This knife is silky smooth. It's a beautiful example of my "Classic" work. It's the same size as the other Aurora. Roughly 7 1/4" open.

Stainless Tool Steel. Barnes cut, jigged and dyed domestic cattle bone.

Cash, $795 plus $20 for the Postman (USPS PRIORITY MAIL)

OR ..... Two payments 30-35 days apart .... for $432.50 (That's $50 for splitting it up).

Drop your Marker here please (for a time stamp - don't count on me finding a PM before someone else drops a marker here. ). Go to PM SECTION. I'm there under barnespneumatic.

Enjoy the pics!!!! Thanks Everyone. Comments appreciated



Edited 2 time(s). Last edit at 05/19/2017 02:19PM by barnespneumatic.

Amazing ! Very nice work on the Scales and scroll work on the metal !
Another masterpiece Gary

Love it, Bob

Gary,

Some really beautiful knives have come from your shop recently, and this is another fine example. I know it will go fast.

Karl

Gary
That's one outstanding piece of work . Just the jigging'ed has to take a lot of work .
Thanks

Thanks
Kurt

Take a look at these bolsters again.

I'm really pleased with that carving.

Thumbs up

Gary

Do me a favor please. Look at pics 3 and 4 of this thread. That's each side of the carved bolsters.

Questions:

1). Do you like "Bolsters" on the knives. Those are the metal parts that make up 1/4 to 1/3 of the surface area of the sides.
- Do you like the look
- Do you like the solid traditional sense they give. Of course - in Brass, it adds weight. But it's also a canvas. In brass or Nickel, bolsters are usually silver soldered in place. In
aluminum, they are integral and milled from the billet.
- If you like ornamentation, have you liked the fluted clam shell polished bright?
- Do you like the carved vines with leaves
- Did you like the recent 100% swirl of carved leaves
- Do you like the Branch, Oak leaves, and Acorns you see here.
............ if you like this motif - how do you rate it?

2). What is your favorite Handle Material that you have seen me use multiple times
A). Bone.
- dyed and polished
- carved, dyed, polished
- stag
- mammoth tusk
- skeeter tusk
- stabalized wood
- commercial phenolic/micarta

3). Do you like the filework I've been doing. Does it stop you from buying if a folder does not have filework.

4). Do you care how the knife is made inside?
- polished liners
- polished inside of spring
- polished edges of the tang
- polished Ricasso
- rotation trunnions
- Pivot barrel Hub
.............. these things take a lot of time, percentage wise, on a folder. Are they worth it to you. I'll attempt a $ breakdown.

5). Do you pay close attention to the smoothness of the action? They will ALL be proper and lively. But "Tuning" takes extra Care.
6). Do you like the mirror polished blade

Ok. Let's try a rough formula on a knife of the Aurora Design and Size.

$100 - cut, fit, Silver Solder Symetrical Bolsters.
$100 - full length geometric filework of back spring and both liners.
$225 - deep relief carving of two bolsters
$225 - relief carved bone scales, dyed, polished.
$100 - filed/fluted/polished bolsters
$125 - the works "inside".
$ 75 - mirror polished blade.
$300 - functional handmade folder.

Ok. Let's take our trial formula chart for a spin on THIS knife.

Wow. I thought I lost all that.

Family is all out down on the coast for my Granddaughter's Graduation Dinner. Kelly went.

Hey kids ..... if you are really really talented with
your hands, and your mind feeds you endless creative ideas ...... ...... beat your head on a wall til it stops. Get a job where you are 20 and out.

Ok, let's try this chart.

Ok ..... $925us.

And I asked ..... $795us. Perfect. Works beautifully.

Wait a minute ..... have to factor in the 1982 Cost of such a knife ($1,475us).

You multiply 1982 ($1,475) by a factor of my birth year ... (1954) and you get $796.50. Hahaahhhhh!!!! PERFECT!!!!!

Darn, I'm good.

Gary

Hey ..... you know what happened to the last guy who answered one of my survey posts???


.............. ....................……

............... ............

