In CPM-154 stainless, John Bartlow said he found a steel that allowed for a flawless finish. At the grinder here in his shop, Bartlow uses the steel on his utility fixed blade equipped with his trademark line cutter in the ricasso. (SharpByCoop knife image)A veteran of 30 years in the Knifemakers’ Guild, John Bartlow started out using 440C stainless steel for his knives, moved to ATS-34 and today has graduated to CPM-154. Raphael Durand uses the latter steel on his stag lockback. (SharpByCoop image)
Based in Sheridan, Wyoming, by way of Tennessee, 30-year Knifemakers’ Guild member John Bartlow uses CPM-154 for his bird and trout and hunting knives. When Bartlow first started making knives, he was also a hunting outfitter.
As a result, he gutted and skinned a lot of animals on a weekly basis. Having many of his guides use his knives, he got a lot of feedback over the years about design and function.
“I started out with 440C stainless steel a million years ago,” Bartlow remembered. “I quit that nearly 20 years ago and jumped to ATS-34 stainless and used it for years and years.”
He said that about a decade ago he started to become frustrated with the quality of the ATS he was getting. There weren’t major structural problems like chipping or breaking, but there were very subtle issues Bartlow observed under 10-to-12-power magnification.
“My customers never noticed it but it bugged me,” he continued. “I was trying to get some finishes in that stuff —and I was buying through normal channels from several suppliers—but when I would go to finish it, once in a while I’d get this little area that looked like it had pits in it, or it kind of had a little ‘road rash’ that I could not get rid of.”
He approached other makers about it at the time and they said they’d seen the same thing. That motivated him to jump ship to CPM-154, he said, which is very much a sister steel to ATS-34 and 154CM.
“They are closely related on the family tree of steel,” he said. In CPM-154, he found a material that allowed for a flawless finish. With the powder metallurgy process and the accompanying uniform distribution of carbides, it eliminated the “road rash” issue.
Here grinding a blade in his shop, David Sharp said CPM-154 exhibits excellent edge retention, sharpenability and corrosion resistance.
“A large percentage of my knives have a very fine finish, polished or over-1200-grit hand satin,” the maker based in Hesperia, California, remarked. “CPM-154 is very fine, so when it’s finished to a high level you don’t see the steel’s grain.”
He added that CPM-154 is not quite as abrasion resistant as other of the relatively newer steels, so obtaining a fine finish is a bit quicker. He said that though steels are an oft-discussed topic online, he very seldom has customers request a steel type or brand, which could be seen as a testament that his choice of CPM-154 is a good one.
“I have not noticed a downside,” Sharp continued. “The upside is the finish and that it is, in my opinion, a balanced steel. For the majority of users it exhibits excellent edge retention, sharpenability and corrosion resistance.”
It’s one for the record books, but it’s nothing to celebrate.
The murder totals in London for February and March tallied at 37. That’s two more than New York City’s 35 for the same time period. This marks the “first time in modern history” that London surpassed New York City for murders, according to the The Times.
Despite that, stabbings accounted for 31 of London’s murders, and knife crime in general is the driving factor for the increase. This would seem to indicate the ineffectiveness of London’s knife restrictions overall, as indicated by this tacit admission from MP Sarah Jones.
“We need a proper strategy that looks at all of the issues.
“Knife crime and violent crime acts like an epidemic, so you need to go in at the source to cut it off and then you need to inoculate the future young people against it.
“Going in at source means major intervention work with youth workers, inoculating means going into schools, changing the social norms, educating kids, teaching them what it is to be a man, teaching them how they don’t need to carry knives.”
This quote, also from the BBC, from the former superintendent of London’s Metropolitan Police, Leroy Logan, echoed those sentiments.
“Police can’t just arrest or stop and search their way out of this problem; it has to be done in partnership with the communities.”
This is in line what many in the knife community have argued for years. Knives aren’t why someone commits a violent act. There are other factors at play that influence behavior, and those should be identified and addressed.
