First off I want to say that the blade is not as good as I would like for several reasons which I caught too late. First was the original blade was reforged from an old seax I tried, which I did a lot of drawing out on. The drawing marks I had left were very deep so I could not forge or grind them all out without thinning the blade too much, which brings me to the second flaw; it's very thin for a Bowie, I didn't measure how thin but a little too much for my liking. Also, it warped in the quenching, slightly, but I didn't catch it before I tempered. The last problem is I assembled, epoxies and pinned before I had polished the guard completely or finished it enough, so I had to do a lot on the blade itself, which I could not fully do. Other than those, I'm pleased with how this turned out.
Blade is leaf spring steel, assuming 5160, hardened in motor oil and tempered for two-three hours at 385 Fahrenheit. Guard is scrap 1084, bolster (I believe that's the term?) is deer antler, and handle is local oak burl. Critique is welcomed, and any tips on sanding and polishing the guard without a buffing machine and only a Dremel and hand tools?
Photos at
