Who can scandi my F1?

[TheGreenMan]

Thanks for that post, John, my New Year's resolution was to avoid the custard pie fights that can often break-out on Web forums, and your reply has made my resolution all the more do-able ...I had feared for the worst

Cheers,
Paul

 

[John Fenna]

Oh Paul!
Don't get mellow on us - I liked reading those posts
Seriously - I try not to be too contentious but I do like a good discussion!
I think a lot can be learned when people of different views go head to head - but when it goes too far/gets personal then that is too much...
I am on this site to learn and to pass on my opinions (for what they are worth) - good here ain't it!?

 

[TheGreenMan]

Oh Paul!
Don't get mellow on us - I liked reading those posts
Seriously - I try not to be too contentious but I do like a good discussion!
I think a lot can be learned when people of different views go head to head - but when it goes too far/gets personal then that is too much...
I am on this site to learn and to pass on my opinions (for what they are worth) - good here ain't it!?

I can only dream of mellow, John, but you've given me a goal to aim for in the new year. I expect mellow would be a welcome change to my more usual '**** and vinegar'

Cheers,
Paul

 

[TheGreenMan]

Dear Forum,

I’ve had a word with my psychiatrist and vintner (not the same person, you understand), and they tell me that ‘mellow is definitely the way forward for me in 2008, and, that I should post some more photos.

This pic demonstrates that when in the woods and in rainy weather and carrying only a brand new, out of the box, F1 with a factory grind, then one should definitely look-out for any planks of planed and prepared Lime wood that may be laying around for making small kindling:

If you can’t find any of the above mentioned planks in the woods, then you could go for a ‘real world’ item such as semi-seasoned Ash wood stick (Fraxinus excelsior). This stick came off a tree about six months ago, and has been stored outdoors, it still has a lot of moisture in it (but it will burn):

Same stick, different knife, this time the F1 with the reground convex (the feathers in the lower-right of the pic are the ones cut with the brand new F1):

Again, same stick, but this time using a finely honed Eriksson wood-carving knife. I’ll admit it was a little easier to shave the feathers, but only a little easier:

Food for thought...

Best regards,
Paul.

 

[Shinken]

Does the thin-ness (blade width not thickness) of the Erickson help alot for carving?

I ask because i want to make a neck knife to go with my convex knife that Stu M is making. But i prefere scandi grinds for carving.

Anyway just wondering what you opinions on how thick to make the knife?

 

[John Fenna]

Looks like the knife cut OK - what is the fuss all about?
Stick with the vintner - the only headaches he will give you pass with a new bottle.....

 

[spamel]

I like what you have done with the plastic, the little diamonds tend to dig in after a while. I have rubbed mine a little with emery, but not anywhere near as much as you have. Is it still grippy?

 

[TheGreenMan]

Does the thin-ness (blade width not thickness) of the Erickson help alot for carving?

I ask because i want to make a neck knife to go with my convex knife that Stu M is making. But i prefere scandi grinds for carving.

Anyway just wondering what you opinions on how thick to make the knife?

It helps in terms of manoeuvrability. The Eriksson will rotate in a very tight circle (along the long axis through the tang, if you know what I mean), particularly at the tip, but the steel doesn’t handle the torque too well – it tends to chip-out at the edge quite easily when trying to make a small curved cut with rotational force applied to it (at least in my limited experience). As a result, I’m thinking along the same lines as you, in as much that Stu and I made an informal arrangement late last year to do a knife, and he suggested to me that as I liked the Eriksson’s blade geometry and handle shape so much, that that design should be my starting point for thinking about the project. I though it was an inspired suggestion on his part.

I think the choice of steel and heat treatment would be as every bit as important as cross-section and grind geometry. It’s one of the reasons I’ve been wanting to try-out a blade in D2 for a while. I’m looking for a wood carving knife that will not chip-out too easily and will retain a finely honed edge for an extended time. I’ve tried A2, which I like a lot, but I’m keen to try something in D2.

Looks like the knife cut OK - what is the fuss all about?
Stick with the vintner - the only headaches he will give you pass with a new bottle.....

Don’t know, and I agree that popping corks is probably better than popping pills

I like what you have done with the plastic, the little diamonds tend to dig in after a while. I have rubbed mine a little with emery, but not anywhere near as much as you have. Is it still grippy?

