ML Roach Belly

[stormcrow]

Testing out a first time photo post (fingers crossed) with a pic of roach belly style knife recently completed for me by Matt at ML knives. I gave Matt some specs and conceptual design for a multi-purpose woods and camp blade which he sketched up for me, then made this knife which did not disappoint. It is a beefy blade at almost 5 inch cutting edge and 3/16" tang that balances just forward of the index finger. The somewhat dark patina came with the knife. Scales are crosscut black walnut.

This is the second knife Matt has made for me and I must say he is great to work with and makes a fine working blade :thumbsup:

 

[PA.1740]

LOOKS REAL NICE!!! :thumbsup:
Have Fun
Phil

 

[lonehunter]

Good lookin knife! :thumbsup:

 

[Marc Adamchek]

VERY nice!

 

[GreyWhiskers]

Nice. :thumbsup:

 

[chance]

Really Nice!!!

 

[hawk]

:thumbsup:

 

[rkmeyer]

Looking very SHARP :v ! Pun intended. :haha:
Dusty :wink:

 

[Glenfilthie]

What is the steel like Crow? Does it hold an edge well?

That looks like a perfect design for an 'everything' knife... :applause:

 

[stormcrow]

The steel is 1095, which I have found to be a very good all purpose material for a woods knife. I have already used this one for light chopping of 1/2"-1" branches overhanging my drive with no ill effects to the edge. I think a lot of this is due to the quality of the heat treat, and ML 's steel has served me well so far. The only real downside to 1095 is that it rusts easily (even more so than other high carbon knife steels), so I had the patina added to alleviate at least some of that problem. That and a light coat of mineral oil generally takes care of any potential issues. In the past I have added my own patina to 1095 knives using vinegar, but they didn't quite turn out quite as nice as this one was done!