Indians For Guns

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Kshitij, another cool piece! Make some wood handles buddy!

You won't get billets of damascus, as the pattern was obtained during the forging process of the knife. They would fold the metal (when red hot) and hammer it flat, heat, fold again, repeat. I doubt the modern day "damascus" knives are true damascus!

You can get the pattern by etching (forced patina) with different stuff like tomato ketchup, white and dark vinegar, mustard sauce, imli ki chutney, ferric chloride (used for PCB etching), etc. etc. acidic substances.

Hey essdee, thanks

The wooden handles are under process.

As for the damascus billet, what i meant was that instead of froging a knife if someone forges a rectangular piece of say 3in×8in×5mm thick i could cut the knife blank of the shape i want from it. Have found a source for damascus knife blanks. Have got his quotes, will pursue it in the coming week.

The steel i use is high carbon kind. They by themselves get a black coloured pattern on the surface in a few days and the pattern gets darker as time goes. This isnt rust formation.
Patina is a good idea too.

In the mean time, i would like to see a couple of knives from the mumbai based members. This will give me a better, hands on idea of the shape, weight and propotions of the established knife designs like the BK series.

@kshitij

Wonderful. A fixed blade full tang knife. Way to go!

Yes, it needs wood handles. But para cord might give it a rugged minimalistic look.

Great work Kshitij.....
Nice profile too....
Re: The handles, apart from wood - Try 'fibre' - today I was at the photo-frame shop & saw varieties of shades, source the supplier for 'slats' 5mm to 6mm thick & work on it...my gut feel is that these should work
Way to go bro
Briha

Thanks brihaji.
Have few fibre sheets. Will try them out soon.
Next profile i want to do is the Ka-bar Potbelly knife

Superb knife dude. Looks killer. Can't wait to see them.

Wow kshitij excellent job. .!!!

I was planning to buy a dremel and angle grinder to start making knives myself
Maybe u can help me zero in on the best option
I have also found a blacksmith in Navi Mumbai whom we can ask to prepare Damascus billets

Hey Rrahulkumar,
I have put the bevels on my knives by hand filing them. So i really have no clue as far as dremel tools are concerned. I guess essdee and pratik use them, you could get in touch with them for advice.
Since you are located so close to me, maybe we could meet up sometime. Just finished wrapping up the usual diwali fare, will give you a call in the coming week.

Quick update:
Was able to try out the knife this weekend during our plinking session. Tried chopping a 2inch dia dried branch. Despite the blade being lightweight and only 3mm thick, it was able to take decent chunks off with every stroke. The knife was also good at making feather sticks by shaving thin stems with easy.
I believe the knife can perform even better if it is further sharpened and honed. Gotta get that done soon.

kshitij wrote:Hey Rrahulkumar,
I have put the bevels on my knives by hand filing them. So i really have no clue as far as dremel tools are concerned. I guess essdee and pratik use them, you could get in touch with them for advice.
Since you are located so close to me, maybe we could meet up sometime. Just finished wrapping up the usual diwali fare, will give you a call in the coming week.

Hi there!
> A dremel & angle grinder are ideal for beveling knife blanks.....
> Suggest that the blanks are held in a bench-vice while using the dremel / angle grinder with appropriate grinding wheel / disc.
> A steady hand would be an added advantage to get the exact angle of the bevel....
> Good Luck!
Briha

A dremel & angle grinder are ideal for beveling knife blanks.....
> Suggest that the blanks are held in a bench-vice while using the dremel / angle grinder with appropriate grinding wheel / disc.
> A steady hand would be an added advantage to get the exact angle of the bevel....

Fully agree. However, it is always better that you practice on some pieces of scrap which you do not mind ruining. The first few are 100% likely to be ruined, so better not try on a piece you want to make into a nice knife.

Update,
For about a week have been waiting for a revert from the machinist i had given the blanks to do the bevels. He called back today and told he cant do it right.
Have decided to now either get the appropriate wheels for my bench grinder or get a dremel tool to get the bevels done myself.
Any suggestions/advice guys?

**irritated on having wasted a week for a 15min job!