My recent finish of mora-like knife based on blank from Cichy Metal Art. I was not convinced by Mora design, such ordinary and usual. at the end, my sons who bushcraft a lot convinced me. Thanks to that I discovered that this design, although not very posh, yet humble and practical. Extremely hard (68HRC) and very handy for every day use. The handle has been made from materials available at hand. So it ended in reuse of stabilized wood scales for razors and mosaic pin that I already had. The copper parts have been selected in opposition to the usual selection of thin brass bolsters. The leather sheath to large extend has been done by my son. Just to add, we do not have any professional tools at our disposal but I enjoy the end results. As you can see it is in real use, not cleaned just for photo session, this is how the knife shall be treated!
Powoli, powoli zaczyna nabierać kształtu nóż, który sobie wymyśliłem. Nie wiedziałem co zamówić u Cichego: brzytwę czy nóż. Wyszła więc jakaś hybryda. Czyli nóż, który z założenia miał:
po pierwsze służyć użytkowo “do kanapek” na wyjazdach,
po drugie spełniać funkcje typowo biwakowe “bush craftowe”
ale także nawiązywać do brzytew, w szczególności do sławnej W&B.
Projekt i wykonanie głowni
To wszystko razem jest dość karkołomnym pomysłem. Szczególnie dla laika w knifemakingu. Udało się naszkicować następujący projekt. Wspominany nóż jest na zdjęciu jako projekt nr. 3. To właśnie wykonania tego projektu podjął się Cichy Custom Knives. Bez niego, realizacja nie byłaby możliwa.
Głownia została zrobiona genialnie. Teraz trzeba zabrać się do wykańczania. Moje minimalne doświadczenia pochodzą z noża okolicznościowego opisanego w innym artykule.
Pięknie przygotowany blank wymaga uważnego podejścia. Szczególnie od laika. Dlatego przymierzam się do różnych okładek oraz odpowiedniej pochwy. Chciałbym utrzymać poziom praktyczności, ale jednocześnie odmienności tego noża. Dlatego idę w kierunku minimalistyczej kabury, która dalej eksponuje sam nóż.
Projektowanie pochewki
Przymiarki do papierowego modelu pochwy poniżej:
Modelowanie okładek
Długo wybierałem materiał: kirinite, śliwa z własnego ogrodu (już dobrze wysuszona), szyszka w żywicy, stabilizowane olcha i klon od Michała Oskierko. Skończyło się na kasztanowcu. Nie pasowały mi zbyt wyraźne kolory lub zbyt ciepły odcień drewna stabilizowanego z barwnikami. Skłoniłem się do konserwy. Przecież ma być to sprzęt praktyczny na długo, nie może się opatrzeć.
Niestety, pin mozaikowy według mojego projektu przybędzie dopiero w lutym. Tak więc robię wersję tymczasową na pinie aluminiowym. Potem będzie trzeba podmienić.
No i wpadło mi do głowy wytoczyć tulejki do sznurka.
Pochewka
Moja pierwsza praca w skórze. Materiał to byczy krupon, gruby na 3.25mm. Bardzo ładny. Krok po kroku prowadził mnie syn Jan. Jakoś dałem radę. Ale trochę frycowego trzeba było zapłacić. Widać to szczególnie na szlufce.
Efekt końcowy
Czas na używanie. Już w najbliższy weekend wyjazd.
October and November were mainly focused on preparations for the closure of the “Niepodległa” action that I started a year ago. As you may read in other posts, the goal was to release a set of custom-made pottery, a knife and a razor. I wanted to make (or rather encourage other makers to produce) a set of products matching one another and all under one umbrella of the national programme for “Niepodległa”. Bad news is that I didn’t manage to go this way and get all artefacts under single design but the good message is that all 3 products have been successful released.
Razor
The above 9/8 razor was designed by Rafał Lewandowski (nick Lewy, see LR logo on the neck) following the bests designs in the history. Although you cannot find the well-known CC logo on it, the blade itself was made by Sebastian Cichomski. This is another guarantee factor of the highest quality. Both colleagues can be met at knives.pl forum. The polishing and finishing, making the scales (oak and red G19) and the most appealing part – the engraved and painted flag with dates and the eagle, was all perfectly done by Lewy. It might be not that visible but the logo (multi passes of electric and chemical etching) is deep and really tree-dimentional. The red and white painting is very durable (kind of thermo-stablized paint used for bottle caps). At the end, the razor itself is not at all merely and exhibition artefact – it is very practical for daily use. Below you can see how this razor in action, recoreded by Pimps, namely Mariusz Sapeta.
What can I say more? I’m the humble owner of it. But I would be grateful if this is not a single piece but rather the first in a short series. In case you are interested in getting it, contact the maker or send me an email.
Pottery
Pottery was the easiest to me, fully under my control. Once the final design of the razor showed up, I turned obvious that the ceramics shall follow the same color patter. This is how this set of rustic black (to resemble the facture of the black oak) with the red rounds and galleries came to real. I’m happy with the result – simple, practical and nice. In fact I made different handles, lathering bowls, AS bottle, a mug and even a candle holder. All that can be seen in different pictures below. All, except the duo-band brash which I use as my primary tool for daily shaving, has been given to charity. But will make more pieces in similar design.
Knife
Just few days prior the Independence Day, it came to me that the goal was to release also a knife. I have (almost) never made any knife myself (except 1 very practical guy made for myself during my scouting times, which by the way is still in use and fully operational). So, what could I do not having established any cooperation with knives makers? Fortunately, some 15 years ago, I bought raw blade on flea market that could be used as a starting point. It must have been the maker who sold it to me. I remember him selling quite a number of similar blades. But I have no clue who was the maker and if he operates until now. Until October I had been using the blade mainly for throwing – yes, lack of handle was the enabler for progressive learning of this unneeded skill. I found the blade the best candidate for quick make of a knife which can fit in the design to the ceramics and the razor, and still be fully useful (so called EDC category).
The above picture shows the final effect, when being used in the field. The below pictures document some phases of preparations: grinding, polishing, etching the logo, making the scales mounting the pin.
I have to add that the pin is excellent. It was bought from one of the eshops in Poland but was produced by Alexey Balatsky who takes the orders also directly and is very cooperative.
I wanted to have the blade looking aggressive therefore decided to make satin finish for tang and spine but leave glossy hollow.
The knife has been made just for my private use. No plans to make more. Honestly, it still requires some perfections.