Granted, banning certain items, such as knives (or firearms, a parallel discussion in the United States), may well prevent someone from committing a violent act with that item, but left unaddressed are the would-be aggressors’ motivations and circumstances. Until and unless that happens, the sliding scale of destructive tools will simply move on to the next item. Case in point: UK acid attacks are on the rise. That follows extensive prohibitions on firearms and knives.
Even The Guardiancalled into question the term “knife crime” as being misleading or overly simplified.
“Knife crime” is a construct. It does not simply mean, as one might reasonably expect, crimes committed with knives. It denotes a certain type of crime committed by a certain type of criminal in a certain kind of context.
Those “certain types” often single out particular groups of people, which makes “knife crime” as a concept even more insidious. From The Guardian again (emphasis is mine):
In 2007, then prime minister Tony Blair told an audience in Cardiff: “The black community – the vast majority of whom in these communities are decent, law-abiding people horrified at what is happening – need to be mobilised in denunciation of this gang culture that is killing innocent young black kids. But we won’t stop this by pretending it isn’t young black kids doing it.”
When politicians frame the issue in this way, the results can disproportionately impact communities of color via increased law enforcement scrutiny. It’s as if white majority populations are somehow exempt from the factors that lead to “knife crime.” Or, worse, that there is something inherent about people of color that predispose them to violent acts.
When white kids are killed, people opine about the state of youth today, the demise of the town in which they died, or the world in general. When black kids are killed, usually the assumption is that their race had something to do with it.
It comes full circle when comments come in following a murder involving a knife and a person of color.
And yet a few days after his death, a Conservative councillor in Dover, Bob Frost, posted a news story about Djodjo’s murder on Twitter with the message “#BlackKnivesMatter. The carnage continues into 2017. Any protest from the ‘community’? Thought not.”
This phenomenon is well-known to the knife community at large. For example, New York’s restrictions on “gravity knives,” enforced with enthusiasm in New York City, levy an oversized impact on minority groups.
That this toxic stew of tunnel vision, racial bias and misleading terminology should finally express itself in a historic first for murders in London shouldn’t come as a surprise. It should come as a warning. If the root of “knife crime” isn’t dug out, London may, unfortunately, find itself positioned at the floor of a rising trend, not the ceiling.
Kirpan: When Knife Restrictions Collide with Religious Freedom
A kirpan and sheath. (By Harisingh at the English language Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 3.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=4525719)
As part of the Five Ks, the kirpan is a dagger that is central to the Sikh faith. Sikhs carry the dagger on their person, and that can conflict with knife restrictions. Simply put, Sikhs can find themselves forced to choose between adhering to their faith and breaking the law.
New Zealand, which restricts the public carry of daggers such as the kirpan, is one such place where this scenario plays out frequently. It’s home to 19,000 Sikhs, which is why that status could change in the future.
National Party MP Kanwaljit Singh Bakshi wants the law changed to make it legal for Sikhs to carry ceremonial daggers.
It’s one of five articles of Sikh faith, that baptised Sikhs must carry the small, curved knives known as kirpan.
Bakshi said Kiwi Sikhs were “criminalised” by not being granted an exemption under the Crimes Act to practice their faith and wear the kirpan.
So what’s the hold up? It comes down to the challenge of separating “good” daggers from “bad” daggers.
“It requires an exception to the law carrying what could be classed as a weapon and it has implications for going onto aircraft, that sort of thing, you just have to really careful.”
That “careful” approach may be small comfort for the 19,000 Sikhs living in New Zealand, as indicated by similar attempts around the world to balance public safety and religious expression. Denmark, for example, ruled kirpans as illegal items in 2006. In Sweden, a kirpan must be dull in order to be carried in public. In the United Kingdom, where public knife possession could result in years in prison, kirpans are generally accepted as being lawful, although it may take a trip to court to prove it.
Knife Companies Play April Fool’s Day Pranks
Not one to miss out on a holiday built around jokes (the knife puns write themselves!), the knife community sharpened its wits for April Fool’s Day. Here are two great examples.
