Knifemaking

After cutting the antler section to size, cut it in half lengthwise to form slabs. Mark the centerline using masking tape along the antler’s top, bottom and ends. (photo courtesy of Joe Szilaski)

     By Joe Szilaski, BLADE® field editor

     1: I enjoyed reading and learned a lot from your story (page 52, July BLADE®) on using elk antler on hidden-tang knives. I have some nice elk antlers and would like to use them for the handle on a full-tang knife. You mentioned in your article that elk antler can be very porous in the center. What is the best way to go about cutting slabs from elk? (Johnny C., address n/a)

      An elk rack is quite massive. Each time I hold one of these magnificent specimens, my mind wanders off to great childhood memories. I grew up in Hungary where elk were plentiful, and I was fortunate that my godfather was the forest ranger. One of his responsibilities was monitoring the elk herds, and I saw many majestic bull elks, especially during full rut season.

     Elk antler can make an excellent handle for a full-tang knife. Before answering your question, I would like to tell BLADE readers what to look for when buying elk antlers for handles.

     Try to buy a “seasoned” rack; otherwise, you will need to store it for a few years before use. You cannot be 100 percent sure it is a seasoned rack unless the seller knows and is honest about it. The only way to be sure is to cut into the antler and see if the core is sort of gooey or oily feeling. If so, this means the antler is still green and you should wait at least two to three years before using it. Using green antler is not a good idea because the shrinkage will be much greater. This is the case with most natural materials.

     I look for an antler that feels heavy for its size. In other words, the heavier the antler, the more solid it should be. The heavier weight is a good indication the antler is less porous in the center and has a thicker outer wall. A lighter antler is usually more porous in the center and has a thinner outer wall.

     Of course, the thinner wall does not mean you cannot use the antler for scales. You can but it takes a little more work. As I mentioned in the July BLADE, you must remove the porous section and fill the void with wood or other solid material. 

     When working with a more solid antler, by the time you grind your scales to the desired thickness and size, there will not be much porous section left to worry about—and that you can saturate with extra-thin Super Glue® in order to make it solid. Most likely you will need to repeat the application of glue a few times. Make sure the glue has completely dried before applying another coat. 

     As far as the best way to cut your antler, I can tell you what has worked for me. WARNING: Be safety conscious if you use tools such as a power saw. 

     Before cutting it, I study the rack from different angles and determine which sections would be more suitable for hidden-tang knives or as slabs for full-tang knives. I hold the different parts of the antler to find the sections that feel most comfortable in my hand. From there, I mark with masking tape where each cut will be.

     After cutting the section to size, I cut it in half lengthwise to form slabs. I mark the centerline using masking tape along the top, bottom and ends of the antler (see photo above). 

     When positioning the antler into the vise, I use 10-ounce leather to line the vise jaws. The leather prevents damage to the antler and will result in a better grip because the soft leather will form to the antler’s irregular shape.

     I use a small precision drill block to check the angle of the antler in the vise. The goal is to have the centerline positioned perfectly vertical for cutting.

     Most of the time, I use a small wooden wedge to compensate for the irregularity of the antler and to help true up the centerline. If marked and cut correctly, the slabs should be similar in size and thickness, so not much effort will be required to grind or sand the scales flat.

     If the antler is small, I may use a wide-faced, sheet-metal locking pliers instead of a machinist’s vise and slowly push the antler on the band-saw blade to cut lengthwise.

     Only your imagination limits what you can make using elk antler. Dave Herman, my friend and ex-partner, made a knife and gave it to me as a present in 1989. It shows how creative you can be with elk antler. The handle is pieced together like a jigsaw puzzle. The top half is hidden-tang construction and the bottom half is slabs. I made a few sub-hilt fighters with similar “jigsaw handles.” It is a lot of fun but also a lot of fitting. As noted, you are limited only by your imagination—and maybe your patience.

     Send your questions for Wayne Goddard or Joe Szilaski to BLADE, POB 789, Ooltewah, TN 37363-0789 [email protected]. Include a self-addressed, stamped envelope with your name and address for a personal response from Wayne, or e-mail him at [email protected]. To contact Joe by e-mail, his e-mail address is [email protected]. If you wish, BLADE will not print your name with your question.

     To read more about how to make knives, the latest knives, knife trends and more, subscribe to BLADE. For subscription information, click on http://www.shopblade.com/product/blade-magazine-one-year-subscription-us/?r+ssfb281211#BL1SU

ESEE knives receive the Textured Powder Coat at Rowen Mfg. (Rowen Mfg. photo)

     A coated blade offers protection, non-glare and striking looks. For those who serve in the military, preserve the peace through law enforcement or knife enthusiasts in general, blades are coated black, Flat Dark Earth, tan or what have you for a variety of reasons, and are permanent fixtures in their complement of working gear. The look and feel are appealing, and the ease of maintenance is an attractive attribute.