The handle is still very grippy (even when wet), and a lot more comfortable when using the knife without a glove. Though, as Red has mentioned (a few times, now ) it lacks some comfort when applying a lot of force to the cuts and for prolonged periods. It would help if the skin on the palms of one's hands were like tanned leather, but one of my main contentions about the knife has always been that the F1 may have to be used in extreme sub-zero temperatures, and thus with gloves on (if one wants to avoid frost bite, that is). I’m guessing that this [the user would be wearing gloves, and in the case of the F1 the aviator almost certainly would be] and zub-zero temperatures are the whole ‘reson d'etre’ for the Thermorun range of knives. Of course, the Kraton handle of the H1 might also be of value in any climate, if you find yourself up to the elbows in caribou gore etc.

I trimmed the checkering off with a pocket knife, but I’m still looking for the right technique to smooth the Thermorun with abrasives to produce a scratch-free finish, and I could have been a bit neater when trimming it with the knife too.

Cheers,
Paul.

 

[spamel]

Iron it! It may work. Don't use your wifeys' best iron though!

 

[Shinken]

but I’m keen to try something in D2.

D2 would be a great choice, it dosnt have great toughness but it does have really good edge strength!

So how would you change the blade geometry?

 

[TheGreenMan]

Iron it! It may work. Don't use your wifeys' best iron though!

That’s something I hadn’t thought of trying. I think I’ll give the ex-wife’s iron a miss though. It’s been so long since I ironed any clothing, I’m not sure I’ve still got one, but I’ll have a look. Come to think of it, it’s been a while since I wore any clothes

D2 would be a great choice, it dosnt have great toughness but it does have really good edge strength!

So how would you change the blade geometry?

Well edge strength is definitely something I’m after, I was even considering some sort of powder steel.

No concrete thoughts about the geometry as yet, just vague ideas which I jotted down on paper. One of the first ideas was a slightly smaller version of the F2 profile with the curve at the ricasso end of the blade straightened. The F2 profile is not entirely dissimilar to that of the Eriksson:

Strangely enough, I’ve only ever used the F2 to scale and gut a couple of sea bass. I’ll have to give it a whorl with some whittling.

That said, I would like to get away from the convex, at least away from the thick convex, I’ve got a finely honed convexed Victorinox that’s rather good at whittling, but I need to do some more work with the knives I’ve got and gain some experience before I start making any committed decisions, and obviously if it was a project with Stu, I’d be doing a lot of listening too.

Cheers chaps,
Paul.

 

[Shinken]

if it was a project with Stu, I’d be doing a lot of listening too

And you would be wise to!

we could all learn from being Quick to listen and slow to speak

 

[TheGreenMan]

And you would be wise to!...

That was my thinking

...we could all learn from being Quick to listen and slow to speak

Ditto that, in an extremely mellow way

Cheers,
Paul.

 

[robin wood]

If you like the Erikson I would highly recommend trying one of Del Stubbs sloyd knives www.pinewoodforge,com (no connection to maker other than loving this knife) They are crazy cheap at the moment due to weak US $ it is a big step on from the Erikson but in the same vein. I have not found a better whoodcarving knife at any price, though I keep looking and will be very interested if you work on that knife with Stuart.

 

[TheGreenMan]

Thanks Robin, that’s a great idea. I found Del’s Web site, it must be more than a year ago, now, then I lost it amongst the hundreds of browser Bookmarks/Favourites I’ve accumulated, and could never find the site again and eventually I just forgot about the site altogether. A few days ago someone over at British Blades posted the URL for Pinewoodforge. When I looked at the site the other day, I was reminded of how useful Del’s knife looked, the shape and size of the blade is very interesting to me. I think that it is one I’m going to have to try-out, and as you mention, at that price I’d be daft not to.

Another knife that caught my attention was the one used by Jögge Sundquist on this page: http://www.pinewoodforge.com/spoon_carving_techniques.html

Not sure if it’s one Del’s Regular Sloyds, but I liked the look of it a great deal.

I wouldn’t mind one of those leather aprons and a wristband too!

Thanks for posting this Robin, very kind of you.

Cheers,
Paul.