If you ever thought to yourself, “What this yoga session needs is a knife strapped against my pelvis,” you’re in luck. Alexo Athletica recently debuted yoga pants with room for a sheathed knife, as well as any other items to round out your tactical-inspired athleisure ensemble.
With nine pockets, these versatile high-rise quality leggings were designed to hold all your essentials that make you carry with confidence.
With yoga pants becoming ubiquitous outside of exercise rooms, it only makes sense that a company would design products for the concealed carry crowd. The Signature Pant, pictured above, was sold out at press time.
Phil Jacob took home the Best New Maker award from BLADE Show 2017, which is as good as it gets for someone getting started in knifemaking. The achievement is also good news for knife collectors looking for a guiding light for their collections. “Best New Maker” translates to “best new opportunity” for ROIs on investment.
Jacob, who calls Kansas home, specializes in slip joint folders. The addition of exotic handle materials and attention to detail offset any cliches about this traditional style. Just take a look at the double-bladed trapper that made waves at BLADE Show.
Specs:
Blade lengths: 3.125”
Blade steel: CPM 154 stainless
Handle: Stag dyed amber
Folding mechanism: Slip joint
Weight: 5.1 oz
Closed length: 4.5”
Maker’s list price for a similar knife: $875 to $1,100
Jacob maintains a healthy social media presence, which is another benefit to collectors interested in a commission or a resale. His Facebook page is full of status updates and photos.
Did the corroded coffin-handle bowie knife relic found by Dr. Gregg J. Dimmick in the Sea of Mud belong to James Bowie? Note the absence of a guard, one of the design traits of James Black. At press time the relic was in storage at Texas A&M University along with other items found in the Sea of Mud. (relic image courtesy of the Cushing Memorial Library and Archives, Texas A&M University Libraries)
Made during Cutlery Hall-Of-Famer James Bowie’s lifetime, the relic may have been used in the defense of the Alamo, which fell on March 6, 1836. I had not seen the relic but ABS master smith Greg Neely had sent me a picture he had taken a few years earlier. Below the relic was a placard with the following inscription: BOWIE KNIFE.
The relic is iron and has brass connectors in the handle. There are two small strips of decorated silver on the blade near the handle on both sides. A very small amount of the silver can still be seen. The relic had been cleaned by electrolysis. The relic is interesting due to its similarity to Bowie No. 1, the coffin-handle bowie attributed to James Black of Washington, Arkansas.
Identification
The Carrigan coffin-handle bowie knife James L. Batson indicates was made by James Black more closely resembles the relic than either the Marks & Rees or Crown Alpha knives. The Carrigan is on display in the Historic Arkansas Museum in Little Rock, Arkansas. (Courtesy Historic Arkansas Museum, Little Rock, AR)The knife known as Bowie No. 1 does not have the same pin pattern as the relic but has many of the same characteristics of the Carrigan bowie. Bowie No. 1 has a bigger handle and much longer blade. Overall length: 18.5 inches. (image from The Antique Bowie Knife Book)
I had learned early on that you cannot identify or verify an authentic bowie knife unless you hold it and see it—in this case, eyeball to rusty metal. From Greg’s picture I could not be sure how big the relic was. However, from the shape of the blade and coffin handle, along with the pin pattern and the studs in the handle and the silver overlays on the blade in front of the handle, I suspected that it was made by Black circa 1831-1838, in Washington, Hempstead County, Arkansas Territory.
From my bowie knife research, I have concluded that Black originated the coffin-handle style that became one of the most popular of bowie knives. A Black knife did not have a guard. Makers in America and Sheffield, England, incorporated guards into the design.
Crown Alpha of Sheffield, England, also made coffin-handle bowies with silver overlays on the ricasso, this one for Gravely & Wreaks of New York.Marks & Rees of Cincinnati, Ohio, made coffin-handle bowies with silver overlays on the ricasso. Marks & Rees was the first to advertise bowies for sale.
