All About Pocket Knives

Lately I have managed to find at our local gunshows and fleamarket several good stockman knives that have had the master clip blade broken off, but were otherwise good. Generally these only cost a dollar or two. You may have seen the previous one which I called a Franken-Boker as it was built on a Boker stockman frame. This one is a Kutmaster that had the main blade snapped, and the sheepsfoot blade also had the tip broken off. So I redid it by grinding the broken sheepsfoot into a spear/large pen, and made a new blade to replace the broken one. I tend to make the new blade as big as what will fold into the handle, so this one is a Wharncliffe like the previous Boker. I am at a loss as what to call this one though. It could be a Wharn-Master, or a Kut-Cliffe, or a Franken-Something. Anyway the shield and handle material was good, so I kept it as is. It went right into my pocket as a EDC.

Franken-nice is why I would call it.
Good work and great save.

Amen to what Tony said. Great job.

Man.... you are making me like those wharncliffe blades!
That is a sweet looking knife..... GREAT save!
And YES... great work!!

Meridian_Mike wrote:Man.... you are making me like those wharncliffe blades!
That is a sweet looking knife..... GREAT save!
And YES... great work!!

Thanks for the comments.
I think Wharncliffe blades are one of the easiest ones to make. And it makes for a unique looking stockman knife.

Nice work! The swedge in that Wharncliffe is great!

orvet wrote:Nice work! The swedge in that Wharncliffe is great!

There you go Swedgecliffe.
I love the Wharncliffe blade on that. Can I have one?
SSk

Different for sure, but an extremely useful knife! I like it. And I am a sucker for a swedge on a blade. Great job.

What a talent...to be able to make your blades like you do. I enjoy seeing your work!

I know what I would like to call it.
MINE!!!

Well done, sir. It looks like the Wharncliffe sits high, but, that must be because the straight blade no longer follows the frame at the opposite bolster, like the original clip would have. There's a lot to like here.

Great looking wharncliffe blade!

Marvelous Cutlery There OH. K.C.

BTW.... I love the profile of your knife with the blade closed!
It looks.....so HANDSOME....

Thanks for all the comments. The Wharncliffe blade in a stockman frame does seem to sit up high because the straight edge runs all the way to the tip and it is necessary to get the tip about 1/32 to 1/16 inch below the liner for safe carry. If anyone would be interested I could post some pictures of the file jig I use to make the blades and do the swedges.

OLDE CUTLER wrote: If anyone would be interested I could post some pictures of the file jig I use to make the blades and do the swedges.

YES..... I'm interested.
Please post 'em.
Mike

I would be interestedin seeing those, sir. My skills are far, far away from making blades that nice, but I would like to learn someday. You are a true craftsman.
(Plus, I am also a sucker for a good swedge!)

I started with a basic jig made from plywood as seen on youtube-Aaron Gough filing jig. Aaron Gough is a custom knifemaker in Toronto who makes fixed blade sheath knives. The plywood jig he shows will get you started, but using plywood will result in a jig that wears out, as you clamp the blade blanks to it the plywood compresses. It was a good trial to test out if blade making is really for you. As you can see, it is nothing more than an oversize "Lansky" type sharpener with a file instead of stones.
The plywood jig. I have recently redid my jig in aluminum tubing. The original jig in plywood is better suited to doing longer blades. The aluminum update is better for doing smaller blades for folders. The aluminum tubing is 2" X 4" X 15" long.
The aluminum jig. Two stop screws and a small clamp hold the blank from moving. The 12" file is attached to a 3/8" rod 27 inches long with 2 hose clamps. The eyebolt at the far end can be screwed in and out and replaced with shorter ones to change the angle of the "grind". Keep this set as you flip the blank over to get a uniform angle on both sides. The swedges are done by clamping the blank onto the aluminum jig at an angle line marked left and right from the centerline of the jig so they can be duplicated on both sides.

That’s ingenious, simple and effective. Love this. Wish I had the skills to do this.
SSk

Jim, that is one fine looking piece of cutlery and that Wharncliffe blade just sets it one step above the rest. I don't care a lot for stockman style knives but I sure like that one. It's probably the Wharncliffe main that does it for me.

Sharpnshinyknives wrote:That’s ingenious, simple and effective. Love this. Wish I had the skills to do this.
SSk

The "ingenious" part is that the jig takes care of the angle, and that is the main part of the job. Don't get me wrong, this is a lot of work. But if you want to try blade making, this is a good way to go, and if you want to go further, then you can spend for the machinery to take the work out of it.

That's gotta be a LOT of filing...you do your own heat treat afterwards, too? Blademaking 101 would be a great thread idea, ya'll mechanics (hint, hint). An in-depth (with pics!) scale hafting thread would be most excellent. Just sayin'....

SteelMyHeart85420 wrote:That's gotta be a LOT of filing...you do your own heat treat afterwards, too? Blademaking 101 would be a great thread idea, ya'll mechanics (hint, hint). An in-depth (with pics!) scale hafting thread would be most excellent. Just sayin'....

I heat treated the Wharncliffe blade shown. It is a lot of work but this method produces a very precise angle, which is very important.

I recently put this one together for my buddy, Sundog. This one started life as a Case trapper that I bought at a fleamarket for $1 with a broken blade and worn out bone handles. Sundog had been admiring the Wharncliffe blades I made as shown above, so a new blade was made from 1095 in the Wharncliffe style with double swedges. Handle material is jigged buffalo horn.