Recently I purchased a very fine knife blade from a custom maker in 154 CM. He was cleaning up his shop, didn't have an order for the blade, and sold it at a reasonable price, considering that it had already been professionally heat treated to a Rockwell C hardness of 59-60.

Here is the problem. It is a rather large blade for a hunting blade. It is not tapered on the tang. MOreover, he had not drilled any holes for mounting the handles and a brass guard.

So, the question is, is it still possible to have this thing tapered at bit, and proper holes drilled to mount what needs to be mounted. Or am I left with a heavy plain handled hunter.

Blue

well.....we have not been much help for you have we.....


The truth is , that Im not actually sure I understand the question and the problem you are faceing.

I believe that a knife maker can do many things to most blades...I bet that if you need a different handle, that you can just grind down the handle to be what you were seeking,,,but I dont really understand the situation to say more....

154CM is one of the best stainless steels for knives.You could grind the tang to whatever shape you want, though it will take a little work since it's hardened.The holes are a bit more of a problem. You might temper back the areas around the holes with a torch taking care to not heat the rest of the blade then use a carbide drill.You might ask that question on www.bladeforums.com .

Blue,

To drill the holes just go buy a carbide tipped masonry drill bit. Use a drill press and use oil, which doesn't have to be fancy, just a shot of WD40 every few seconds.

Like the others, I'm not exactly certain what you mean by tapered. Are you talking about the tang profile, the thickness is OK but it is too "tall" of a handle proportion? If so, sure grind that guy down. Have a coffee can of water next to the grinder and dunk it into the water every 10 seconds. Actually what you need to do is make sure the tang (or any part of the blade you grind on)stays wet, and when it heats up to where the water steams off it is time to dunk it again. But please reply to clarify what dimension you want the taper on.

Mark

When I meant taper, I meant so that the tang gets narrower as it proceeds towards the end. I have two beautiful custom hunters from other makers that have that. And I think that Bob Loveless was the one that first popularized the tapered tang. But as I don't have a grinder I am wondering how I could taper that tang without taking off the heat treat.

I am having a hell of a time finding some stag slabs that are big enough for it as well. Anyone know why they are so hard to find these days and where I might find some.

Blue