I just ordered a small EnZo blade made from O1 steel...with I assume a scandi grind (totally flat on both sides, no secondary bevel)...as a whittling knife. That'll be my next project. After that...I noticed they make the Leuku blades in some REALLY long sizes...should make a good machete! I might think about that.
EnZo Nordic "Lynx" $30
3.4x20x80 mm
Total:200 mm
Carbonsteel: O1
Designed as a real whittler blade.
And I have one piece of very, very high grade Curley Birch, and the shimmer inside this block is amazing!
Curly Birch Extreme $19.00
Very rare and becoming hard to get.
Got some really nice ones in this order!
Lots of curl, shimmer, pattern.
So...I don't buy the bolsters or guards any longer as I cut my own. It's easy with a flat sided blade to get the slot just right...the rhombic shaped blades are a bitch though. Then there's just the spacers and one section to add near to forend of a contrast material.
I've been thinking of cutting across the Birch about 1/4 of the way from the end and making the large piece the handle and the small piece the top of a scabbard, so that when they were put back together they would look like one piece. I would finish the bottom of the scabbard with the same wood I use as the accent piece on the handle...and maybe carve the thing with a stylized Beaver or something...since it's a whittling knife! lol I've got both Rosewood and Blackwood to use as the secondary on the thing and either one would set off the other quite well. I'll see what the grain patterns look like and how the colors match the color in the Birch's curls before I make a choice. And on this one I might use brass as the metal...I have a bunch and it makes for a 'warmer' overall look, etc.
Stay tuned.