Knife bevels without a plunge line...My take

[Smallshop]

Lovely!

 

[Doug Lester]

I think that some people think that all knives should have a ricasso, and therefore plunge lines, because of the ABS standards. One only has to have ricassos and plunge lines on knives submitted for judging to receive a stamp. I wonder how many Journeyman and Master bladesmiths regularly put out knives without a ricasso and just two slabs for handles.

Doug

 

[John Wilson]

I think that some people think that all knives should have a ricasso, and therefore plunge lines, because of the ABS standards. One only has to have ricassos and plunge lines on knives submitted for judging to receive a stamp. I wonder how many Journeyman and Master bladesmiths regularly put out knives without a ricasso and just two slabs for handles.

Doug

That's a great point.

I can definitely see the point of having such standards for ABS testing. To earn such a distinction the knife ought to be hard to make. As a matter of course, though, I am of the school where bolsters on a knife have their place but don't always belong. To me, it's the equivalent of wearing a necktie. It looks nice, but as times change certain things fall out of favor and can appear dated.

I think guys like John Doyle have found that sweet spot. His hunters are of supreme quality, though the heavy bolsters and guards have been replaced with G10 and fitted spacers. The elegance is preserved while at the same time the design is not slave to tradition or convention.

 

[Erin Burke]

Johan... your knife looks great. I've never done a blended bevel to get rid of the plunge. On the rare occasion where I do a full-tang knife with scales, I'll just continue the bevel grind through the handle (more or less).

Very few of my knives have plunges, though... but most have guards. There are trade-offs. It takes a bit more time to mill and hand-fit the guard slot... but that is time that I save by not having plunge clean-up. It can be annoying to not have parallel surfaces for my file-guide, when I want set the guard/tang shoulders... but it's workable. Ultimately, some designs just seem to look better without plunges... while others don't.

Erin

 

[Johan Nel]

Thanks for all the comments gents. What I find so attractive about posting on this website, apart from the opinions and comments on one's posts, is the information that is so freely given and the learning curve (for me) that eminates from that. Thanks Ted, John, Erin and Doug, your input is appreciated. Your post on how you do your knives is very informative Erin, and some beauties you have there. I especially like the middle one.