This is my EDC folding/locking blade with hollow ground and serrated blade. Bottle opener and four screwdriver attachments. Orange color to make it an easy find if it ever falls into water, mud or grass.
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LOL, better blade than most multitools, that's for sure!
And to top it off, it only costed me $15 in a carparts store in Germany. Quick and easy open/close and lots lighter and thinner than a multitool.
This is an Usuba Bōchō (Japanese: 薄刃包丁) which in Japanese literally means "Thin Blade Knife"
It's not exactly constructed the way a Japanese usuba bōchō is, but functionally, and by definition it is a usuba bōchō. It is actually thinner than a Japanese usbuba bōchō.
Some characteristics of the usuba bōchō are:
Relatively small knife often shaped somewhat like a mini cleaver.
Very thin blade
Perfectly straight edge with no curvature (something like a big straight razor)
Bevel on one side making it non-ambidextrous. (southpaws have to buy a left hand version)
Extremely sharp edge (15°-17° bevel on one side, 0° bevel on the other - sharper than a straight razor)
It is used by professional Japanese chefs for making paper thin vegetable slices. It must be very sharp and therefore made of very hard steel. I took it up a couple of notches with the tungsten carbide, LOL. If you aren't making thin slices, then the blade will not cut straight because of the one sided bevel. It's not something you will see in home kitchens in Japan, there they will be using the similar nakiri (ambidextrous with two bevels) and the santoku which is basically a Japanese version of a chef's knife.
I made mine from an industrial power hacksaw blade that has a strip of tungsten carbide for the teeth.
The handle is spalted oak (partially rotten oak with fungus colonies growing in it) that I stabilized with some Varathane wood hardener. It brought out some interesting colors in the wood! The black lines are actually barricades between competing fungus colonies. Sort of the fungus version of Hadrian's Wall. LOL
This is what is called the "Grape Drop Sharpness Test"
And in case you are wondering, yes I cut myself several times with it. You can't feel it when it cuts you.
It's not exactly constructed the way a Japanese usuba bōchō is, but functionally, and by definition it is a usuba bōchō. It is actually thinner than a Japanese usbuba bōchō.
Some characteristics of the usuba bōchō are:
Relatively small knife often shaped somewhat like a mini cleaver.
Very thin blade
Perfectly straight edge with no curvature (something like a big straight razor)
Bevel on one side making it non-ambidextrous. (southpaws have to buy a left hand version)
Extremely sharp edge (15°-17° bevel on one side, 0° bevel on the other - sharper than a straight razor)
It is used by professional Japanese chefs for making paper thin vegetable slices. It must be very sharp and therefore made of very hard steel. I took it up a couple of notches with the tungsten carbide, LOL. If you aren't making thin slices, then the blade will not cut straight because of the one sided bevel. It's not something you will see in home kitchens in Japan, there they will be using the similar nakiri (ambidextrous with two bevels) and the santoku which is basically a Japanese version of a chef's knife.
I made mine from an industrial power hacksaw blade that has a strip of tungsten carbide for the teeth.
The handle is spalted oak (partially rotten oak with fungus colonies growing in it) that I stabilized with some Varathane wood hardener. It brought out some interesting colors in the wood! The black lines are actually barricades between competing fungus colonies. Sort of the fungus version of Hadrian's Wall. LOL
This is what is called the "Grape Drop Sharpness Test"
And in case you are wondering, yes I cut myself several times with it. You can't feel it when it cuts you.
This utility knife/small chef's knife is another knife I made from a power hacksaw blade. Only about an inch or so of the tungsten carbide is left near the heel of the blade. The metal is not as hard as tungsten carbide but it's still hard enough to wear out a few expensive sanding belts.
And I destroyed a few cobalt drill bits making the holes for the brass rods going through the handle. Handle is honey locust. The brass liner for the hole in the handle is made from a 22 Hornet case.
And I destroyed a few cobalt drill bits making the holes for the brass rods going through the handle. Handle is honey locust. The brass liner for the hole in the handle is made from a 22 Hornet case.
While touring a fleamarket, I found this little knife. In Bavaria, they wear leather pants which only reach down to the knees and each one has a little pocket which also is a sheath for these little work knives. Of course the "lederhosen" were not for sale with the knife, so I just took the knife, cleaned and sharpened it up a bit and use it only for fishing.
The blade is stainless steel from the company "Vollmer" in Bavaria and is only a half tang into the real deer antler grip.
The blade is stainless steel from the company "Vollmer" in Bavaria and is only a half tang into the real deer antler grip.
Lovely little knife!While touring a fleamarket, I found this little knife. In Bavaria
i miss my multi tool. Had a gerber, pliers jaw broke
I was carrying a Leatherman Wingman, but it got away from me somehow. Replaced it and that one absconded too.
Arcticdude
Top Poster
Way back when I was still working I'd buy my employees meaningful items, rather than the safety BS that most managers bought their employees. One year it was a Nikon binoculars, another time it was a travel fishing pole, 1 oz silver coins, and one year it was a Leatherman Wave. I still have mine and use it everyday.I was carrying a Leatherman Wingman, but it got away from me somehow. Replaced it and that one absconded too.
