I ventured out in the snow today and got a little more done on the project. I tile cut & welded the previous billet. Once welded I pointed the billet like I would with a blade and forged the point to one side as if it were a warncliff blade. This gave me a straight edge to weld a piece of twist pattern to. Once welded I forged the point to the other side and welded another piece of twist to it.

Here's the rough billet:

And the same billet surface ground and a quick etch:

I didn't achieve the symmetrical snowflakes down the center that I had envisioned. <img src=' http://www.americanbladesmith.com/ipboard/public/style_emoticons//biggrin.gi f' class='bbc_emoticon' alt=':D' /> It looks a little more like frost crystals than snow. Oh, well.

I'll try to post the forged blade when done.

Gary

You know I really like it when Jack Frost paints my windows. Looking forward to the finished knife Gary.

I think this is looking great Gary. Don't let the fact that it doesn't look exactly like what you envisioned get you down.

I had a friend who said there were only 2 rules in his shop:

1. There are no mistakes.

2. Everyone has to "bust a move" at least once a day.

I think you achieved a very Christmassy looking pattern there. To me it looks more like stylized stars than snowflakes and that's very much in keeping with the holiday spirit. When you grind through those twist patterns, more stars will emerge and the effect will be wonderful. So, bust a move, and carry on. I am loving this WIP. Thanks for showing.

Gary;

Your snow flakes may have not turned out like you envisioned, but it still is a neat pattern. I'm sure you learned from this project!

I know several folks that are watching this have learned as well. This is what the ABS is all about!

Thanks for sharing your time and skill!

I look forward to seeing it completed!

Russell

Here's the blade forged, normalized & rough ground ready for H/T:

The point of the blade got a little more distortion to the pattern as I forged it but I wanted the pattern to stay oriented with the blade profile rather than doing a stock removal which would have made the twist on the outside of the pattern less symmetrical.

I've sent the ivory handle off to the scrimshanter so I'm not sure when I will have a finished photo to post. When I get it back I'll post an update.

[ <img src=' http://www.americanbladesmith.com/ipboard/public/style_emoticons//smile.gi f' class='bbc_emoticon' alt=':)' /> I didn't achieve exactly what I had designed but I'm still happy with the result.] Let me know what you think.

Thanks for following this so far.

Gary

Gary

Great job! Thank you for taking the time to share your knowledge and post this Work in Progress.

Thanks for sharing your process with us!! I'm looking forward to seeing this knife finished.

Here's the blade after H/T & etch:

Gary

I'll be the first to chime in here. That looks fantastic Gary! While I'm at it, I'd like to say a big THANK YOU for this WIP. It has been truly inspiring and I am going to try a "canned" pattern. Now where did I put that powered 1084?

Thanks, Joshua & everyone. I don't do many cans but occasionally they are fun. I've got another one going that is a 100% random pattern made from accordion cut drop offs. (An idea that I got from Ed Caffrey. Thanks, Ed.) Sometimes it's fun to create a billet in which you have absolutely no idea of what kind of unusual pattern will come out of it.

Gary

Here's the finished knife:

The scrimshaw was done by a good friend, Jim Krause of Farmington, MO. I had asked him to give me a Currier & Ives type look and I thought that he did a fantastic job. (The reverse side has a similar but different two horse sleigh.)

I'll have this knife at The Arkansas Show and will have Chuck takes some better photos of it but maybe this will give you an idea of how it turned out.

Gary

Well done Gary!

Very nice Gary. I am going to need to get a closer look at this at Little Rock. Nice work.

Brion

Hi Gary, I don't care what you call it. It's a win-win in my book. The fact that you tried such a feat and accomplished that look is very cool in my book. It's sure going to make someone a great look knife. I can't wait to see the finished product. Great job. And thanks for sharing w/ us.