My bro and I have been making knives since we were kids (I made my first knife out of an old mower blade when I was just wee laddie), so when our martial arts buddy (who is an absolute knife fanatic) got married, it seemed that the most obvious choice for his wedding present was a knife.
My bro and I made him this, as a tribute to Gunnar's knife from the Expendables:
My bro and I are completely broke, so we had to make it out of all materials and tools we already had (which is why it has a rough sanded finish), so we made it out of the leaf spring to a '94 F150. We had to guess at the grade of steel, and harden it by sight. We ended up differentially hardening and tempering it, gave it a 20 degree edge, and a solid steel handle. Its balance point is half an inch in front of the cross-guard (not typical for bowies, but we thought more control would be needed for a 21 inch knife, so we kept the balance point a little closer to the handle)
It is very rough, but the best an unemployed man can do on a budget with scrap steel, an ancient angle grinder that keeps breaking down, and hand tools. :P
So what do you think? Would you rather our slightly larger version (nearly the same overall length, but with a shorter handle. Also, we made the blade thicker and wider), or Gunnar's sissy knife? :P
EDIT: Note, this last comment is meant as a joke. I mean no offense toward Gil Hibben or his excellent designs.
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