Some of you might know me as a carver...some as a knife maker. Well, I'd like to think I'm both. At the least I appreciate both sides which for this thread are 1. the knife as a functional item and 2. how well it works at its intended task. Recently I've been involved in making some carving knives and have used blades from three very good sources (I'll try to paste links to below) - all being Nordic in design and fabrication.
Now, Nordic blades have a long and interesting history. Currently they are being made in four...for lack of a better term I'll call 'configurations' even though that's not ideal. What I mean is that there are four basic ways that the blade steel is done. For my purposes these are high carbon (takes a sharp edge and is easy to sharpen), stainless (not as sharp, not as easy to sharpen but resistant to corrosion), progressively tempered (where the edge of the blade is tempered harder, like to Rc 61 - 64, and the body/spine is less hard, and like Rc 55...allows the blade to keep an edge for a long time and not suffer from being brittle) and finally laminated, which is the type that this thread is about (these are 3 layers, soft steel on the outside, sandwiching a hard steel in the center, which does the cutting and is in the neighborhood of Rc 62).
So that's the basics to bring everyone up to speed. Now a few of the Scandinavian blade makers have done much with the laminated style and are known for it...Mora, Frost and Helle among them. These are good choices for carvers since we're always looking for a blade that will take a super sharp edge and hold it under hard use, and be easy to bring back.
While looking for blades I checked 'Ragweed Forge' which carries a large number of blades of the proper design. It's an excellent Site. I looked at the Mora/Frost blades and ordered one and after receiving it was impressed with the finish, etc. A knife I'm making with it is nearly done. So off I go to find some blades for the next batch...and while checking that out I look at the finished knives from the same maker.
Now here's the point of all this. I find finished knives with the same blades as are being sold alone...for something like 25 percent less than for just the blade. Now I'm sure there are a number of reasons why this would be the case...but for me...well, I ordered two knives instead of the raw blades and will take them apart to use my own exotic wood for handles...and saved $10.
By the way, if you use the links to look at these things don't be put off by the low cost of the items. These really are top quality pieces in regards to how well they work. They're just not fancy.
The blades to look at in the link below are the ones from Frost, the top set pictured, which are the laminated carbon steel ones. ..the first, second and fourth.
http://www.ragweedforge.com/BladeCatalog.html#f-blades
Then at the link below you have to go nearly to the bottom of the page, look for the 'Carving Knives' heading. There are 4 with plain wood handles. I popped one of the pics here to show an example:
http://www.ragweedforge.com/SwedishKnifeCatalog.html
If you look and compare you'll note is $5 cheaper...and even though you can spend $ 75 for a high end knife blade (and I admit to doing so) you really don't need to.
I just thought it was interesting and represented one of those, ''Blackhorse Big Bargains'' that I like to share on occasion. And with the few pipes I've made, and the carving of a wide variety of woods other than briar, it seems that one like that linked below would be excellent for smoothing, scraping and any kind of detail work. I'll say one thing - the little SOB's are razor sharp!
Of course I have to admit to having a favorite among the high end items...the little Roselli UHC (ultra high carbon) ''Bearclaw'', which at $85 is nearly six times the money. The blade alone is $55.
Interesting note: Ultra High Carbon Roselli blades have a carbon content of 1.5 - 2.0%. They are hardened to HRC 64 - 66. As good as their regular high carbon blades are, these are said to hold an edge about twice as long. It is not practical to sharpen them on a stone, and they require a diamond plate or ceramic.
I've heard that the blades will glow if there are orcs about!
Now, Nordic blades have a long and interesting history. Currently they are being made in four...for lack of a better term I'll call 'configurations' even though that's not ideal. What I mean is that there are four basic ways that the blade steel is done. For my purposes these are high carbon (takes a sharp edge and is easy to sharpen), stainless (not as sharp, not as easy to sharpen but resistant to corrosion), progressively tempered (where the edge of the blade is tempered harder, like to Rc 61 - 64, and the body/spine is less hard, and like Rc 55...allows the blade to keep an edge for a long time and not suffer from being brittle) and finally laminated, which is the type that this thread is about (these are 3 layers, soft steel on the outside, sandwiching a hard steel in the center, which does the cutting and is in the neighborhood of Rc 62).
So that's the basics to bring everyone up to speed. Now a few of the Scandinavian blade makers have done much with the laminated style and are known for it...Mora, Frost and Helle among them. These are good choices for carvers since we're always looking for a blade that will take a super sharp edge and hold it under hard use, and be easy to bring back.
While looking for blades I checked 'Ragweed Forge' which carries a large number of blades of the proper design. It's an excellent Site. I looked at the Mora/Frost blades and ordered one and after receiving it was impressed with the finish, etc. A knife I'm making with it is nearly done. So off I go to find some blades for the next batch...and while checking that out I look at the finished knives from the same maker.
Now here's the point of all this. I find finished knives with the same blades as are being sold alone...for something like 25 percent less than for just the blade. Now I'm sure there are a number of reasons why this would be the case...but for me...well, I ordered two knives instead of the raw blades and will take them apart to use my own exotic wood for handles...and saved $10.
By the way, if you use the links to look at these things don't be put off by the low cost of the items. These really are top quality pieces in regards to how well they work. They're just not fancy.
The blades to look at in the link below are the ones from Frost, the top set pictured, which are the laminated carbon steel ones. ..the first, second and fourth.
http://www.ragweedforge.com/BladeCatalog.html#f-blades
Then at the link below you have to go nearly to the bottom of the page, look for the 'Carving Knives' heading. There are 4 with plain wood handles. I popped one of the pics here to show an example:
http://www.ragweedforge.com/SwedishKnifeCatalog.html
If you look and compare you'll note is $5 cheaper...and even though you can spend $ 75 for a high end knife blade (and I admit to doing so) you really don't need to.
I just thought it was interesting and represented one of those, ''Blackhorse Big Bargains'' that I like to share on occasion. And with the few pipes I've made, and the carving of a wide variety of woods other than briar, it seems that one like that linked below would be excellent for smoothing, scraping and any kind of detail work. I'll say one thing - the little SOB's are razor sharp!
Of course I have to admit to having a favorite among the high end items...the little Roselli UHC (ultra high carbon) ''Bearclaw'', which at $85 is nearly six times the money. The blade alone is $55.
Interesting note: Ultra High Carbon Roselli blades have a carbon content of 1.5 - 2.0%. They are hardened to HRC 64 - 66. As good as their regular high carbon blades are, these are said to hold an edge about twice as long. It is not practical to sharpen them on a stone, and they require a diamond plate or ceramic.
I've heard that the blades will glow if there are orcs about!