# Finished a few more



## godogs57 (May 19, 2018)

Here are some knives finished recently. Hope you enjoy looking:

This first one is an old design...pretty typical of an every day carry knife. Made from CPM154 stainless with a 60.5 Rockwell hardness. Snakewood handles and a paracord thong, tied in a two strand diamond knot. This one is scary sharp! Leather sheath made by me from Herman Oak vegetable tanned leather. 







This second one is one I forged from 80CRV2 carbon steel...the steel behaved very well on the anvil and took a great heat treat and temper. I tested the blade and it was a pleasure to work with. Dulled it pretty good three times during the testing process and resharpening was easy...just a few strokes on the diamond stick and I was back to cutting. Handle is an elk shed I found in NM while elk hunting. She has a nickle silver guard and buttcap along with nickle silver/red/black spacers. Herman Oak sheath handmade by me.






This last one is one of my skeleton knives with elk hoof cutouts. I hand filed the hoof prints over a couple of months...'bout drove me crazy. I fit them in the handle so it would reduce the weight a good bit and yes, I know the spacing of the tracks is not "geogramatically correct" with respect to how they actually walk....I took a little artistic license on that aspect...still think it turned out well. My skeleton knives are flat and fit in a pocket or pack without taking up any room.  For that reason, I have a good following of western hunters that love 'em. This one with the elk hooves is a one-off. I sell the same knife, but with holes drilled symmetrically in the handle...looks very good. This blade is also CPM154 stainless with a Herman Oak vegetable tanned sheath also.






Thanks so much for looking.


----------



## dawgwatch (May 19, 2018)

very nice work sir.... especially like the skeleton


----------



## Cmp1 (May 19, 2018)

Beautiful craftsmanship,,,, approximately how long is the top one?


----------



## godogs57 (May 19, 2018)

She's tiny...about 5 1/2, 6". I can get you an exact measurement if you wish.


----------



## Cmp1 (May 19, 2018)

godogs57 said:


> She's tiny...about 5 1/2, 6". I can get you an exact measurement if you wish.



Thanks sir, really a beauty,,,, my buddy is looking for a knife,,,, I believe he is looking for something a bit larger,,,,


----------



## godogs57 (May 19, 2018)

Cmp1 said:


> Thanks sir, really a beauty,,,, my buddy is looking for a knife,,,, I believe he is looking for something a bit larger,,,,



No problem...I can do that too.


----------



## wvdawg (May 19, 2018)

Beautiful knives Hank, as usual.  And the leather is looking nice too!  Awesome job!


----------



## Horns (May 19, 2018)

That bottom one is pretty slick. Do you have a website with pictures and prices?


----------



## Rich Kaminski (May 19, 2018)

Please PM me the website and thank you.
Beautiful workmanship.


----------



## walkinboss01 (May 19, 2018)

Very nice work!!!


----------



## godogs57 (May 21, 2018)

Here is the same knife as the "elk hooves" knife above. Only this is my general production version, not the one-off. CPM154 stainless again. Hope you like.


----------



## Philnlucky (May 30, 2018)

Awesome craftmanship Hank!


----------



## T-N-T (Jun 1, 2018)

The second one is sexy as can be


----------



## godogs57 (Jun 5, 2018)

T-N-T said:


> The second one is sexy as can be


She’s still up for adoption.


----------



## dixiecutter (Jun 18, 2018)

Godogs, this is a knife you recently shipped to a friend of the forum's (Redeli) as a gift from his friends on here. It was ordered earlier this month by Kydawg (Charlie). Redeli was wanting us to post it in here, he's having trouble attaching files.

Can you tell us more about this build? It's a beautiful knife, I'd like to extend a thank you from everyone involved.


----------



## redeli (Jun 19, 2018)

As would i


----------



## NCHillbilly (Jun 19, 2018)

Very nice work!


----------



## Hillbilly stalker (Jun 19, 2018)

Beautiful blade. Would love to hear about it too.


