Just wanted to share a few pictures of a knifemaking project I recently finished. This is my newest fixed blade design. I’ve decided to call it the JTR. Blade steel is CPM-MagnaCut with a dark acid-washed and stonewashed finish. Handle scales are OD canvas Micarta, 3D-contoured, with a custom mill-textured diamond pattern. Etched and gray-anodized titanium screws. Overall length is 8.5 in. Blade length is 4 in. Really pleased with how this one turned out.
The back story on this knife is pretty special. This design was based on a collaborative effort between myself and my younger brother—who just recently earned his stripes in becoming a U.S. Navy SEAL. To commemorate his hard work and achievement, I offered to make him any knife of his choosing—something he could use in the field. He readily accepted the offer, so we began to put our heads together. I came up with a design and together we began to add in features that he needed, such as an elongated lanyard hole, jimping on the thumb ramp and index finger groove, and a grippy mill-textured finish on the handle scales. The steel would obviously need to be very corrosion-resistant, so we decided to use MagnaCut. We also decided to go with a sabre grind to help maintain more of the blade’s thickness out towards the tip for added strength—especially at times when the tip will be used as a screwdriver/pry bar. I made a secondary set of scales out of red “Chili-Pepper” canvas Micarta as a surprise because my brother really liked the red set I made for the test handle.
I am incredibly proud of my brother’s accomplishment and I hope the knife serves him well.
Thanks for reading,
Michael
's in 10 different steels