     Buying a coated blade makes a statement and serves a practical purpose. Knife manufacturers recognize the demand for such blades and see their contributions to the available selection as filling a necessary niche.

     According to Paul Tsujimoto, senior engineer at KA-BAR Knives, powder coating was developed in the mid-to-late 1960s. “Powder coating is applied using the electrostatic principle,” he said. “The parts to be coated are given a negative charge and the powder coat is given a positive charge and sprayed on. The dry coated parts are then baked in an oven or furnace, where the powder melts and fuses into a hard, protective finish.”

     For ESEE Knives, Rowen Mfg. applies Textured Powder Coat to blades of 1095 carbon steel through an electrostatic spray process that causes powder particles to adhere to the steel. Then the coated steel goes through four stages to complete the process: melt, flow, gel and cure.

     “The powder is applied with an electrostatic spray gun. Before the powder is sent to the gun, it is fluidized to separate the individual grains of powder and improve the electrostatic charge that can be applied to the powder so that the powder flows more easily to the gun. Because the powder particles are electrostatically charged, the powder wraps around the back of the part as it passes by toward the air off-take system,” ESEE’s Jeff Randall explained. “To obtain the final solid, tough, abrasion-resistant coating, the powder-coated items are placed in an oven and heated to temperatures that range from 160 to 210 degrees Celsius, depending on the powder—400 degrees in our case.”

     President and co-owner of Spartan Blades, Curtis Iovito said his company’s coating of knife blades is called Physical Vapor Deposition (PVD). “The process is characterized by the creation of a material vapor that can be reacted with different gases to form a thin film coating,” he noted. “We use a method called arc deposition. This process is carried out under high vacuum conditions. One of the nice properties of PVD coating is that it applies uniformly so that you don’t get build-up on corners and edges like some coatings.” IonBond coats Spartan’s blades.

     The commercial name Spartan Blades has given its PVD coating is SpartaCoat. Iovito and business partner Mark Carey became familiar with PVD coating while working on the development of a new rifle with Special Forces applications.

     “While in the Army, we had been looking for a durable coating in [a Flat Dark Earth color] for a new weapons system we were developing,” Iovito remarked. “Fortunately, we were aware that the development of a true Flat Dark Earth Pantone had been done using zirconium carbon nitride. We believe that we were the first company to use a true Flat Dark Earth PVD coating on knives. This coating is often referred to as diamond-like coating, or DLC, in the gun and knife industry because of its resistance to wear.”

     Black Traction Coating is the proprietary name of the finish TOPS Knives uses on its blades through the services of James Bowen. “We use an epoxy hybrid base with polyester in it,” company President Mike Fuller said. “It is electrostatically applied in its dry powder form, and it goes on the blade between three and five thousandths-inch thickness. The knives are then put into an oven and baked at a little over 400 degrees Fahrenheit for about 17 minutes, depending on the thickness of the material. It’s not an ultra-smooth finish like some coatings have, and it enables the user to hold the blade for close work if necessary.”

Carbon and Stainless

While the processes are similar from manufacturer to manufacturer, each has its own variation on the coating theme. KA-BAR coats both carbon and stainless steels, while ESEE uses 1095 carbon steel exclusively as a blade material. Spartan Blades uses CPM-S30V and S35VN, and 154CM stainless steels.

     “At our clients’ request, we use Black Traction Coating on all our products, 1095, 5160 and all the stainless steels as well,” TOPS’ Fuller noted. “One of the reasons we use it on 440C or 154CM stainless is that it preserves the visual integrity of the blade as well as being easier to clean. It doesn’t add appreciably to the cost of the knife, but the benefit from our perspective is that the chance for oxidation is nil where the covering takes place. However, in areas like the final edge of the knife where there is no covering, the blade still needs to be oiled like any other good tool.”

     Spartan officials acknowledge that the coating of their stainless steels follows the surface blasting of the blades in order to eliminate glare. However, when a knife blade is blasted, a surface is created that is less corrosion resistant. Therefore, the PVD/SpartaCoat helps resist corrosion and maintain the flat finish.

