Motorbike chain, chainsaw steel and nickel from a boat. This knife is fast, with a keen cutting edge and cuts through hard wood like it's water!
This was the last custom outdoor knife that was ordered before my books closed two years ago so I decided to make this one a bit special!
The 4" blade was made from Sheffield Silver Fox 100, a steel made here in Sheffield, which is a high carbon stainless that has all the benefits of a carbon steel but without the rust. It's strong, holds a great edge and is easy to sharpen.
This was the last custom outdoor knife that was ordered before my books closed two years ago so I decided to make this one a bit special!
The 4" blade was made from Sheffield Silver Fox 100, a steel made here in Sheffield, which is a high carbon stainless that has all the benefits of a carbon steel but without the rust. It's strong, holds a great edge and is easy to sharpen.
The bolster is a one off piece of pattern welded metal which was made using upcycled chainsaw chains, carbon steel motorbike chain and nickel from a boats hull by my blacksmith friend, Josh Burrell. I spent a week acid etching it using lemon juice to bring out the patterns. The lemon juice is good as it allows a very subtle etch and can bring out all the different colours and tones. The darker areas are where the carbon steel has been eaten away by the acid, leaving the silver patterns of nickel which are more resistant.
The collar is a carefully sculptured section of copper which is then cast in a resin mould. Blue and black pigment was carefully added to give the finished product a semi-opaque coloured finish which looks different in different lights.
I chose corian for the handle liner for its material properties as well as its aesthetic beauty complimenting the materials around it. It is a very dense material which is both heat resistant and durable. The deep black of the liner extenuates the lithe flowing form of the Ferraby Steel Wave on the spine of the knife. This is the signature mark of all my full tang knives.
The live edge of the olive wood has a blue resin fill. The wood has a much more subtle grain than many of the pieces I usually use so as to draw attention and carefully compliment the more patterned areas of the knife. The blue infill balances the orange of the olive but is also mirrored by the blue in the collar and when blue sky is reflected on the blade.
I spent a week making the sheath; each stitch hole has a graduated distance and the dying process took 14 incremental layers of dye.
I've managed to combine many of my latest methods with one of my original knife designs - the Wilderness 5. Out of the 12 outdoor knives I used to make this one was always the most popular.
I was happy to hear that the first project this knife will make is going to be a wooden spreading knife from a piece of local green wood.
So I bid farewell to this knife that has a chainsaw, a motorbike and a speed boat locked inside it. I wouldn't like to be the piece of wood!
