J.V.Reeve

Stunning work, Stefano !! I applaud you...

Looks like a serious working knife! Big, too! I've got some leaf springs but haven't ventured that way , yet... I'll be finishing up a coil spring knife (1065? 1095?) in the next few days and will have to post pics for a critique... Thanks for sharing.

Woohh...!! Nice!! Thanks for sharing.

Really nice stuff, Donnie! Those knives look simple but are deceptively hard to make look "right"... And it amazes me how many things can be re-born out of a lowly RR Spike. Thanks for sharing.

Dodge... Thanks for the tips on photo shooting. I have a little Kodak (2.0 megapixel). I sometimes (actually, often) shoot with the flash turned off, and play with lighting. I try to shoot with same background, lighting, distance, etc... just seems the camera is inconsistent some days... or maybe the operator is about a half a bubble off plumb those days... Glenn... Thanks. I'll get started on that...

Dodge... No TSP. As you found out it's too harsh. Quick run down: we clean the bones as much as possible, sometimes lightly simmering them. The we use either Sal-Soda (actually a "mordant" used in dying fabrics) or we use Hydrogen-Peroxide (H2-O2), but we get that at a beauty supply store where it comes in different "Volumes" (strengths). We use Volume 20, which is strong but controllable. It degreases and whitens the bones. Sometimes multiple treatments are needed. Oh yes... safety first with bone dust... stinks really well, too!! If you want to pursue it more my wife would be happy to make a tutorial and send it to you. The pics show a few things... The little knife I made for the wife. It has bone scales and black fiber spacers and brass pins and some file-work. The bone was found, so it was cleaned by Ma Nature. It polished up like ivory on the edges. The long flat piece is a weaving shuttle. It also feels like ivory. I sliced that on a bandsaw (free-hand) and shaped it (gently) on a small belt sander, then by hand. The bird skull shows how H2O2 can whiten bones. Sorry for the not-so-great pics. I need a better camera and bone is a really hard thing to get a good picture of... must be the way it reflects light, etc.

Really, Really Nice!! Bruce Looks like I need to copy the picture and put it on my shop wall for inspiration. Thanks for sharing.

Great Looking knife, Dodge! Everything about it looks right. Nice work on the scabbard, also. We do alot of bone processing (my wife and I) for various uses in our craft-work. My wife once cleaned an entire cow skull... now that was an Undertaking!!

Great looking knives, Badger!! I always like the look of the fiber spacers in handles... On a side note, I've made "neo-mammoth faux-ivory" by giving my dogs big cow bones to chew on then burying the bones in the pasture for a year or so... turns out great looking ! :)

Neat knives ! What's the handle covering on the bottom knife?

Great work, Nitro! Keep it up.

markb, great looking knife !! Isn't it something what a lowly RR spike can become? Thanks for sharing.

Nice knife! , Jens Thanks for sharing.

Chuck... Absolutely Gorgeous Knife !!!

Phil: I listed the knife for 7 days (I usually go Sunday to Sunday) I started the bidding at $24.95 and it sold for $31.00. That seemed to be right in the median for RR spike knives... But there were some really nice ones (finished with wood handle slabs, hawks, etc) that would fetch upwards of $150.00... You can go to a "Seller" research link on ebay that's called "Completed Listings" and get a good idea what's selling and for how much. Also... the RR knives seemed to be listed more in the Collectibles>Knives/Swords>Handmade catagory than in the regular "knife" section... One of these days I might get brave and start one at .99 cents on the bidding and see what happens...

Thanks for the compliments! Phil: each snake took a RR-spike. I blatantly stole the idea from Ron Weil (sp?) who is a very accomplished smith. His snakes are so alive looking!

I really like what you did with the butt end! Also like the shape of the blade... The whole knife has an almost "primeval" look to it. Nice work!

The two snakes and the obvious knife are all RR Spikes. The long letter opener (almost 13 inches) is an old nail "spike" I found here... Our little farm home was built in the late 1800's so square nails and such are always boiling up. The letter opener on the bottom is mild steel rod. My wife likes the hammer marks left on the blade sometimes...

Thanks Phil ! Yes the ebay listed ended last Sunday. I even had someone from Spain interested in it... :)

Thanks for the tips on RR steel "stuff" Chuck... I did some time on Adak also... But I was a little squirt of about 4 when we lived there... (1957-58) Pretty cool place as I remember. (pun intended). Then in 1959-60 we lived on Guam. Now that place was a blast for a 6 year old!!

Hollon... Yes I listed it on Ebay as feeler to see what might happen...Looks like it will even sell...:)

LDW... Neat spike knife! I'm just getting started with RR spike knives and they're fun to do. I live right next to an old dead RR spur, so there's lots of "inventory" to be had... After you salt water harden, do you temper it back?

That's my guardian gorilla !!! Thanks!

I tried a couple before but was frustrated with the results and didn't finish them... A good feeling when things start to come together...:)

Really nice knives, Jose. !! Thanks for sharing.