----------



## Gobbler Down (Jun 22, 2018)

godogs57 said:


> Here are some knives finished recently. Hope you enjoy looking:
> 
> This first one is an old design...pretty typical of an every day carry knife. Made from CPM154 stainless with a 60.5 Rockwell hardness. Snakewood handles and a paracord thong, tied in a two strand diamond knot. This one is scary sharp! Leather sheath made by me from Herman Oak vegetable tanned leather.
> 
> ...


Absolutely beautiful work!


----------



## OmenHonkey (Jun 22, 2018)

Great work!! And Thanks for the knife Redeli has recieved!!


----------



## godogs57 (Jun 22, 2018)

Be glad to!

This blade started out as a bar of 1084 carbon steel. To the folks that forge, you'll know its one of the older, more reliable steels we can pound on. I have a forge that will take it up to about 2200 degrees, hot enough to work up Damascus steel. However, with steels such as 1084 you won't take it up nearly that high. I forge 1084 at about 1500 degrees or thereabouts...no hotter, which is just fine. After forging into a blade, I normalize the blade three times. Normalizing is simply bringing the blade up to critical (non-magnetic) temp and allowing it to air cool). This  will establish a more uniform carbide size  and distribution in the finished product...its a "must". 

I now have a chunk of steel that resembles a blade, which I now grind to shape. After I have everything finished, I now have to heat treat, or harden the blade.  Back to the forge..the object is to now heat the finished blade to critical temp and quench. Critical temp for 1084 being 1414 degrees. Like just about everyone else, we test for when we may or may not have reached critical temp with a magnet. Over time you can tell when you are getting close by the color of the blade. Then you test with a magnet on the blade.  "Color" alone is not an exact determinant of blade temp, but using a magnet to determine when the blade will no longer attract a magnet is what we are looking for during the process.  Color and/or the magnet will not tell you the exact temp, but the magnet WILL tell you when you have passed the critical temp for the particular steel. So, the blade is in the forge and you are constantly testing for non-magnetic once you feel you are getting close on temps...finally the blade is a reddish color which indicates the 1084 steel is  probably at critical temp or a little more. You test, sure enough, the magnet no longer sticks to the blade. Then you will keep the blade at that temp (no higher) for about a 7-10 count and quench. Each steel has different parameters for the quench process. You have to get that blade's temp low enough, quick enough to harden properly and each type of steel is a little bit different from other. Some quench oils are "slow" quenchants in relative terms, some are "fast"....meaning how quickly they get the heat out of the blade.  1084 likes a "fast" quench pre-heated to about 140 degrees.  I quench the blade, edge first, in the quench and after it reaches a temperature where I can hold it, I take it out and inspect the blade for cracks, hopefully there being none, and then test the blade with a file to ensure it has hardened. The file will skate across the soon to be cutting edge like its glass...perfect. If the file digs in the blade, the blade failed to properly harden fully.  At this point though the blade is too hard, its very brittle and can't be used as a knife just yet.

Then comes the tempering process. This is done to relieve internal stresses in the steel from the heat treat. It will lower the hardness just a bit. I temper the blade three times at 350 degrees at two hours each temper cycle. Now the blade will be tested for strength, edge retention, sharpenability, etc. If it passes my performance testing it'll be ready to work up into a knife. Now the blade is ready for a final finish after which I'll be putting  blade, handle, guard, etc together. I fit everything together with  industrial epoxy, shape, polish and get to work forming a sheath for the knife. 

This process is what has worked for me on this steel...other makers may or may not have the same process, but pretty much we all follow the same path so to speak. 

If you decide you'd like to forge a blade, as you can see, its not a 30 minute deal! There is much more involved than working up a stainless blade using the stock removal method. But, I like both ways and enjoy seeing how folks admire the finished product...I'll have about 25+ hours in a knife by the time I hand it over to a buyer. 

Redeli, get it bloody this fall ! And be sure to wipe her down afterwards. Best of luck my friend...

