Work continues on the three custom knives that are currently under construction. I decided to work on the details and embellishments of these knives, so take a look below at the progress.
If you recall from last week's post, the handles on the knives were all shaped and polished. In this photo, the knives have been disassembled, deburred, and cleaned up of any buffing compound.
Here is the spine of the blade and the spacer of the Raven after receiving some flintknap or rock texture. The photo doesn't do it justice. It looks really cool in person.
Here I'm starting the long process of a Tru-Oil finish on the Bobcat's scales. The procedure is apply, let sit for a couple of minutes, and wipe off. I'll do this about 5 or six times over the next few days until I get a nice finish. The Tru-Oil really brings out the beauty of the wood grain.
Here's a quick pic of several parts after being painted with blue layout fluid. After they dry I'll mark the spacers and liners for filework patterns, and the blades will get marked for grinding.
The zirconium scales of the Jaguar and Raven get heat anodized until they turn a beautiful charcoal grey color.
Here they are after coloring is complete. Pretty nice looking.
The Damasteel bolsters for the Bobcat get a bath in Hydrochloric acid to bring out the pattern.
I decided that the screw heads for the Jaguar would look best if they were heat colored a nice bronze color. I think this will look better than a bright silvery finish.
The Raven screws get colored a pale blue to compliment the blue CF scales.
That about does it for this update. The knives are really coming together now. I still have a few more embellishments to add, the locks needs to be cut in and set, and the blades need to be completely ground. Still, we're coming to an end quickly. I hope you'll check back soon.
- Brandant Robinson