This weekend I made some good progress on the Bobcat knife. It's shaping up to be a really nice gentlemen's style folder. It should be a nice piece once completed. Here are a few photos of the work.
I have to admit, I really struggled getting these bolsters to etch well enough to show the contrasting layers in the Damasteel. I ended up heat treating the bolsters, etching them in hydrochloric acid, and then a quick dip in some ferric chloride. I finished up by hitting them with some 2000 grit paper to even things out a little bit and return the shine. I would consider these passing, but I'm still not 100% satisfied. I'll have to experiment a little more on the next knife that I use Damasteel for.
Here's the finished blade with it's 600 grit satin finish. Looking nice! I didn't take any pics of the process, but you can look back through previous posts if you want to see the process of grinding a blade.
I like to add a little bling to the insides of my liners by jeweling them. I used a Cratex rod mounted in my mill and then used the X and Y slides to index the location for each circle. It went a lot faster than doing it the old way on the drill press and the circles are much more regular.
I also cut the lock bar in the left liner, set adjusted the lock for a nice, early lockup on the blade tang, and installed the detent ball in the lock bar. I must have been really into the build since I forgot to take any pics of those steps.
I spent a good deal of time at the bench with files in hand adding the filework to the spacer. I went with my traditional twisted ribbon pattern for this knife. It's kind of a traditional, yet elegant pattern that I thought would compliment the overall looks of this knife. I'm getting really close to the finish line with this build. Thanks for following along.
- Brandant Robinson