So the starting point is three 18" lengths of O1 steel, 1" wide and 7/32" thick - for those not great at converting Imperial to metric that's 5.6mm thick!!

 I decided to chop each length into three...

And here's a first thought on design with one of my favourite tools - my trusty Sharpie marker!!

Handle shape on one done. I wanted to get the holes drilled next so I could profile them all together, using teh first as a guide. I.m still undecided about the blade shpae but that can come later.

Drilling a stack of steel!

First hole done - 11mm.

Drilling a hole that wide and that deep (50mm ish) is not a quick job!

Leaving the 11mm bit in place to hold them all together, 7mm hole started...

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An update, long overdue!

I've been going through a bit of a dark phase recently. While I've still managed to keep chipping away at my knives, I haven't felt too motivated.

I had lost my fire.

I'm ready to relight it so as a start, here's some of what I've been working on since I last posted.

A thick bladed Nessmuk with a Macassar Ebony handle.

A possible design for a 'mythical' knife. A bit of fun on a forum.

Started a new scale for the Spyderco Pride I was working on after messing up the previous one!

 A PSK blade - plenty of work to do.

Slotting some Mammoth for a James Wood whittler blade:

Basketworking some leather for a billhook sheath:

A general bushcraft knife - thinking a two part handle with reindeer antler and an undecided wood! (same style as Bison Bushcraft knives with the long bolster?)

A little slip to correct! oops!

A stacked handle. African blackwood & kingwood with leather inbetween.

A handle in Macassar Ebony & Cocobolo on a Dorset Woodland knives XL Nessmuk blade by FGYT

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