Hank


----------



## godogs57 (Jun 22, 2018)

A closer look at the finished product:


----------



## KyDawg (Jun 22, 2018)

Beautiful Knife Hank and thinks for helping the Billy's out.


----------



## godogs57 (Jun 22, 2018)

Anytime. Get with me soon on the other one....


----------



## Anvil Head (Jul 2, 2018)

What Hank is artfully leaving out....not his first rodeo. Also most of the 25 hours is spent inside the shop doing fit and finish (if he's anything like me the blade took all of 30 minutes to forge to shape, if that much). Forging is the fun part, the rest is just plain ol' hard sweat and determination. But....when it's done, well you can see for yourself. You can stand back and truly say "I built that!"


----------



## JustUs4All (Jul 2, 2018)

Magnificent work.


----------



## godogs57 (Jul 6, 2018)

Anvil Head said:


> What Hank is artfully leaving out....not his first rodeo. Also most of the 25 hours is spent inside the shop doing fit and finish (if he's anything like me the blade took all of 30 minutes to forge to shape, if that much). Forging is the fun part, the rest is just plain ol' hard sweat and determination. But....when it's done, well you can see for yourself. You can stand back and truly say "I built that!"




Thanks Carl....I forgot to add a few hours to the 25+ for sore elbows and wrists after beating on the steel...I am one of the unfortunate ones that has to beat my steel by hand. One of these days when I grow up, I'm going to get a power hammer. 

At this time of the year it gets mighty hot in my shop forging....lots of H2O.


----------



## Anvil Head (Jul 6, 2018)

Know all to well. I have no power hammer either. Just a 68 (nearly 69) year old arm. Still does what I want so far, but gets a little tougher every year. Still gonna do it.  Yearh got to stay hydrated, got through a gallon pretty fast.


----------



## Razor Blade (Jul 15, 2018)

Looking great brother


----------



## GeorgiaGlockMan (Jul 21, 2018)

This thread does to my brain what a decorated Christmas tree does to my wife's.

Thanks for sharing.


----------



## bobmd88 (Sep 26, 2018)

I'm very interested in buying one of you knives. Looking for something like the two in this post. Please let me what you have available. Thanks


----------



## Impact97 (Sep 27, 2018)

They are all nice, but that top one is simply beautiful.


----------



## bobmd88 (Oct 11, 2018)

godogs57 said:


> Here are some knives finished recently. Hope you enjoy looking:
> 
> This first one is an old design...pretty typical of an every day carry knife. Made from CPM154 stainless with a 60.5 Rockwell hardness. Snakewood handles and a paracord thong, tied in a two strand diamond knot. This one is scary sharp! Leather sheath made by me from Herman Oak vegetable tanned leather.
> 
> ...





godogs57 said:


> Here are some knives finished recently. Hope you enjoy looking:
> 
> This first one is an old design...pretty typical of an every day carry knife. Made from CPM154 stainless with a 60.5 Rockwell hardness. Snakewood handles and a paracord thong, tied in a two strand diamond knot. This one is scary sharp! Leather sheath made by me from Herman Oak vegetable tanned leather.
> 
> ...


----------



## bobmd88 (Oct 11, 2018)

godogs57 said:


> Here are some knives finished recently. Hope you enjoy looking:
> 
> This first one is an old design...pretty typical of an every day carry knife. Made from CPM154 stainless with a 60.5 Rockwell hardness. Snakewood handles and a paracord thong, tied in a two strand diamond knot. This one is scary sharp! Leather sheath made by me from Herman Oak vegetable tanned leather.
> 
> ...


I love the first two. Any chance that you still have these. If not could you make one similar.Thanks Bob


----------



## Jeff C. (Oct 12, 2018)

Beautiful work as usual......


----------



## godogs57 (Oct 14, 2018)

bobmd88 said:


> I love the first two. Any chance that you still have these. If not could you make one similar.Thanks Bob



Those knives are long gone. One is in NC, the other is in Oregon. Would be more than happy to make you one to your specifications! Send me a PM with any questions you may have.

Hank


----------

