Karl

A knife to suit the owner.. its great to know the knife you make will be truly cherished!

hey, looks like it's gonna be a nice knife.
I am curious as to why you want sharpened false edge on the knife, what purpose will it serve? Will it be sharpened at a different angle to the main edge?
Can't wait to see how it looks finished.
Karl

Very impressed!
what a fantastic use of a RR spike.
did you just use a hot chisel to do the handle pattern?

Do you have a photo?
they could be a decking spike...

:)
Thanks for the feedback guys, much appreciated.

Hey everyone.
I recently made this knife for a friend and gave it to him for his 21st birthday.
It's made from a coil spring with a flat ground blade just under 6 inches.
the guard is bronze, the handle is hardwood with leather and antler spacers, and a brass tube and antler pin.
I'd love to hear what you guys think about it.

It turned out to be a very nice knife.
good job mate!

Very nice blade, can't wait to see it finished.
has it got a sharpened false edge or was that just from the light in the photo?

It may not be fancy but it's still well made, and quality is beauty.
I'd personally love to have a knife like this one in my collection.
And the best thing about it is that you'll never be afraid to use it.

Thanks, Karl.

Really?! that's awesome.
I will definitely have to take you up on that offer,
though, after seeing some of your work i think i'll learn alot more from you than you will from me :)

Well done on this one
thats a knife i'd love to have in my collection.
It looks like it just wants to be used.
with a good sheath it would be perfect.
I'm sure your dad will love it mate

haha yeah i'm an Aussie, This is the best country to live in!
I've never been to townsville tho, i will have to sometime

Well the monkey tree is a type of pine isnt it, or perhaps related to pine trees?
so if i am right i reckon that once the timber had been seasoned and stabilised and all that it would make a very beautiful knife handle.
if it was me i'd be grabbing some of that tree anyway, you never know what u will need it for down the track.
happy salvaging

A very nice knife!
and interesting colours too, what metals did you use?

Hi,
Firstly i'd like to say that i really like what you've done, with both knives.
I'm very impressed.
But i'm also a bit naive when it comes to forge welding and the like, and very keen to learn.
So could someone explain to me what's that darker line near the edge, and why dean should be nervous about it?

i love it how something so beautiful can come from minerals and fire... and a man with a hammer.
Thanks for sharing mate.

Karl

What a great idea! I wish I'd thought of it.
It looks stunning.
Have you used it yet?

This is a really nice knife mate,
I'll be making one of my own as soon as i can.
Thanks for sharing.

Karl

Thanks guys,
i just realised there was something i forgot to mention.
I dont have a proper anvil yet, i just use a ripper from a tractor, and i'm interested in the Doug Slack anvils.
But i noticed that the detailed sketch for the 42kg anvil shows a hardie hole, and the 97kg anvil doesnt.
So would i be right to assume the 97kg anvil doesnt have a hardie hole?

G'day!
My name is Karl Buhse and I'm from Redland Bay, south of Brisbane QLD.
I'm a hobby blacksmith(wish i was a blacksmith by trade) and I've been interested in blacksmithing ever since a smith at Timbertown made me a horseshoe with my name stamped on it in 1996(I was 5).
I would really love to come along to the A.B.A.Qld meetings but i work on saturdays, so obviously i need to quit my job.
Anyway its great to know there are so many keen Aussies on here and see some of you around maybe.

Cheers

Wow thanks heaps for that.
that pretty much answered all my questions
now all i have to do is find my own tine somewhere
cheers

Oh true,
Thanks

hey,
for a while now i've been looking to either make or buy a new anvil, mainly because the only anvil I've ever had is actually a ripper from a tractor.
(much like this one) http://ruraltraders.com.au/hd-ripper.jpg

Recently i read a post by someone in this forum saying that you can make an anvil from a forklift tine(fork) and i really liked this idea but having never made an anvil before I'm not entirely sure how to go about doing it.
So what I would like to know is if anyone has made an anvil like this, or has any ideas on making one. Also if anyone could post photos of one or even plans to build it that would be appreciated.

Thanks

I have a question about draw filing.
I'm left handed so should i be holding the file in my right hand? or is EVERYONE supposed to hold it in their left hand?

I once read a book on knife making called Knifemaking: A Complete Guide to Crafting Knives, Handles & Sheaths written by Bo Bergman who specialises in making Sami knives. Unfortunately i cant remember the exact steps he used when finishing his knife handles but I'll give you a general idea and maybe someone else who's read the book and correct me.(also I've put a link to the book on amazon so everyone knows what I'm talking about)

Anyway basically the author said that for the best possible finish, once you have sanded the handle smooth(600g or 480g should be fine enough)
The next step is to soak the timber in warm water, wait for it to completely dry and then rub it down with steel wool until it's smooth.
the idea is that when the timber gets wet all the fibres on the surface will stand proud, when they dry the will harden in that position and then you can shave them off with the steel wool.
But you wont get it perfectly smooth first time so it needs to be repeated. i think the author said he would do it 3-5 times.

for coating the handles the author used a mixture containing equal amounts of linseed oil and gum turpentine.
he would rub this mixture into the timber until its saturated, then he would leave it for an hour or so and rub more of the mixture into the timber until was once again saturated.(this was repeated a few times as well)

The coating will take around 5 days to be fully cured but at the end you will have a stunning finish which is also completely waterproof and you can still feel the timber when you hold it.

I hope this is useful

Here's the link for the book
http://www.amazon.com/Knifemaking-Complete-Crafting-Handles-Sheaths/dp/188737437X