I'll leaving in the morning for the BOL, so I'll post a few days worth of knives tonight. It's a series of knives that are connected.
Friday's Knife:
A small chef's/utility knife I made for my daughter. It started off life as a Chicago Cutlery knife MANY years ago. My wife bought it at a Salvation Army store, and the handle was dry rotted plastic. It had annoying serrations on it so it sat in the knife drawer a few years until I decided to do something with it.
I reshaped the blade and ground off the serrations, then replaced the handle with red oak, impregnated with virgin coconut oil.
Saturday's Knife:
I liked that knife so much, I decided to make something like it for myself, only longer. Taking an outline of the knife I elongated the shape, but in the process, I got some dimensions out of whack.
I didn't realize how awkward the knife was as a chef's knife until I had already profiled the blade, and then there was no going back. So instead of making a chef's knife I made a "camp knife" suitable for kitchen use at camp, but also suitable for butchering deer.
I left a good bit of steel in the blade since I envisioned doing things like splitting rib cages.
It's also good for those hard to reach spots when skinning a deer. And also suitable for whacking off squirrel legs and such, and even clearing small limbs around a deer stand. Jack of all trades but master of none kind of thing....
Blade is D2, handle is walnut.
Sunday's Knife
Having failed on the last attempt, I had to go back to the drawing board for my "ideal chef's knife."
After having done a few knives out of D2, I decided I needed to use some kind of steel that was easier to work with and truly stainless (D2 is a bear to machine and sharpen and is not quite stainless) I settled on AEB-L which was designed for making stainless steel razor blades. A helluvalot easier to work with than D2, but it doesn't have the edge retention of D2. However it is easy to put a really fine razor edge on AEB-L.
Instead of just jumping right in and shaping the blade from AEB-L, I decided to make some test blades out of mild steel from Lowes. Good thing I did because I went through several iterations before I was happy with the shape.
Here is the results. The handle is spalted oak like the usuba, but I had it professionally stabilized. The blade is flat ground with a full distal taper - which works for AEB-L but would be too fragile for D2. AEB-L is extremely tough for a stainless steel, in fact it is tougher than most carbon knife steels, so you can safely make thinner blades with it. It's not heavy enough for chopping anything other than vegetables. But it is a superb slicer.
Friday's Knife:
A small chef's/utility knife I made for my daughter. It started off life as a Chicago Cutlery knife MANY years ago. My wife bought it at a Salvation Army store, and the handle was dry rotted plastic. It had annoying serrations on it so it sat in the knife drawer a few years until I decided to do something with it.
I reshaped the blade and ground off the serrations, then replaced the handle with red oak, impregnated with virgin coconut oil.
Saturday's Knife:
I liked that knife so much, I decided to make something like it for myself, only longer. Taking an outline of the knife I elongated the shape, but in the process, I got some dimensions out of whack.
I didn't realize how awkward the knife was as a chef's knife until I had already profiled the blade, and then there was no going back. So instead of making a chef's knife I made a "camp knife" suitable for kitchen use at camp, but also suitable for butchering deer.
I left a good bit of steel in the blade since I envisioned doing things like splitting rib cages.
It's also good for those hard to reach spots when skinning a deer. And also suitable for whacking off squirrel legs and such, and even clearing small limbs around a deer stand. Jack of all trades but master of none kind of thing....
Blade is D2, handle is walnut.
Sunday's Knife
Having failed on the last attempt, I had to go back to the drawing board for my "ideal chef's knife."
After having done a few knives out of D2, I decided I needed to use some kind of steel that was easier to work with and truly stainless (D2 is a bear to machine and sharpen and is not quite stainless) I settled on AEB-L which was designed for making stainless steel razor blades. A helluvalot easier to work with than D2, but it doesn't have the edge retention of D2. However it is easy to put a really fine razor edge on AEB-L.
Instead of just jumping right in and shaping the blade from AEB-L, I decided to make some test blades out of mild steel from Lowes. Good thing I did because I went through several iterations before I was happy with the shape.
Here is the results. The handle is spalted oak like the usuba, but I had it professionally stabilized. The blade is flat ground with a full distal taper - which works for AEB-L but would be too fragile for D2. AEB-L is extremely tough for a stainless steel, in fact it is tougher than most carbon knife steels, so you can safely make thinner blades with it. It's not heavy enough for chopping anything other than vegetables. But it is a superb slicer.
Nice Sod Buster clone.
While surfing thru the ebay junk sales, I found a package of ten of these cheeeeeap knives. $12 for 10 knives. Just some cheap stuff...but they turned out to be fun. Making harpoons, making T-hatchets for self defense and using them for throwing knife practice. The sheath will go on your arm or leg for concealed carry too.
Not a clone but thanks.
Arcticdude
Top Poster
Here's a knife my wife got me about 25 years ago.
Arcticdude
Top Poster
Here's a Damascus pocket knife I've had for a long time.
