Mako

Logan Pearce

Logan Pearce

Forum owner
Mako.jpg



I just finished her this morning and I still have enough time to make it to church. :biggrin:

It's the second of my art knives that I call my Winged Series. I've been trying to teach myself how to carve metal and for me the easiest way is to used files and keep my lines as simple as possible, since I'm still trying to figure out how to do more complicated designs. The blade and handle are made from about 200 layers of 5160/1075 in a ladder pattern. The handle is coral. I was really hoping that I would be finished with this knife before the Arkansas show last month, but it looks like I finished it a little late. :p

I still have a long way to go, but I feel like I'm making progress.

Logan Pearce. ;)
 

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lol, I don't think you are going backwards. :) Thank you! It took me about a week to carve the design from start to finish. Over all it took a few weeks for me to make it. The longest/hardest part was the carving though, which I feel a little embarrassed about, since the design is so simple. But I really like the way it came out, so the time involved doesn't really matter, I guess.
 
Logan Pearce said:
lol, I don't think you are going backwards. :) Thank you! It took me about a week to carve the design from start to finish. Over all it took a few weeks for me to make it. The longest/hardest part was the carving though, which I feel a little embarrassed about, since the design is so simple. But I really like the way it came out, so the time involved doesn't really matter, I guess.
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Logan,
When you're doing art work, time doesn't factor in so much as it does when you're on a deadline. Plus, the more you do, the faster you'll get. Did you use a Dremel or files? I know when I do my first carved blade, it will be mostly done with files, and cleaned up and polished with a Dremel. The handle work you did is awesome! Don't concern yourself with the complexity of the design, you concerned yourself with the most important part, and that's the execution of the design, clean lines, perfect depth, beautiful work! Looking forward to the day I can get to work on something like it!!! Rex
 
Rex, I used large hand files to take off most of the metal and give me a foundation for my design, then I go back with needle files and bend them as I cut. Depending on if the design is curved or not. Once I'm happy with the design, then I got back over it with sanding paper and get out all of my scratches like that. I tried using a Dremel when I first tried to carve, but I messed up more stuff than anything. I'm just not very good with it. The good thing about using the files is that usually if I get off track I can stop myself before it messes anything up. I agree, I should just be concerned more with how it comes out than how long it took me. I think its just that I'm not use to putting this much time into a knife, then when I do the knives seem to be a lot better. lol
 
Logan,
I've been making knives for 2, almost 3 years now, I still consider myself a neewb! I've had knives (a couple) I've spent over 40 hours on, hand sanding, attempting to get a hamon to show! Keeping the attitude that I'm a neewby keeps me focused on learning and making different stuff, I really don't want to be stuck in a particular design, shape or size to the point that someone can look at it and know it's my work, the way you can pick out an Ed Fowler knife. I don't try to be artsy, it just comes out, as long as it's useful beauty, I'm good with it. Your knife has inspired me to get to work on my first carved knife, I've been wanting to do one with a relief carved handle, with a touch of carving on the blade, I really need to get the David Broadwell DVD, I hear it's got great info in it. But for now I'll be spending my time, cleaning the shop and drawing up ideas, since I had surgery on my left hand for Carpal Tunnel, and a trigger finger last friday. I tried to work on a blade last night...bad idea! So I'll just take it easy for a little while, until I can get back at it, it's killing me to not forge something, especially since I've got so many great ideas I want to work on.

I've got a dremel and die grinder, I'll try some scrap steel to see if I can get it like I want it, thanks for the tips, and BTW, where did you get your needle files? If you didn't know this, Sears warranties ALL of their files, break one, wear one out and they replace it!!!! NO KIDDING!! I broke a needle file from a kit, took it back and they pullled one out of another kit to replace it. Check it out, that saves a lot of money! REX
BTW, GREAT LOOKING KNIVES!!!
 
McClellan Made Blades said:
Logan,
I've been making knives for 2, almost 3 years now, I still consider myself a neewb! I've had knives (a couple) I've spent over 40 hours on, hand sanding, attempting to get a hamon to show! Keeping the attitude that I'm a neewby keeps me focused on learning and making different stuff, I really don't want to be stuck in a particular design, shape or size to the point that someone can look at it and know it's my work, the way you can pick out an Ed Fowler knife. I don't try to be artsy, it just comes out, as long as it's useful beauty, I'm good with it. Your knife has inspired me to get to work on my first carved knife, I've been wanting to do one with a relief carved handle, with a touch of carving on the blade, I really need to get the David Broadwell DVD, I hear it's got great info in it. But for now I'll be spending my time, cleaning the shop and drawing up ideas, since I had surgery on my left hand for Carpal Tunnel, and a trigger finger last friday. I tried to work on a blade last night...bad idea! So I'll just take it easy for a little while, until I can get back at it, it's killing me to not forge something, especially since I've got so many great ideas I want to work on.

I've got a dremel and die grinder, I'll try some scrap steel to see if I can get it like I want it, thanks for the tips, and BTW, where did you get your needle files? If you didn't know this, Sears warranties ALL of their files, break one, wear one out and they replace it!!!! NO KIDDING!! I broke a needle file from a kit, took it back and they pullled one out of another kit to replace it. Check it out, that saves a lot of money! REX
BTW, GREAT LOOKING KNIVES!!!
Click to expand...

I hope you recover from the surgery quickly. I spend a lot of my time sketching designs, even though I don't use most of them, because I'm not nearly skilled enough to pull off the designs I've drawn. It's a lot easier to draw it, than it is to make it. :p I'm definitely going to get the DVD by David, I like gathering all the information that I possibly can to make my work as good as possible.