     Tsujimoto identifies four primary reasons for coating knife blades: corrosion protection, anti-reflection, enhancing cutting lubricity, and any combination of the first three. “KA-BAR is no exception,” he said. “Because we use a lot of carbon steel that is very prone to corrosion, we utilize blade coatings a great deal. Stainless is coated for both anti-reflection and corrosion. Remember, stainless steel means that it will stain less than carbon steel. Stainless is not totally stain proof.” Iovito agreed.

     “Knives generally are coated to provide anti-glare surfaces and provide wear resistance, as well as to add additional corrosion resistance, not to mention that it makes for a great looking finish,” Iovito noted. “This finish should not be confused with other spray or paint finishes. While these other finishes are OK, PVD coating cannot chip or rub off because it’s bonded to the steel at a molecular level.”

     Of course, the coating in and of itself is only as good as its ability to stay on the blade. Durability may relate to the composition of the coating itself, and to the degree of abuse and wear a particular knife is expected to weather. Recoating of blades is either rare or not offered by many manufacturers, and the premise is simple. The coating is made to last.

     SpartaCoat is applied at a thickness of 3-to-5 microns, and its final hardness registers 70-to-90 HRC on the Rockwell scale. Spartan has recoated some blades in the past, primarily because the owner requested a change of color or to have something etched on the blade. Iovito said only a couple have been recoated for any other reason through the years.

Snowmobiles & Indian Chiefs

The coating of blades has a practical, aesthetic and utilitarian appeal. It adds an element of safety, stealth, survival and style to a blade, while demonstrating a good value every day in the field. Two of Fuller’s experiences are telling. 

     “Some time ago we were working with a snowmobile manufacturer,” Fuller commented. “The manufacturer used the coating material as an undercoating on its snowmobiles. That says something about the toughness of our Black Traction Coating. It’s extremely durable with a bit of flexibility, and the mixture we make has passed military 24-hour saltwater spray tests and chemical emergent tests with flying colors.

     “Years ago, a survival expert took one of our knives to the Peruvian Amazon and left it with a chief down there. These people use their knives every day and sharpen them on river stones.” The survival expert went back three or four years later, Fuller added, and found the chief, who still had the knife—and the coating on the blade was intact.—By Mike Haskew

To read similar stories and all about the latest knives, knife trends, knifemakers and much more, subscribe to BLADE® Magazine. 

Lim Loong Hoi hammers steel in his old school knife shop in Selangor, Malaysia. (photo courtesy of Philip Lim Chin Guan)

     Every morning, Lim Loong Hoi is at his dirty workshop—it looks more like a shack from the front—at about 8 o’clock. Beyond the open door in the rear, the passage leads to a hallway and a few small rooms.

     The boneshaker of a wooden shop has been home to Lim and his family for decades. He said he has been making utility tools, including parangs, goloks, large fisherman’s blades and sickles, since his school days.

     His instructor and mentor was his grandfather. Back in the day, Lim found time after school to help his grandpa at the workshop. Picture a teenager’s delicate hands with a heavy hammer and a pair of tongs when, during morning hours, he was holding a pen or ruler in school. That was about 50 years ago.

     Called Sin Sam Hup Lee, Lim’s shop still stands firm against fluctuating economic conditions and the ravages of time. His back is slightly bent from the long, dreary years of standing before the furnace or hydraulic pump, pounding away at pieces of elongated steel.

     Pasir Penambang is a small village on the outskirts of Kuala Selangor in the state of Selangor, Malaysia. The locals, especially the Chinese, are mostly fishermen, shopkeepers or fish wholesalers.

     The Chinese fishermen are Lim’s regular customers. The edged tools he makes for them are larger than usual. The blades are similar to huge butcher knives, having a curvature that helps in slicing a big fish in two with one swift, downward stroke.

     The Malay farmers usually ask for long sickle blades used in dislodging oil palm fruits, a.k.a. kelapa sawit nuts. Each sickle is hollowed out at the handle to accept a long pole. The pole enables the user to extend the blade about 7 to 8 feet to harvest the nuts from the palm trees. Each sickle costs $2 to $2.60. The price depends on the quality of the steel and blade size.

     In Lim’s workshop, stacks of Jeep leaf springs used for blade steel rest in a corner. The four-wheel-drive springs are rusty and grimy. The haggard bladesmith likely sourced the spring steel pieces by the ton from an old junkyard. He probably got them cheap, too. Most of the time they are cut to required lengths. It is a low-tech, slightly primitive method of stock removal.

     Practicality and function rule the land. Almost nobody here has heard of CPM-S30V, VG-10 or ZDP-189. The most convincing line Lim uses is, “This is Jeep spring steel.” That alone gives his customers some assurance they are getting quality steel.

