Payne Handcrafted Knives

06/10/2026

Phacks...

06/09/2026

***TODAY'S KNIFE PROJECT***
It's been more than a week since I've been able to do any blade work, and today I was able to heat treat this 14 inch Farriers rasp Bowie style knife for a friend.
After it comes out of the tempering oven (where it is now for the first of two 90-minute cycles) I'll clean it up then affix the Armadillo handle scales.

06/01/2026

05/30/2026

***THIS AFTERNOON'S KNIFE PROJECT UPDATE***
A couple of sharpness tests on the chef's knife.
2nd video in the first comment...

05/30/2026

***THIS MORNING'S KNIFE PROJECT***
Finishing up the chef's knife made from a leaf spring.
I did a coffee etch on the steel to help resist oxidation (rust) and enhance the brut de forge look of the material.
The handle is a hidden tang composite of South Texas Cedar and iron wood with a brass guard.
It's got a boiled linseed oil/shellac finish.
Just need to finely hone the edge and engrave a makers mark.

05/28/2026

***TODAY'S KNIFE PROJECT***
I had a short window of opportunity to work on a blade today, so I pulled this chef's style knife from a leaf spring out of the coffee etch, drilled the hole in the cedar & desert ironwood composite handle, fitted the brass guard and handle onto the tang and epoxied it.
After it had cured for about an hour, I did some preshaping on the handle, which I'll finish up this weekend.
So far, I'm liking it.

05/26/2026

***THIS AFTERNOON'S KNIFE PROJECT***
I've just about got the bevel grinds where I want them before I start the heat treat on this blade, which will probably take place this weekend.
Flat grinds on both the belly and spine. The spine side, when complete, will be a faux edge.

05/26/2026

***THIS MORNING'S KNIFE PROJECT***
1)What started out as a Farriers rasp is a few steps closer to becoming a Bowie style knife...
2) The coffee etch on the Chef's knife is getting there. If you're wondering why I'm using coffee, it's a two-fold answer: A) It adds a nice patina that looks cool, and B) it helps prevent oxidation on high carbon steel, which prevents rust.

05/25/2026

***TODAY'S KNIFE PROJECTS***
1) After a late start to the day, I took this blade from the tempering oven, did some finish grinding on it, cleaned it up and currently have it in a coffee etch. We'll see how it looks in 24 hours.
2) I'm going to turn a Farriers rasp into a Bowie style knife, so the first thing to do is...of course...take off a bunch of the rust. A wire brush attached to a drill makes one heckuva red dust!