I usually just get my needle files from Wal-Mart or Harbor Freight when there is a sell. I hear the Craftman is the same way about their tools. Which is great. I'll probably start doing that, since I run through a lot of files. Thank you for the information, it is really helpful. I'm really glad that my knife inspired you to do some of your own. I look forward to seeing it!

and here is a much better picture of the knife that I just got. It's a lot better looking than the one I took. :)
Mako-1.jpg
 
Logan Pearce said:
I hope you recover from the surgery quickly. I spend a lot of my time sketching designs, even though I don't use most of them, because I'm not nearly skilled enough to pull off the designs I've drawn. It's a lot easier to draw it, than it is to make it. :p I'm definitely going to get the DVD by David, I like gathering all the information that I possibly can to make my work as good as possible.

I usually just get my needle files from Wal-Mart or Harbor Freight when there is a sell. I hear the Craftman is the same way about their tools. Which is great. I'll probably start doing that, since I run through a lot of files. Thank you for the information, it is really helpful. I'm really glad that my knife inspired you to do some of your own. I look forward to seeing it!

and here is a much better picture of the knife that I just got. It's a lot better looking than the one I took. :)
Click to expand...


Dude THAT IS FREAKIN AWESOME, yeah I'd say that that chuck takes better picks than just about anyone...except maybe Coop, they'd be a close tie with each other.

When you're sketching how do you figure in the sculpting? I'm thinking it would have to be 3D, I was trying to draw in a false edge to get an idea how it would look on a blade, the drawing being 2D, it just was'nt working. I've got a huge bar of 1095, I think it's about 1 1/2 to 2'' round bar, it has got intergal screaming at me! It's about 2 to 3' long, so I'm seeing a lot of knives coming out of that bar if I don't screw it up! Do think you could scan some drawings for me to check out, I think it will give me the ideas I need to be able to sketch up something ....makeable....is that even a word? I understand drawing a lot of different designs, and not having the skill to make it reality, the majority of my early drawings can't be made by stock removal, so I dove head first into forging. I have 3 to 4 sketch books, I sign and date all of my drawings, I had some that went back to the 90's, even before I considered making knives! I have always enjoyed drawing knives, can't draw much else, but I can draw a knife! Thanks Buddy, REX

BTW, did you ask Chuck about submitting his pics to spme of the knife mags? If not, YOU need to send every rag out there some copies of this knife, it's beautiful, and someone will print it!!!
 
McClellan Made Blades said:
Dude THAT IS FREAKIN AWESOME, yeah I'd say that that chuck takes better picks than just about anyone...except maybe Coop, they'd be a close tie with each other.
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He definitely takes some great pictures. :)

McClellan Made Blades said:
When you're sketching how do you figure in the sculpting? I'm thinking it would have to be 3D, I was trying to draw in a false edge to get an idea how it would look on a blade, the drawing being 2D, it just was'nt working. I've got a huge bar of 1095, I think it's about 1 1/2 to 2'' round bar, it has got intergal screaming at me! It's about 2 to 3' long, so I'm seeing a lot of knives coming out of that bar if I don't screw it up! Do think you could scan some drawings for me to check out, I think it will give me the ideas I need to be able to sketch up something ....makeable....is that even a word? I understand drawing a lot of different designs, and not having the skill to make it reality, the majority of my early drawings can't be made by stock removal, so I dove head first into forging. I have 3 to 4 sketch books, I sign and date all of my drawings, I had some that went back to the 90's, even before I considered making knives! I have always enjoyed drawing knives, can't draw much else, but I can draw a knife! Thanks Buddy, REX
Click to expand...

I draw all mine out in 2D. Usually I sketch out what I have in mind. It's usually pretty rough at first, then I refine it by sketching it over a few times and fixing the things I don't like. I normally just use black lines to mark where my cuts are going to be made. If it's a design that I don't plan on using for a while, I'll make small arrows pointing to the lines that I want to carve. I make sure to put the arrows pointing to the lines to remind me that is where I want the area to be relieved at. That way I can remember which part I want to be higher than the rest. Like on this knife, how I wanted to keep the middle wing on the handle higher than the two on either side of it. This is how I sketched it up:

Makodesign1.jpg



I'm not great at drawing, but all I really use it for is just to remind myself of how I want it to look. Later I usually add color, once I have the lines where I want them. This is a different knife, its the first one I carved but this is what it looks like with color:

AvatarDesign.jpg



I usually keep two copies of the drawings. One with the bare minimum, lines and arrows only. Then the second colored so that I can see if it will look remotely similar to what I had in mind. That one ended up looking like this:

Talon.jpg


You can see how my design was changed a little bit, basically because I was limited to the handle material I had chosen for the knife. If I had picked a different material, then I could have got it closer to my design, but I really liked the coral, so I was okay with the change. At the moment those are the only two that I've carved. Once I have the metal that I want to carve, then I draw the same lines on the knife itself with a magic marker. I keep both the sketched designs of the knife that I'm working on in front of me while I file them down like I want. That is how I design them and everything. Not anything super awesome, but its been getting the job done so far. :p


McClellan Made Blades said:
BTW, did you ask Chuck about submitting his pics to spme of the knife mags? If not, YOU need to send every rag out there some copies of this knife, it's beautiful, and someone will print it!!!
Click to expand...

I think it is being submitted, but there are a whole lot of better makers with much better knives out there. lol. I do love the knife, but I don't think it's going to be anything out of the ordinary to them. Also, I'm sorry it took me so long to reply.

and thank you Timothy and Eric! I'm glad that you like the knife. :)
 
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