......... ............

.......... ......


nothing.

Last I heard he was mowing his yard this morning.

.......

Gary,

Sorry, I live in Asia. I don't even have a yard.

But I have never seen you make something I did not wish I could buy or even hold.

Wait are those 2017 Dollars? hmmmmmmmm?

Larry

Hi Larry,

No, those are US Drachmas Larry.

How are you doing? Last I heard there was a rat that was out to get you, for Off'in his Cousin Vinny. How'd that turn out?
You were also supposed to fill in ..... ah ..... someone .... on night vision. Hear you know a thing or fifty about that.

Ok. Great to hear from you. Yards are just extra work. Happy Mother's Day!

Gary

Gary,.

Offset barrel tenon insert for my 80% Ruger 10/22 receiver on the cheapest, smallest "mini" equipment available. A real challenge, and it seems to have worked.

Beautiful folder, completely to my taste. REAL tempting!

Ben Bizzi

Ok. Guess you have bonded it in. Nice work.

I'm not up on those. How is your loading, breech seal, and firing gonna work if it's all on a different axis now?

Wishing you good machining.

Thanks!

Gary

Gary,

To spend a little more time on your survey, I think all the processes you describe are necessary for a top quality knife. When people handle a well made item, they don't always know exactly why it feels great, but it does. Weight, smooth functioning, flawless finish, custom hand work all create the experience.

I remember the first time I handled my Japanese made Browning Auto 5 shotgun, it was the finest piece of shooting machinery I'd handled to date. Silky smooth action, smooth edges on all the parts, deep rich bluing, perfect walnut furniture, scroll work on the receiver of a production gun, scalloped screws locked into position by another locking screw, etc. It was an experience. Again, it may be hard to know everything that goes into a quality piece of work, but it is often detectable.

As to my receiver, I drilled the barrel tenon hole out of specification and this should bring it back into it the correct position.

Lon



Edited 3 time(s). Last edit at 05/16/2017 01:47PM by Bigbore.

Hey Lon
You hit the nail on the head about just knowing quality when you feel it . You know it's different ! Can't tell for sure what but it's GOOD . With Gary's knifes even un decorated you can tell the lock up and detent of the blade in open, closed and mid position . That's exactly where Gary put it . I still love and use the crap outta my md97 . In my pocket loose every day .

Btw good job on the repair . Loooks like it was aways off to . How did you index center when installing your insert ?

Thanks
Kurt

Kurt,

"How did you index center when installing your insert ?"

One of my proudest machining moments! I have a metrology station and used a height gauge.

There were a lot of challenges for the neophyte on this project. You can see what is left of the scribe mark on the insert lined up with a center line I also scribed on the receiver.

Lon



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 05/16/2017 01:58PM by Bigbore.

And THAT is another excellent example of how to invest $1,000 worth of precision machining on a hunnert dollar part!

Been there. Hah.

Good Save .... even though we both know you will sneak over to the desk, and order another blank in the middle of the night. Index and bore it correctly in an hour, after spending ten hours fixing that one.

I'm just say'n ..... hah

Gary

Gary,

Amazing, you're really in my head, on all counts!

Lon

Nice work on the machining Lon! off center holes can be tricky.. those scribes work well, seems like machining will always a learning process lots of problem solving... when your doing precision work... looks good

Matt

Matt,

Thanks. The problem solving and machining exercise was the reason I stuck to the fix. I was pleased with some of my successes so it was a salve for the wound that got me there.

Lon



Edited 2 time(s). Last edit at 05/18/2017 05:50PM by Bigbore.

Nice work Lon. If anyone notices, call it a feature instead of a flaw. You can always make up some story about how you had to rotate it 1/64th of a degree from the vertical for optimum accuracy or something like that.

"had to rotate it 1/64th of a degree from the vertical for optimum accuracy "

I..uh.....didn't mention that.

Lon

Gary,
Is this still available?
Check your PM.

Scott

This fine blade is now SOLD SOLD SOLD. . THANK YOU VERY MUCH!

Gary