Two of those that made coffin-handle bowies with the silver overlays on the ricasso area were Marks & Rees of Cincinnati, Ohio, and Crown Alpha of Sheffield for Gravely & Wreaks in New York. Marks & Rees was the first to advertise bowie knives for sale, and the Crown Alpha Bowie had Arkansas Toothpick elaborately etched on the blade.
As you can see in the fourth image up, the small Carrigan knife made by Black more closely resembles the relic than the Marks & Rees (above) or the Crown Alpha knives (above Marks & Rees). Also, you can see that Bowie No. 1 (third image up) does not have the same pin pattern as the relic but has many of the same characteristics of the Carrigan. Bowie No. 1 has a bigger handle and much longer blade (13.5 inches).
“I Could Tell He Made It”
B.R. and I arrived at the Alamo gift shop after paying homage to the fallen by visiting the Alamo Chapel. Boy, was the Sea of Mud exhibit crowded! We had to stand in line.
There was the relic and I could tell Black made it. I could tell from the studs that at one time had secured wood scales to the full tang. To my knowledge, Black was the only person to use this technique. The blade lengths of the relic and seven known silver-mounted Black-made, coffin-handle bowies are about 6 inches, with handle lengths of about 4 inches. The placement of the six pins looks as if Black used the same pattern to drill the holes in the tang of each knife.
The relic had been on or in the ground for at least 160 years, but where were the top-and-bottom silver tang wraps? Where were the two silver wraps around the front of the wood scales? Where were the two silver escutcheon plates? Where was the silver pommel wrap, and where were the twelve domed silver washers that secured the scales to the tang? And where were the walnut scales?
If the relic had been dropped by accident or lost, some of the silver mountings should have been part of the artifact, since silver is a noble metal and difficult to corrode. The wood may have deteriorated or rotted away, taking some of the attached silver mounts with it.
Lost to Time
The coffin-handle bowie knife relic was found on the west side of the West Bernard River below the mouth of Clarks Creek in Wharton County, not far from Hungerford, Texas. Mexican Gen. José de Urrea’s division crossed the West Bernard River from west to east on April 20, 1836, the day before the Battle of San Jacinto and a month-and-a-half after the fall of the Alamo.
I contacted Dr. Dimmick and asked if he found any evidence of silver or wood in the soil adjacent to the artifact. He said nothing was found in the proximity of the relic but that a brass pommel cap was found at the same site, though not near the relic.
The relic could have been lost and over time lost the silver mountings. Or, a Mexican soldier or camp follower who needed money and valued the relic only for the silver he or she could remove from it may have retrieved the relic, and the relic was not lost but discarded after the silver fittings and wooden scales were removed. Silver could not be removed from the blade. It was soldered with tin.
A Mexican officer with some wealth may have kept the knife, especially if it had a coin-silver-mounted sheath.
The coffin-handle bowie knife relic was found on the west side of the West Bernard River below the mouth of Clarks Creek in Wharton County, not far from Hungerford, Texas. The West Bernard River was crossed from west to east by Mexican Gen. José de Urrea’s division on April 20, 1836, the day before the Battle of San Jacinto.
According to Dr. Dimmick, “Based on the distances recorded by the San Luis Battalion on April 19, it is believed that this site was not a campsite. The campsite of April 19 was probably near present-day Spanish Camp, Texas. If this is correct, it is theorized that the site discovered on the West Bernard is where Urrea and his division crossed the river during their advance. It is possible that these artifacts were discarded at the site as the units awaited their turn to cross. The artifacts from this site are consistent with the above theory.”
Gen. Urrea’s division was not at the Alamo. However, then-Col. Juan Morales and his men were, and they reinforced Urrea after the fall of the Alamo. (It was about 100 men under Morales’ direction who attacked the Low Barracks where James Bowie was killed during the Alamo battle.)
Urrea subsequently led his division along the coast from Matamoros to Goliad and Victoria. His primary opposition led by Col. James W. Fannin consisted of volunteer units from the United States.
