My link to Flickr Slide Show
This knife took on a life of it's own after I got the blade forged. I had recently bought a couple of books about early knives in America and so many fittings were forged. That, plus the fact that I have been forging a lot at my day job, inspired me to forge my parts.
I wanted it to look forged but not exactly rough either, if you know what I mean. So, I took some railroad spikes and used them for my material. I've found them to be a source of clean, tough material. You will see the general progression of forging the parts, to partial finish, to etched and on the knife during this short slideshow. You'll notice that I did a lot of the initial grinding while the parts are laid out and straight, then went back in the forge and did the curling. Very little actual hammering was done to get the curls. I DID use the hammer (not tongs or pliers), but held the piece over the anvil edge, tapped the end down to start the curl, then flipped it and lightly tapped it back into itself. Those who have performed this simple blacksmith move will know what I mean. By doing this at a very controlled heat, it minimized the scale since I already had the pieces cleaned up. As I mentioned, there was no hammering done on the anvil at this point so there is no more hammer marks either. This was suprisingly easy to clean up.
I will say this. I had to go ahead and drill/mill the slot and flatten the guard before I put the curls in the guard and similarly, had to flatten, drill, and fit the pin for allignment and security in the butt cap before I curled it. The mass of the thicker areas was what made this possible. I used light blows and heated only as hot as I needed, no more. This saved any warpage or distortion in the guard slot area and the butt cap seat, both being thicker than the areas to be curled. With the work I had invested in each piece, I was apprehensive about putting it back in the forge for these last steps, but I can see no other way to achieve the same results without greatly multiplying the amount of time and work in each piece.
Each of the pieces was etched in ferric for some long sessions to matt the surface. I hope this might give someone ideas for future projects. If you have any questions, just holler.
Lin
This is truly outstanding work! Thank you for posting your work description and the Flickr slideshow.
Dan Cassidy
Journeyman Smith
Send an email to Dan
Lin,
Very nice,specially the forged fittings!
Lin
That is a truly outstanding piece! Thanks for sharing it with us!
Excellent Lin, and thanks for the in-progress pics you sent. Is this going to be your performance bowie? Also did you etch the fittings? I really like it, nice work.
Brion
Brion Tomberlin
Anvil Top Custom Knives
ABS Mastersmith
Hi Mr Rhea,
Could you please adopt me! I can use a hammer ( well sort of ) sweep, cook ( sort of ) I have a funny accent ( I can translate it ) I'm very quiet for an Aussie! ( I do like beer however ) Seriously, what a fantastic knife Sir. Thankyou for sharing it. Inspirational! I have just put in an order for some scrolling tongs.
Cheers Keith
Beautiful work Lin.
Dale
Dale Huckabee
Journeyman Smith
dalehuckabeeknives.weebly.com
Thank you for the comments.
Keith, you can visit, but addoption is a bit much <img src=' http://www.americanbladesmith.com/ipboard/public/style_emoticons//biggrin.gi f' class='bbc_emoticon' alt=':D' /> . I'll point out that I did not use scroll tongs but they could be used, certainly.
Brion, I plan for this to be my performance Bowie. Not sure yet but probably wont have time to change my mind. Yes, I etched the fittings for about 1 1/2 hours neutralizing between three 30 minute etches. I did not scrub or polish in between. I wanted it to have an oxidized surface and eventually it will take on a gun metal look as some call it today.
The fact that I am intending to use it in a competition and the knife has the typical 10 X 2 X 15 limits was a challenge to squeeze all of the handle curves in that size limit. Over all the size limit gave me cause to think more carefully about the final shape of the fittings right down to the peened tang button. For instance, if the tail of the butt cap followed the angle of the stag, it would have been too cramped on the hand so I swept it back outward and around the pinky finger while staying within the size boundary. This is an example of form following function. It also serves to lighten the piece, since removal of material at the right places just naturally lightens and balances it. You might be surprized but the physical balance point is the ricasso on this knife, just in front of the guard.
Well Lin, it will certainly be one of the best looking bowies there. Actually the balance does not surprise me. I am finding that little tweakings here and there can really affect the balance and overall fell of a piece. I look forward to seeing it in person. Mine is still in pieces.
Brion
Brion Tomberlin
Anvil Top Custom Knives
ABS Mastersmith
What a beautiful piece! Thanks for sharing this.
Brian
I plan for this to be my performance Bowie. Not sure yet but probably wont have time to change my mind.
This knife just keeps getting better and better.
Lin, this piece is one of my favorites. Thanks for the WIP.
