Jon Mac.Spoon Carving First Steps

Chris Grant and I have been in cahoots again.

We’ve been pondering whether or not a stainless steel knife can be hard used for camping and camp work.

Chris and I decided to look into the matter.

Imagine, a knife that can be used in damp/wet conditions without staining or corrosion.

A knife that will keep a good edge and is easy to sharpen.

A great idea, one that I was keen to explore.

Chris sourced some good quality stainless from Sweden, apparently the popular 12C27 steel is no longer made. I have some French Laguiole eating knives with this steel, treasured possessions.

He used some new 14C28N, doesn’t roll off the tongue, but there you go.

This 14C28N steel is very similar to 12C27, fine grained, with a keen edge, it also contains Nitrogen molecules, which significantly increase the stain resistance, with no loss of that desirable keen edge; it’s VERY stainless, stainless steel.

So, what handle would compliment this ultra modern blade?…

Previously, Chris has made several ‘Special Edition’ MaChris knives utilising Stabilized wood. This is a process whereby softer woods, like birch or walnut, or weaker woods, such as spalted woods, can be impregnated with a thermo-setting acrylic resin.

Also, this plasticising process makes the handle waterproof!

Ideal for a multi purpose outdoors knife!

As this was the first proper custom knife he had made for me, Chris wanted to do something different and appropriate, personal.

So, for the handle, he opted to use Birch polypore mushroom!

This fungus, often referred to as ‘the razor strop fungus’ has a rich history and many many uses.

It was a very appropriate choice of material considering I have used it many times in the past for honing blades.

The Polypore and I are intimately connected to the Birch tree.

It’s part of our lives….

After some telephone conversations about slight design changes, Chris got to work.

One sunny morning, the postie arrived with a package…

Here it is !!!

Bushcraft knife+spoon carving knife+jonmac+MaChris+14C28N

Blade:

Sandvik 14C28N. A variant on the very popular 12C27 steel, used for razor blades, French Laguoile, Mora, Brusletto and Karesuando knives.

This variant allows for much greater stain resistance having 0.11% Nitrogen added to the alloy.

The fine grain structure allows a very fine edge, finer than the vast majority of stainless blade steels.

Hardened to 58/59 HRC

Handle:

Stabalised Birch Polypore (Pitoporus betulinus) a common Birch fungus renowned for its many uses.

(I think the use of Pitoporus betulinus for knife scales may be a world first)

It was cut, dried and impregnated with methylacrylate resin.

Most wood when stabilized takes on 20-40% mass, this fungus took on 737%!!

Stabilised/plasticized by Cliff Schooling of Crandart Knives.

Sarah and I took it for an outing up the Dart gorge.

The first job I gave it was dressing up some Chanterelle.

I took it to the Wilderness Gathering and demonstrated spoon carving with it.

Carving some easy Birch.

Now I’m home again, unpacked and settled, I thought I should give the knife a good test against my current MaChris made in 52100 bearing steel.

First off I gave them a good sharpen on Japanese water stones supplied by Matthew Platt

Workshop Heaven

Bushcraft knife+spoon carving knife+jonmac+MaChris+52100

I selected some year seasoned Laburnum.

Of all the types of wood I have carved in my time, I find that if a blade is going to get damaged, it’ll get damaged in Laburnum.

I carved a small spoon using each knife and gave the blade a light strop, a couple of passes, once, at the half way point.

Both spoons turned out well.

I inspected the blades under a magnifying glass. I remember testing the 52100 steel some time ago through Laburnum, the results were the same then as now, there was a slight blunting of the cutting edge, the knife was still useable and became sharp after another light strop.

The surprise of the match was the Stainless steel.

There was a little damage noticeable under close inspection with the magnifier, tiny micro pressure chips, pretty well invisible to the naked eye. Even with this light damage, the knife was still sharp.

An aggressive edge that would still, without any further work, see you right for your remaining camp work until you had time to attend to it.

I used it in this state to cut some leather for a strop, it cut without a problem.

The stainless MaChris deals with softer woods without any issues.

The handle material is something else to look at, beautiful.

I worked some of the carving in direct sunlight, the handle remained quite neutral with regards to grip. Not at all slippery.

I gave both knives a quick go on the waters stones, both became sharp with minimal work.

I am super impressed with this Stainless steel.

Chris Grant and I will add this to the family of MaChris now available as a special order item.

A great knife for those of us that may wish to paddle their way into the great outdoors.

Or for those who live and work in some of the wetter parts of the world.

Chris and I have also been busy with the design pencil, we have only the one and we share it between us.

If you are interested in this MaChris Stainless steel type, please feel free to contact Chris Grant at…

In a few months time I should be able to show you something new and quite special from the MaChris design shop.

scone-boy@hotmail.co.uk

FaceBook makemethischris

Thanks all.

Enjoy.

FRIDAY, 17 APRIL 2015

Bespoke Hand Tools: The MiniMac Woodcarving Knife

spooncarving knife+MiniMac+bushcraft knife+workshopheaven

This is the best woodcarving knife I have ever used - by a very long way.

It is the finished product of a long collaboration between two good friends of mine, both of them wonderfully skilled craftsmen. Creative artist and woodcarver Jon Mac from Dartmoor and custom knifemaker Chris Grant from Arbroath.

The knife began as a bespoke commission for Jon's work carving elegant spoons, bowls and kuksa. When you watch Jon carve you'll quickly grasp the care and consideration with which he approaches all creative tasks, the design of this tool is no exception. There isn't a straight line on it, and every curve has been considered, refined and perfected by hand and eye.

Chris thrives on the creative process, he gets deeply involved in the design of each project, feeding in his rich experience of blade steels and heat treatment processes. Working to the highest standards in metal, wood and leather, he brings everything together to deliver an exquisitely handcrafted product. He only makes knives, but boy does he make knives!

The development since the original commission has been entirely organic, other carvers have tried the knife and been sufficiently blown away by its performance and dexterity that, with Jon's blessing, they have commissioned their own. Jon is a big guy with large hands, so when the stream of people who wanted one showed no sign of abating, the two got together again to work on a smaller version of his original design that would be better suited to people with average sized hands.

The result is the MiniMac, same sweet balance in exactly the same spot as the MaChris, same extraordinary edge strength, but when you compare the two side by side you can see that the subtleties of both the blade and handle shape have all been completely reworked. The MiniMac is a stick tang, which makes it considerably lighter, although in use they both just blend into the hand.

spooncarving knife+MiniMac+bushcraft knife+workshopheaven+MaChris

I've had this MiniMac for a few months now, and apart from a couple of very light dressing strokes on 5 micron lapping film I am still using the original shaving sharp edge.

The MiniMac has very quickly become an integral part of how I work; to the extent that trying to carve with anything else just feels wrong. I can work with it for hours with no fatigue and place cuts with a level of precision I had previously not understood. It is no understatement to say that I would now be at a loss without it.

Workshopheavenhttp://www.workshopheaven.com/index.html spooncarving knife+MiniMac+bushcraft knife+workshopheaven

Could you still carve with a lesser knife? Of course you can, absolutely, but at the end of the day I carve for pleasure. There is nothing quite so luxurious as leaning against a tree on a sunny afternoon with a really good knife and a nice piece of wood and relishing every single cut.