Robakyo

I like your work Theo. You are always pushing beyond your own comfort zone. Which is allowing you to hit new personal bests! Thanks for sharing! :) Robert

Wow! My first impression was san mai. That is a very "deep" looking hamon. Great looking blade. Robert

These are some fine looking knives. Wish the pictures were bigger. :( There's a profile or two I wouldn't mind copying. ;) Robert

Very nice! I like everything about this one. How much work is it to make your own Micarta? I've read an article about making denim micarta, and even went as far as buy some fiberglass resin, but haven't jumped in yet. I suppose it is time to get my feet wet. Your scales look really cool. I really like your leather work too! Robert

Wow! That is a show stopper. I really appreciate the amount of work that went into this knife. Thanks for posting this. Robert

That's a real beauty. Your style is unmistakable. Robert

Considering that you did normalize the blade three times, I suppose that the cross-section has a lot to do with its' tendency to warp. I attempted to straighten a blade once during the tempering process, by clamping the blade to a piece of steel, with mediocre results. IIRC Basher offered advice to another member here about straightening a blade immediately after an oil quench. He explained why this is possible, but I am too much of a novice to remember what the technical terms were. But by following his advice, I had excellent results. Robert

Too bad about it breaking. It was looking good. The thing about using oil is that after the quench, you have a window of opportunity to straighten the blade. I was very surprised by the malleability of the steel after the quench. I used gloves after the first few times I tried this. :lol: Did you normalize it before you hardened it? Not only does normalizing refine the grain structure of the steel, but from what I've come to understand from reading on IFI, it also reduces the chance of excessive warping. I'd really like to see your heat treating set-up. It sounds like a successful design. Something I really need to use. Robert

That was a very successful experiment! I really like this new direction you've taken. Great looking short sword. Robert

It could be blue or aquamarine quartz. Quartz that contains titanium has a blue hue to it. Also, Blue quartz is and has been mined in Virginia, I think. Robert

That is really well done. It goes well with the sheath you made too. How does it feel when you hold it. I suppose that the, I'll call the guard a sub-hilt for lack of a better description, sub-hilt is positioned between the middle and ring finger.?.? The twisting was also a nice touch. Robert

With your blower pulling in the combustion gases, would that effect the efficiency or strength of your flame? Seems like you are recycling spent gases, so it is starved for oxygen. Moving the blower away from the exhaust would improve your results significantly. Robert

Hey JMC, nice looking ODC! I like what you did with the handles. The stuff I've been using to stain wood is vinegar that has reached the point where it has lost its power. It is extremely dark from all of the oxides dissolved in it. I also added some iron filings to improve the color. It still produces an effect much lighter and redder than I expect. I'm glad you like this use for vinegar. I'm sure it has been "discovered" before. Just looking at that dark reddish liquid makes you think "what if." Robert

Seriously impressive axe! I'm thinking that the shape of the handle contributes to the cutting force also, but that axe head is lethal. I would be happy to carry that along in the woods. The video really illustrates what a high quality axe can do. Robert

Really nicely done Theo. Your Blacksmith's knife has some fine lines. I'm really liking your filework. It has a spontaneous quality to it that really compliments the organic nature of the Blacksmith's knife handle. I see that your sheath is unfinished. I noticed the hole in the back of the sheath where the belt loop will eventually be. But your leather-work is looking good too. Robert

Question to Thomas: What would you do to make the point more efficient? Drop the spine edge of the tip? Considering that it has been tempered, the door is open to further modifications and fine tuning. I don't think it would ruin the lines of the blade either. Just trying to grasp the finer points of knife design and the reasons some are better at a particular task than others. James, this looks like a comfortable, nicely shaped knife. Great use of materials. I'm sure the preacher will get years of service from it. Robert

What a fantastic looking knife/short sword. The action of your hamon is unreal. What are you going to make to house it? Sheath or scabbard? Very inspiring work! Robert

Nice work JMC. If you used vinegar to eat off the forge scale, you have a really nice, convenient stain as a by-product. I've used that on many of my knife handles. Vinegar would bring out the details of the cable pattern weld too. Anyhow, I put on a coat of this "stain" and once dry, put on a second coat with 0000 steel wool. I think that this weakened vinegar solution acts upon the steel wool causing some of the grain structure of the wood to darken. Other areas are lighter. It creates a nice contrast. I'm not sure, but I think that there is some kind of oil in the steel wool to protect it from rusting. This might be the cause of the dark color imparted to the grain structure. I'm not a scientist. Only theorizing. Once dry, I apply Linseed oil with more steel wool. Sometimes, if the raised grain is too rough, I will first use a strip of worn out 220 grit, which has a tendency to create highlights where there is a plane change. Faux distressed? Anyway, this creates a worn/used look. After that, you could use your tung oil. Even with that, I've used steel wool with good results. I use paste floor wax instead, because that is what I have on hand. Then buff with a soft cloth. Presto! All of my scales have been salvaged from pallet wood, so I was willing to experiment. Again, nice looking knife. I haven't been able to make a weld stick with cable yet. I keep mashing it. And I'm running out of cable! :lol: Robert

Wow! Really nice work. I really like the style, the profile, Filework, and Leather work. What a great looking piece! How does it perform?

How is it that you are allowed to post pictures that are incredibly huge? In order to upload pictures of my work, I had to reduce them to the point where details were utterly obliterated. Twice I've tried to view your pictures, scrolling around the screen is really tedious. I was unable to click on the save button to view your images in a separate window. So, I can't really comment on the one picture I "Saw". It was viewed in bits and pieces.

Great looking knife. I really like the shape of the guard. To me the top arc is unexpected, but flows nicely and adds interest to an already nice profile. I also like the peened texture on the blade that is echoed by the guard. Robert

Hey Trip, looks like you are comfortable with the forging of a blade, and it looks very useful, but I am wondering about your definition for tempering. This sounds like the hardening phase to me. If our vocabulary differs, or you just didn't elaborate, I apologize. On the other hand, I'd hate to see you get injured because you were unfamiliar with the fundamentals of Heat Treating Steel. I am an absolute Novice, but have read and re-read the HT stickies. Steve Sells, with contributing comments from other Illustrious individuals who are also Highly Knowledgeable about the subject of HT (Heat-Treatment), made all this information available for free! Again, I apologize if I sound in any way condescending, but I don't know you. Let me just say again: Hey, Cool Knife. :ph34r: Robert P.S. The whole subject of tempering led me to IFI in the first place. Lucky me! ;)

Nice looking blade. Seems like it could take some punishment. I like the brass guard spacer with the filework. Your fit and finish look really good. I think that leaving the texture from forging the guard and the pommel end was a good choice. Cleaning that up wouldn't have looked as interesting. Someone in this area is an actual Scabbard maker? That is really fascinating and surprising! Robert

Outstanding work! Your pattern is classy and tight. The profile is really nice too. The lines just flow smoothly. Robert