3 Attachment(s)
G.D Mansfield Cut Keen 6/8 Spanish point in yellow heart and blood wood.
I picked this up months ago but haven’t had the time to work on it. The blade was pretty rusty and ugly when I got it. The monkey tail and tang had pits that were a good 1/64th deep. I had to use an 800 grit belt in my strip sander to work them out before I went at it by hand.
The blade it etched ‘Cut Keen’ with an eye over it, unique, which is part of the reason I got the blade. I sanded it as much as I dare, any more and the blade etching would fade away. It got a run on 4 compounds and MAAS to polish it up. There is still some small pitting and other blemishes but it is much better than it was when I started.
I had some yellow heart wood scales in my scale box that I had not used on anything yet so I decided to put this in them. The scales are finished in gloss epoxy resin. I was trying to decide what kind of wedge to use. In the end I went with a blood wood wedge. Since the scales are brightly colored I thought a dark color would contrast nicely. The problem with yellow heart, it looses its oomph in the photo. The wood has very striking shimmering sheen to it. It almost looks backlight. I did manage to catch the effect in one photo. The pins are the standard 1/16 inch brass rod with brass over stainless washers and stainless blade beings.
It took quite some time to hone. The steel on this blade is very hard; my Morley blades are hard like this one. It took several hours to get a proper edge on it but what an edge it is. Super sharp and shaves like a dream.
