So I had an idea the other day and I figured I would make it real, I mean isn't that what we do make ideas real?
My Idea was hold a fun little challenge, take a little bit of time and make a knife, do a simple WIP thread on it and post it here.
The challenge is you need to start with one cubic inch of material from your cut off bin. Any material will work. It can be 4" of 1/4"/1 or 2"/2"/1/4" or a 1 inch cube as long as the volume is around 1 cubic inch.
I suggest will do this under "whose line is it anyway?" rules, that is to say every one gets points with more points that will be randomly assigned but in the end the points are meaningless as there is no contest. ill start every one off with Ten thousand sick bro's (points)
To get us started I forged out a little test blade today, the starting material was 2" /3/4" /5/8" ish, it is a cut off from a bar of damascus. I drew the bar down in to 1/4" 1" by4" ish then forged this blade out of it.
The blade ended up just over 5" of cutting edge 9.5 from tip to tang about 3/16" thick and 7/8" wide after profilingin it on the grinder.
so who else is in!MP
Excellent idea! I'm in.
I'm in. Is there a deadline, or time limit, or is this open ended?
Joshua States
www.dosgatosforge.com
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCdJMFMqnbLYqv965xd64vYg
https://www.facebook.com/dos.gatos.71
Also on Instagram and Facebook as J.States Bladesmith
“So I'm lightin' out for the territory, ahead of the scared and the weak and the mean spirited, because Aunt Sally is fixin’ to adopt me and civilize me, and I can't stand it. I've been there before.â€
I'm in. It might be a day or two before I can post pictures.
I'll tell you what I like about this challenge. It steers our mind to consider limiting factors. Some limiting factors are volume of material, as is this challenge. Others are limited number of differing materials, limited equipment used, making two identical, and limiting the time.
While setting limiting factors is not profitable, if you're into that sort of thing <img src=' http://www.americanbladesmith.com/ipboard/public/style_emoticons//rolleyes.gi f' class='bbc_emoticon' alt=':rolleyes:' /> , there is value to the exercise. It serves to make a smith more efficient in his work. For instance, if you don't think you already have limiting factors, consider the cost and availability of fuel and expensive material. You will eventually reach the limit with no return unless adjustments to efficiency are made.
I've been seemingly absent lately but it's purely because of a different scheduling adjustment. I'm working on that.
Good job Matt!
Great challenge! Count me in! I'll see what I can put together this afternoon.
Jordan
|quoted:
I'm in. Is there a deadline, or time limit, or is this open ended?
lets leave it open after all it isn't a competition, But I would say try and keep the build time to a couple of days or less.
MP
|quoted:
Good job Matt!
Thanks Lin!
Sounds like fun, Count me in as well!
Instagram @drunken.bladesmith
Well I got mine started this afternoon. I started with 2 1/4" of 3/4" round, which is just shy of 1 cubic inch, and I forged a little integral hunter with a 4" blade. The tang is a bit skinnier than I typically like because I got carried away with the guillotine tool, it's now around 1/4" square, which I believe will be sufficient for a knife of this size.
You know I am in Matt. Get started in a few days.
Brion
Brion Tomberlin
Anvil Top Custom Knives
ABS Mastersmith
well I might start over. I got the blade ground and heat treated last night. I took the blade a little thinner than I should have I was chasing the bevel a little bit.. and it took a nosedive the tip dropped about 3/8".
It looked awful and I didn't think to get a pic before I started reprofiling but I needed to grind a significant amount away to restore the profile, the blade is narrower and shorter with the tip bellow center.
I decided to leave it on the bench and look at it with fresh eyes,today, I dont have so much time into it that I would feel bad starting over.
quite annoyed with myself , I know better and yet I did it anyway.
the photos are first after grinding but before heat treat 
after re profileing 
quick pattern check 
MP
I appreciate seeing your thought processes as you evaluate your work. Thanks to all.
I spent a little time working on this today , I adjusted the profile a little more, then finished the grind and hand sanded the blade out to a dirty 800 grit. At that point I decided I liked the blade enough to finish out. So I started on the fittings , got a guard fit and round shaped and fit the first of three spacers. 
I went in yesterday afternoon and got a bit more done , I fit and sized the rest of the spacers, turned the pommel nut, fit and roughed in the shape of the handle.
I may thin the back of the handle a little bit, I can decide if I want to just oval the grip or cut facets figured i would leave it until monday to mull it over. 