     Edged tools used by fishermen or farmers in the fields have no time to get rusty because they are used regularly and on a daily basis. After six to eight years, the parang, golok, fisherman’s blade or farmer’s sickle may be deemed unusable. The user simply buys another one from Lim. After all, it costs just a few bucks. Compared to its long-term usefulness and hardiness, the cost per blade is minuscule—which is why the agrarian folk in Pasir Penambang and nearby villages are Lim’s loyal customers.

     Lim’s assistant is taciturn, works like a well-oiled machine and knows the blade-making process intimately. Like his boss, the assistant relishes the feel of steel in his hands.

     Of course, the untidy workplace is not exactly ideal for a private conversation. Customers determine what they want, haggle over the price and depart with the edged tool they bought wrapped in a newspaper.

     Occasionally, some outsider brings a drawing of the piece he wants made. The bladesmith examines the drawing and then determines whether his outdated equipment and other machines are suitable for the order.

     The volume of edged tools he sells will not even make Lim a member of the middle class. He obviously is not making a fortune, as some people may suspect.

Ah Pee

     A couple of doors away along the same row of wooden shops is another knifemaker, Ah Pee. A sign at the front of his establishment says “Chuan Lee Chan.” Originally from China, he has aged before his time, though his eyes have a certain fire that belies his years.

     Pee said his children, especially his son, have absolutely no interest in knifemaking. “The young men today prefer air-conditioned offices and as little dirt on their hands as possible,” he told me.

     The long hours and intense heat from the furnace are enough to deter most from pursuing such a profession. It is backbreaking work with the added disadvantage of low and slow financial returns.

     After about five decades of using the hammer, tongs and grinder, Pee is long past set in his ways. He probably does not know how to do anything else. Perhaps he feels he is too old to learn and master another profession.

     Not all the edged tools sold at both shops are fashioned by the resident makers. They also stock production parangs and some made-in-China models, both more affordable than the handmade models. Lim’s and Pee’s knives cost more because they factor in labor, time and the type of spring steel used. The sharpness of the blade is guaranteed.

     Sometimes each bladesmith will ask the customers how the parangs or knives will be used. Then he might recommend another type of edged tool. The heavy-duty blades—those for chopping hardwood, the bones of livestock, etc.—are made to different specifications than those for skinning and other light work. The smiths’ skills with iron and steel are invaluable to those who need their tools to make a living.

Heat Treating and Sharpening

     Heat treatment consists of quenching the steel in a trough of water. There is no set formula for giving a hardened edge. Pee said it all comes down to “feel.” The long years of experimenting with quenching a red-hot blade in water have given him the intuition and the right recipe of crucial seconds of sinking a piece of hot steel into a trough, and then lifting it up at just the right moment. I have seen Pee do it on several occasions. He said without the special “water treatment” the blade would not hold an edge.

     Sharpening a parang or any kind of blade is done on a hand-held metal grinder. The way Pee does it looks easy—until you put the same grinder in your hands. A flat grind is apparently the way to go.

     First, he clamps the blade on a table vise, covers his mouth with a piece of cloth and dons plastic goggles. He moves the grinder side to side and applies just the right amount of pressure.

     A shower of bright orange sparks fly past his body but Pee pays them no heed. When he is fully satisfied the blade has the correct grind, he unclamps it and adds the finishing touches to the edge with a smooth stone.

     Again, it is all “touch and feel.” When a man has spent three-quarters of his life sharpening blades, you do not question his judgment. He said, “The blade can easily shave the hair on the arm.” I believe him totally.

     He then gives me a piece of invaluable advice. After the blade has been used, wash it in running water. Do not wipe the water off but put the knife out in the sun to dry. Allow the sun to dry the steel blade and it will remain sharp indefinitely.

     It took awhile before I realized the wisdom of his words. The tropical weather, coupled with the scorching Malaysian sun, acts as a form of heat treatment on the sharpened blade. Perhaps the sun’s rays strengthen the already hardened molecular structure of the blade’s edge? Who knows better—the bladesmiths of Pasir Penambang or me, the end user from the city?

Paying Homage

     There are only two bladesmiths along the main road in Pasir Penambang. Both are advancing in age. This is a dying trade. The youngsters are not interested. Those of us who appreciate all things steel and sharpened tools come to this tiny town, away from the hustle and bustle of the bigger cities, to pay homage to men of steel who live a life of quiet desperation.—By Philip Lim Chin Guan

To read similar stories and all about the latest knives, knifemakers, knife trends and much more, subscribe to BLADE®. For more information click on http://www.shopblade.com/product/blade-magazine-one-year-subscription-us/?r+ssfb141211#BL1SU