Hi guys, my first thread here... just thought I would share some pics with you guys..

I'm a fan of big knives and it doesn't get any bigger than choppers... barring swords of course.

My first BIG knife was a Battle Rat, but at that point in time, I was terrible at sharpening and so the edge on that one was functional at best..

The next BIG (really BIG) knife I got was a custom Takeshi Saji. 12 in of laminated steel over a Hitachi white steel core, with a rayskin wrap handle.

Take a look at this beautiful beast!












But I figured that it was way TOO nice to be used and so it sat in my cupboard for the longest time. My BR was feeling lonely just doing all the work by herself and it was time to get her a companion.

Up stepped a traditional Thai blade, an E-nep.

This is a shot with pants on, very unique pants I must say.







Of course the blade looked a lot prettier when I first got it but I decided to put a mustard patina on it. Let me know what you guys think of the patina cos its the first time I'm trying it out. The blade has a as forged finish on the top half of it.

Some shots of the patina. Comments and feedback always welcome.









Some comparison shots to show how the Saji, E-nep and BR look side by side.. as you can see, teh E-nep and Saji easily dwarfs the BR...:)

[img]http://i187.photobucket.com/albums/x85/knivesnlights/TakeshiSajiwithBattleRat.jpg[/img]

[img]http://i187.photobucket.com/albums/x85/knivesnlights/Comparisonshot02.jpg[/img]

[img]http://i187.photobucket.com/albums/x85/knivesnlights/Comparisonshot01.jpg[/img]


Thats all for now.. thanks for looking and let me know what you guys think...

wow. sweet knives. sweet pants. Wonder if some of the sheathmakers here have ever worked in wood or other natural materials (not counting leather).

Nice blades and welcome to the Yard.

Very cool Blades!! I love those unique pants too!!! <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/ooo.gif" alt="" />

I really like big knives too, those customs Rock!

I really like the patina. On a blade like that it just looks right.

Can't forget that Battle Rat though, very nice hunk of Rat steel! <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/thumbup.gif" alt="" /> <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/cool.gif" alt="" />

Welcome to the yard. I love your taste in kives, it is like mine but with class and cash. I think the patina you have applied looks perfect and I would never guess it was not the way it was supposed to look if you had not have told us. It matches the forge finish very well. The photos are first rate as well. Mine are terrible and I am sure everyone is tired of seeing my marpat living room carpet.

You picked a great time to visit the yard as I have it on good authority(my wild [censored] guess) that the next knife will be the Dogfather LE. It would be the perfect segue way between your BR and your beautiful customs. It will have the very usable
and shock absorbing Res C handle but with a beautiful shiny limited edition blade.

Your japanese custom is going to be my screensaver for the next little while. I love the Hitachi steel and wish we could get it here. The specs on the Hitachi blue are incredible.

Tessaiga,

Welcom to the Yard!

That Takeshi Saji 12 laminated blade si GORGEOUS!!!! <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/bowdown.gif" alt="" /> <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/bowdown.gif" alt="" />

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You can get it.... Just need LOTS of cash. No more than many Busse knives though.

I did a quick search to see if I could find more of those gorgeous Saji blades and curious to the price. (... not that I could afford it at any price right now <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/frown.gif" alt="" /> )

Looks like a 12" laminated blade would probably run $500 - $600 USD (???).

Although our new buddy appears to have made a sweet purchase:

Bladeforums - Takeshi Saji Custom Onimusha on Steroids

One thing about damascus - the blades come with a fingerprint <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/wink.gif" alt="" />


... However, Takeshi Saji doesn't make many of these larger knives. Most are smaller.

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awesome rayskin grip and the patina looks great on that distressed surface. sweet line to the recurve, too.

welcome aboard.

it is not too often the battle rat looks small, I love the E-nep and the mustard thing is a way rustic finnish it looks very time proven, and of course, welcome to the Yard

Hello and welcome to the yard, Tessaiga. Your choppers are very classy and nice.
I especially like the Thai bolo-looking knife. I have no true oriental style blades, but yours are beautiful. Maybe my next direction in collecting. Thanks for showing us these very nice choppers.

Thanks for the warm welcome and the generous comments.

The handle on the E-nep is a rosewood of sorts.

The sheath on it is made of rattan and the small ridge at the flare part of the sheath functions just like a belt loop, although I must say that the E-nep just drops into the sheath with nothing holding it in place.

This probably means that unless you are running on bumpy terrain or doing a sommersault, the blade should stay inside the sheath, although if you ask me it looks to be more pretty than functional. But the folks in Thailand use this exact same sheath, so there must be some truth in native wisdom.

[color:"red"]Unsub: I'm humbled that one of these photos could make it to your desktop, however briefly..

knifeguy: you are right, thats the exact knife

rainwalker: any inspiration to do a different type of sheath?[/color]

Welcome to the Yard Tessaiga. I love my Takeshi Saji blades too! I think I'll check out the E-nep now. Thank you for the pics!