Paul Mill Close Quarters Fighter

[David Johansen]

I just finished this one up. There are several things I am not completely satisfied with, but as it is my third finished ground knife, I am happy with it overall. Let me know what you think. The design is Paul Mills and I like it a lot, but the flaws are all mine! I also had a heck of a time getting decent photos so I am attaching 2. One shows the blade better and the other shows the handle better.

I wanted to thank Carl (Crex) for his advice on proper finishing. The near mirror polish on this blade is a direct result of his advice. Thank you!!!

Here are the specs:
440C Stainless
Black Micarta Handle
9 inches overall
There are finger and thumb grooves in the handle

Anyway, let me know what you think. Any comments/critiques are appreciated!!

[David Johansen]

Here is the second view:

[luc]

Good work!
Thats a pretty crazy grind, recurves are allways interesting, and the way you took the grind up to the guard like that is really neat.
Looks tuff :evil
Keep em coming.
Lucas

[David Johansen]

Thanks Lucas!! That means a ton coming from you! That was a tough grind, in fact if I had realized at the time how hard it would be I probably would have waited till later to do it. But I did learn a lot from it. I hope to get my knives to that clean crisp level that all yours seem to have!

I also realized I forgot to mention that Paul Mills is the Grand Master of the Karate style (Kenpo) I am studying. Hence the knife has the deep thumb and finger grooves for holding it in multiple positions and flipping etc. You should see the guy I made this for when he is whipping this thing around. (I am learning but have a ways to go yet myself.) He is using this knife for practice and for tournaments. I should also mention that while it looks sharp it is quite dull so he does not injure himself while practicing.

[David Johansen]

I am just curious (please be honest) is the reason no one is commenting because the design is not mine or because you don't like the workmanship? I would really like to know. Thanks,

[VSMBlades]

I think it is a very interesting asymetrical dagger. I cant honestly say it would be my first choice to carry, myself tending toward larger single edged knives (less probability of a klutz cutting himself with only one sharp side). It appears that it would be a very effective close combat knife with equal aptitude for both front and back cuts and an effective piercer. Just my .02 . My uncle studied Kenpo in Fayetville NC when he was in the Air Force I think.

Joe

[Jason Cutter]

Criticism ? I'm sure you are already your own worst critic !! And thats the best way for progress. It sounds like you took on a very challenging technical task for a 3rd finished knife and all I can say is WOW ! for 3rd finished knife or 30th. There are probably minor "flaws" you can find, as the maker, but they are not immediately obvious from your pictures. Personally, I prefer the visuals of a less complex design, if thats any sort of criticism. Good work. Keep it coming. Jason.

[David Johansen]

Thanks for the feedback!! I really respect the knifemakers here and wanted some opinions.

VSM Knives, thank you for your feedback.

Jason, I really respect your work so thank you for the kind words. That really means a lot to me. I hope one day to get better at the "simple" clean designs like you and Lucas do. I put a quote around the word simple because truly making knives look so clean is anything but simple. But that is part of what makes them so cool. Anyway I am starting to ramble.

Lucas, I realized that might not have sounded to good when I asked why "no-one was responding when you had already responded. I consider you a friend and I am very glad you took the time to comment. I am sure over time I will not worry about posting knives as much. It is silly but after several months of working on this knife I kind of got the jitters after posting it. Especially because I value the opinions here I started to worry that the knife was not as good as I thought it was ..... You and Jason sure give me a high standard to shoot for and I am glad of it. Thanks for all your help and more importantly support!!!!

[Dusty Moulton]

David
Nice grind lines. I don't do many daggers as such, the last one got off kilter a bit & took me several years to finish. I just kept looking at it hanging on the peg board and said LATER. But I finally did finish it & was happy with the results.
Keep up the good work.
Dusty

[LYNN DRURY]

DAVID, JASON IS PROBABLY RIGHT. YOU ARE PROBABLY YOUR OWN WORST
CRITIC. MY WIFE SAYS THAT I AM MY WORST CRITIC. FOR YOUR 3rd KNIFE
I THINK IT IS FANTASTIC.
NOT EVERYONE WILL LIKE THE SAME PATTERN, BUT CAN FIND SOMETHING
GOOD TO SAY ABOUT THE KNIFE. I THINK EVERYONE HERE IS VERY KIND
WITH WORDS WHETHER CONSTRUCTIC OR NOT.
KEEP CRANKING THEM OUT!


LYNN DRURY

[David Johansen]

Dusty and Lynn thank you for the kind works and encouragement! I really appreciate it!!

Dusty, your knives are amazing!!! Someday I hope I even come close to the level of craftmanship your knives have.

[SKIVIE]

David, Looks great ! Youve done a dandy job. Just got back from my trip and have a lot of posts to catch up on. When did you grind that one ? Was it with your new grinder ? Glad to see you starting to post some photos. I know with the new grinder youll be coming up with some beauties.

Shane

[David Johansen]

Shane,

You actually saw the beginnings of this one when I came to visit. I waited for the new grinder (and had to wait for it to come back from heat treat) to clean it up and I'm glad I did. The Grizzly works SOOO much better than my 1X42 incher did.

[Nalis]

WOW! You did that one with your Grizz.... there may be hope for me yet. LOL Good job dude! I like the grinds back to the hilt thingys, must have been a bear. I hope to post a couple im working on with my new Grizz here shortly. They look very plane compared to yours. Hope everyone goes easy on me. LOL

[Crex]

Nice job David, looks a bit better than when you showed it to me earlier this summer. Sorry I didn't comment earlier but been kind of busy. I'll send you a pic of my "hawk n bowie" when the combo's complete. Got the blade ready for HT last night.

I used to be my own worst critic until I took my wife to the BLade Show about 6 years ago.
Never take her again! Just joking Sweetheart, please don't hit me. Been married 32 years today, you'd think she could take a joke by now.

Once you get your forge done David, you can do your own HT, that's when it really gets personal. Whole new bunch of hot demons come to visit while you work on getting that right. Warpy, Cracky, Softy, Hard Head, and What the..... will all come for a visit. Looking forward to seeing more from you. Get's better every blow!