Progress is still moving forward, albeit slowly, on these two knives. I did manage to reach the first big mile marker in the build though, that of the first full assembly. Still lots to do, but were getting there.
Here is the Pride spacer back on the mill to widen out the dovetail to receive the Timascus inlay.
The first Timascus inlay fitted to the spacer.
And here it is with both inlays seated in place. I'll trim the tops off down flush to the spacer once the knife is assembled.
The bolsters for the Bobcat are made from Damasteel. I've never been able to get a good etch with fully annealed Damasteel, so I decided to run these through a hardening cycle to make etching more effective. Here are the front and back bolsters about to be wrapped up in stainless steel foil before they go into the oven.
A lot of work was done off camera in setting the open and closed blade positions and fitting the blades to the spacers. Pivot assemblies were also refined for a good fit and smooth action. Here are the knives now fully assembled. They are really starting to take shape and to look like the knives that they will soon become.
Here's a spine view of the assembled knives. Next week it will be handle shaping and hopefully blade bevel grinding time. I hope you'll check back soon.
- Brandant Robinson