These troops took steamboats down the Mississippi River to New Orleans and went over land or by sea to Texas. The Matamoros Expedition led by Col. Francis Johnson and Dr. James Grant consisted of the New Orleans Greys and the Mobile Greys. None of these troops had been through Washington, Arkansas, or heard of James Black.
So, was the coffin-handle bowie relic owned by a defender at the Alamo? And if so, how did it get from Washington, Arkansas, Territory to the Alamo, and from the Alamo to the West bank of the West Bernard River? Was this James Bowie’s knife?
Two variations of the Wilton Square Wheel Grinder. (Images courtesy of Southern-Tool.com)
The variety and types of belt grinders available today is tremendous. Without a doubt each individual has his/her favorite machine. Although all are very good, we always wish that we could make them do more, or modify them to better fit how we each do things in our shop(s).
I have used every grinder out there at one time or another, and have chosen the Wilton Square Wheel as my favorite. The most attractive feature for me is the ease and speed of changing attachments.
As it comes from the factory or dealer, there are a few draw backs that can be irritating to a knifemaker. Below are a few modifications I have made to increase versatility and production in my shop.
Specs
The machine is set up to run either 110VAC or 220VAC. As delivered it is set up to run at 110VAC, I highly recommend setting it up to run on 220VAC. There is a world of difference in the power and smoothness of the machine from 110 to 220. (My machine had change over instructions located inside the switch housing.)
Slow Down
(All images by the author unless otherwise noted.)
If you did not purchase a variable speed machine, get a “slow down” drive pulley. As it comes from the factory, the Wilton Square Wheel has a 10″ drive pulley that runs the machine at 4600 SFPM (surface feet per minute) Before they were offered commercially, I had one made at a local machine shop. Mine is 7″ dia, and slowed the belt speed down to 2950 SFPM.
By slowing the machine down, it may seem at first that your progress is very slow, but your grinds will come out much nicer, and you’ll get a lot more mileage out of your belts.
Flat Platen Attachment
Next we turn to modification of the flat platen attachment. As it come from the factory, and with the way the platen attachment is cast, there is simply not enough room or tracking adjustment to allow one to create plunge cuts on the left side of the platen (as you are facing the machine).
It took me a while to work this one out, but the solution is a simple fix. I created a platen that bolts onto the existing platen. These “add on” platens are nothing more than a piece of 1/4″x 2″x whatever length you want (up to the original 8″) that the belt “rides” over. This will give you plenty of room for plunge cuts. In the photos below you can see how I drilled two holes in the casting, and use two socket head bolts (10-24 thread) to secure the “add on” platen.
The easy way to do this is to remove the contact wheels and use a set of vise grips to drill the holes for threading, and then enlarge the holes in the casting to accept the socket head bolts.
Modify Platen Lengths
For those who were paying close attention to the photos above, the platen may have seemed shorter than it should be. This brings us to one of the best improvements. Remove 2″ at the bottom of the factory platen casting. This gives an area that is ideal for convex grinding.
Platens can be made in different lengths, for various applications. The above photo on the left shows two different platen sizes, the large for flat grinding, and in the right photo, the shorter platen is in place for convex grinding. Below is a close up view of the setup I use for convex grinding. It’s easy to get carried away and use too much pressure, so nice and easy is the key. You can control the amount of convex with a combination of belt tension, and the amount of pressure you apply to your work piece.
Using the Short Platen
I seldom use the 8″ wheel, with the exception of profiling blades. The long flat platen, I use for flattening, and tapering, the shorter platen is used for convex grinding.
If you have made modifications, and are willing to share your ideas, let me know in the comments.
NOTE: Since first writing this article, I have trashed the idea of using Graphite canvas for a platen backing. This material wears too quickly, causing uneven grinds and just general mayhem. I now use “pyro-ceram” or tempered glass on all my platens. The platen MUST be flat, and the glue used to attach the glass able to withstand heat (I use AccraGlass) but it will improve you grinding 10 fold.
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