Saturday 21 August 2010

The MaChris No 1 ....Arrives.

spoon carving+machris


The collaboration between myself and Chris Grant has culminated with this beautiful and practical carving knife.
Chris Grant has surpassed himself with a skilfully crafted knife.


The story of the knife


Chris had seen me mulling over a Japanese laminated axe & asked if I had ever used a Japanese laminated blade or knife. Coincidentally, Chris had just made a blade from an off cut, and had seen that I had made my own knife before..... 
We briefly discussed this blade before deciding to design something from scratch, as I had specific ideas/specs that I wanted to realise. Also at this point Chris decided to put the handle on the knife as a complete job so it would be ready to use. I supplied Chris with a pre-fab knife blade in cardboard, as well as a roughed out handle blank. 



spoon carving


The brief of the knife: 

  •  The main design feature worth noting is the tapering point, this was designed specifically for chip carving. 

  • Approx 3mm thick blade, not too wide to hinder carving, not too thin to be uncomfortable when thumb pressure is applied.

  • Simple carbon steel for the blade; easy to sharpen, tough and capable of a fine edge.

  • A strong, narrowed tang to allow for the pressure of power cuts. 


  • A well designed one-piece warm wooden handle.   

Details:

  • The prototype was made in laminated CS80, but needed refining, another version was made in laminated shiro gami 2 (white steel) for comparison purposes. Chris hopes one day to finish both these knives, so a full comparison can be made.

  • The first full working knife was made from 15N20, band saw steel, with  2% nickel, very sharp, with great toughness, it was decided that this  would be an ideal steel for a blade with a very fine tip.

spoon carving

  • The blade was heat treated in a computer controlled furnace, to ensure maximum performance from the steel and then quenched in reclaimed whale oil. 

  • Jon carved the final handle himself, to ensure that it  would be exactly as he wished.

  •  The blade was secured in the handle with super strong two part JB weld  epoxy.To finish the handling, the tang was peened over the end of the  handle.

  • The sheath was made to be hung on a shoulder sling, but can adapt to  belt carry. The sheath is stitched with two rows of thread with an extra  thick welt  8mm to allow for the blade's sharpness &  fine point.

 Specs:


Overall length: 230 mm
Handle length: 127 mm 
Blade length: 100 mm
Blade thickness: 3mm


  • Sheath: Oil tanned leather, sealed with beeswax & gum traganth, sewn with white waxed linen..


spoon carving


spoon carving


spoon carving

Handle: Hand carved Birch with Walnut ferrule.


spoon carving




 Visit
For contact details.


And view his Photobucket for more examples of his work...



Coming soon....

The Bushcraft version of the MaChris....

ENJOY...



Monday 16 August 2010

The MaChris Number one....



Coming soon...
Full review and photographs...

I have been collaborating closely with Christopher Grant 'Bladesmith' on a new wood carving knife.
We have for the last four months or so been passing prototype handles and blades from workshop to workshop.
Between us we have designed blade and handle for fast removal of waste wood and the important capability of fine carving, in one knife.


spoon carving

Christopher Grant's mark...

spoon carving


spoon carving


 Enjoy...






Sunday 15 August 2010

Spoon Carving First Steps Coffee Spoon

I spent yesterday sat under the Golden Ash making this spoon for a friend of mine in Scotland. I will trade it for some hand spun and naturally dyed wool. Sarah, my partner, is an avid knitter, and will thoroughly enjoy knitting with such special wool. This spoon is carved, from Birch, to fit into a coffee jar. It is under five inches long and has been made to hold precisely seven grams of good coffee... 

spoon carving

I fitted the spoon with a leather thong finished with a splendid little knot  that an old friend of mine taught me some years ago...


spoon carving

I hope she likes her new spoon...

spoon carving

ENJOY...J

Carving a Dragon Kuksa.

Carving a Dragon Kuksa.  I have been carving Kuksa from green Birch for 15 years or so, I’m self taught. From the beginning, I limited mysel...