http://www.talkblade.info/viewtopic.php ... 0&p=262079 which is the other knife was doing for me at the same time.
OK, Hooker Blades gave me a great deal on a gigantic 18" (45 cm) AGA Campolin 60th Anniversary Damascus bayonet.
When we began to discuss it, Mark was reluctant to sell because it didn't fire correctly. In fact, no matter how hard you pressed the button, it just wouldn't go off until you pressed the blade into the kickspring. He wanted to correct it before shipping to me. I told him that it sounded like a minor binding issue, perhaps it was hanging up on the liner, but that I planned on rescaling it anyway, so just to go ahead and ship. I would have someone make the fix.
The Damascus blade and the interesting stamp had my attention. Although it had nickel silver bolsters, they were the hollow stamped ones (you could see it when you unlocked from open) and those dull, flat, olive wood scales were liking putting a beautiful woman in a granny dress.
Matt Manning had a really big chunk of stabilized box elder burl, which I promptly bought.
I'd also been perusing eBay for a big sterling silver 'something' that might work as an interesting button. Inspired by a ride in a very special car owned by my friend Don, I came up with this and bought it. It was so large, that it had to be trimmed to size. Bits and pieces cut from the top and bottom went to Killbucket, so I can't wait to see what he does with those.
Everything went to Ron. The funky operation bugged him and he had to figure that out first. It turned out that there were some burrs on the underside of the sear which you couldn't see with the knife assembled. He filed the tiniest bit and polished, and voila, it was working like a champ. I had figured that a cobra couldn't be harder to do than a skull (easy to say for the guy who wasn't doing it.) Ron managed it beautifully and said it was fun and he felt good, but not to send him any more like that. Once was definitely enough.
The knife came yesterday. It's a 5mm blade and weighs a hefty 17.8 oz or 504 g. in it's current form. Now that Ron has tuned the trigger, it opens with authority and he cautioned me to maintain a firm grip. I've always admired Ron's work, but this time he has definitely surpassed himself and created what I believe is his best work up to now.
That huge piece of burl allowed me to suggest making it bottomless (I don't think I've seen one this big in that style) and gave us room to use as much of that great wood as possible. I suggested several styles of bolsters after browsing Vinnie Federico's Foreign Spring Steel and sent them to Ron after doing some photo editing. The Spanish OTF on page 1 inspired this design which Ron liked. His choice and his execution in solid NS is perfect, I think. At my request it now operates as a picklock, and as you see, neither Ron or I am a big fan of safeties.
Ron tells me that he never plans filework, he just goes for it. The variety of styles and placement looks excellent. I asked him to filework the blade and NOT re-etch the Damascus, thinking it would be shiny against the flat tone of the steel. As it turned out, etching was not necessary in any case and the filework is very subtle.
The back view is just as nice as the front.
Look closely at the sword penetrating the snakes head at the top.
Ron suggested that I be careful not to press on the sword part. Your thumb naturally falls to the bottom of the button and pressing the snake's tail is comfortable and easy. Ron is definitely the man!
So that's the story. Any comments and or questions will be appreciated. Tell Ron what a great job he did. If you like the exotic, as I do, then you know that he is one of the best.
....That burl wasn't as hard to work as I thought it'd be ....this was a "fun" build !