Forged 51200 custom knife(pic)

Status
Not open for further replies.
B

bigjim

Member
Joined
Dec 28, 2002
Messages
793
This is a set recently made for me by a great guy and wonderful maker named Bill Buxton. This big knife and its little brother were hand forged from 51200 carbon steel. Cyro-treated and in my mind are functional works of art.
attachment.php


The big blade is 15 inches overall with a 10 inch full convex edge. The little brother has a 4 inch blade. Both knives feature pinned green micarta scales.
 

Attachments

  • Buxton chopper.JPG
    Buxton chopper.JPG
    67.9 KB · Views: 1,315
They look fantastic but I question the logic of cryo treating a large chopping blade. If done in the conventional manner ductility is usually halved.
 
No no no..... Not half. I specified and wanted ductility reduced by 47%.:eek:
 
Ya wany my honest opinion?

Alright, you asked for it. On a scale of 1 to 10...

Blade shape on both - 10

Red spacers on the smal knife - 10

choice of steel and slabs - 10

Hollow ground on the small blade - 7

Hollow ground on the large blade - 8

Angle of cut on the large blade at the choil - 10

Choice of 6 & 11 small pins over 2 mosaic pins on each - 6

Overall score = 8.9 out of 10

If you'd like to raise the score you'll have to send both blades to me for evaluation.

Disclaimer: Due to the current back log, evaluations usually take at least 24 months to complete. All knives are subject to (ab)use in all weather conditions.

:evil: cs
 
Very nice knives! I've read that Cryo treatments have no effect on carbon steels but complete the heat treatment of stainless steels. Interesting.
 
Very nice. Does the bottom of the blade project enough to act as a guard on the big one? Looks like it.

Quite attractive.

John
 
Thanks for the comments guys, we all know its fun to show off your toys.

Just some notes....

Blades are not hollow ground...Flat grind in the case of the small knife and convex for the large.

I sort of lied....the small knife is not the one I have. I already had a small green handled one. Made with out the red spacer. So while I do have a set..... just not the exact one shown.

My Understanding...
The cryo-treatment and triple temper and triple quench is specific to 51200.
While Mr Buxton is not the only blade Maker doing this...he certainly gets good results.

Yes I am sure the choil on the large knife will act as a guard. I will let you know when it gets here Friday. This is the teaser picture Bill sent me.

Brian, as far as balance and feel goes I will let you know. I had this knife made with general camp chores in mind. I gave Bill a very tough task. I wanted a Choppy, slicey, stabby, kitcheny, fightin knife all in one.

I am not of the mind that it is even possible to get a knife to do all these things. So I wanted a set of knives. I wanted the small utility knife to fill in on some tasks that the large knife would be clumsy for.

Thanks for the comments guys.
 
Blades are not hollow ground...Flat grind in the case of the small knife and convex for the large.
Click to expand...

Must be the pic. In that case I must apologize and change the overall score to a 9.9 out of 10 :D .
 
Larger one looks nice but I have to say I've never seen much use for really big knives.
Click to expand...

After the nuclear blast when zombies are roaming everywhere you'll need one! I keep my Kershaw Outcast handy just for that - and the occasional branch that needs chopping. :D
 
OK the knife came in.... I am pretty pleased. My pictures are aweful but you can see a good size comparison compared to a small knife and a keyboard.

Somebody asked if it was a fast feeling knife. It feels Lightening fast in the hand. Bill took advantage of the great 52100 steel and did not make the blade overly thick. It almost feels like a heavy duty kitchen knife. This thing would be at home choppin kindeling, sliceing meat, or doing any number of Camp chores. Here is the strange part.... this thing feels like a fighter in the hand. I don't know... I just know I like it. Pay no attention to the weird marks and swirls that show in the pics. Those are magical marks that only exist in my crappy camera.
attachment.php


attachment.php
 

Attachments

  • Blades.JPG
    Blades.JPG
    62.8 KB · Views: 288
  • Sheath.JPG
    Sheath.JPG
    59.4 KB · Views: 289
Last edited:
It looks like it could be blade heavy and that will help with the choppy things you want to do. It also looks like it would be a real fighter and able to slice and dice with the best.
 
uses....

I have three of the smaller knives. One in Ivory Micarta, one in a realy wild redwood burl and this one in green micarta. This Green Micarta one is for the collection as is the Big knife. I had planned to use them but they are two nice. So I will use the small ivory Micarta as a utlity knife user. The rest will remain as a part of my collection.

But the question behind the question is what would the big blade be good for?
To be honest in combination with its little brother I don't see any knife tasks that could not be done well. Maybe not filleting fish....
The big knife is large enough to chop small light wood. Very nice for food prep. All around great camp knife. Or even survival knife. Would make quick work of a ribcage or another bone. Oh yeah....vampire killer for sure.

One thing I can tell you is that it is the sharpest knife I have ever had. When you drag your finger accross the edge you can feel the ridges in the lines of your finger tips. They make little "ting" almost bell like noises as they catch and then pop over the edge. Shaveing hair sounds and feels like a fresh razor. I honestly think I could shave my face well with this blade. All I did to it is strop it very lightly ten passes on dry leather with some ultra fine abrasives from Hand American.
 
very nice knives from a great maker! have pics of the redwood burl and ivory micarta ones?
 
thanks jim. again, nice knives. i would have to say the redwood burl is my favorite of the 3.
 
Status
Not open for further replies.

Similar threads

A
  • Locked
Knife and Sword Makers Who Forge Their Own Damascus
Replies
11
Views
3K
Hand_Rifle_Guy
H
N
  • Locked
Trying to focus on custom knife maker
Replies
2
Views
529
hso
hso
Gordon
  • Locked
For Sam Cade to think about
Replies
2
Views
539
Sam1911
S
Tony_the_tiger
  • Locked
Fiddleback Forge Review
Replies
0
Views
1K
Tony_the_tiger
Tony_the_tiger
C
  • Locked
A few left over from the Coon hunters Festival
Replies
8
Views
1K
cpirtle
C
Back
Top