Zanshin

Awesome!!! I would like to see the blade better, the colors are beautiful!!!

Thanks a lot, Darren

I am sorry Frosty, as I said, I really don't know anything about anvils. I was just worried to get screwed...

Thank you guys. Is it worth 300 if it's 150 lb?

Thaks again

Francesco

Hi folks,
I found this anvil for sale but I cannot recognize the stamp on it. I am not an expert but it doesn't look a high quality one to me. The guy asks for 400 but I still don't know sizes and weight. Anyone can help me?

Thanks guys

Francesco

Thank you, Tanto!! (The next order I have to make is a tanto folder...)

I am sorry, what is that? I tried to google it but I didn't find anything about anvils...

Full contact = Kendo

I am sorry Larry but kendo is not the only martial arts with sword with full combat fighting. SCA fighters use (or used, I don't know if they do it still) to fight full contact with full armor and rattan reproduction of XIV-XV century EUROPEAN weapons. It is showed on the book I bought when I started to make armors for my association: tecniques of medieval armors reproduction, by Brian R. Price who is also a member of SCA. When I was in Italy, i performed lots of full contact fightings with XV century STEEL Italian and German swords daggers and pikes, aways and only in full armor. As soon as I can find the links I can show you the videos.

Anyways, Unfotunately I never had the chance to make a rapier even if i always wanted to, making this kind of hilts without the help of an electric welder it would be very challenging (for me) and fascinating. Can I ask you to post pics WIP if you ever decide to start one?
Thanks

Francesco

I am drooling...

A sincere thought from a new one of this forum. Hope you will heal soon...

Do you also practice full contact with rattan swords?
Anyways, if you can post a pic of what you need I may can help you, i have been made full contact steel practice swords for awhile... But mainly for XV century...

Thanks a lot, Jim!!

You are very welcome, guys!!! I am glad to know that I have been useful.

 

But, where are my manners? I started looking at this thread to make my compliments for the axe and, after writing I forgot... I am so sorry...

 

I love your axe, Antigoth!!

 

Francesco

I like this knife.

Thank you Metalmangeler, I liked it too, after having hated at the beginning. I was so sad when I sent it...

Very nice. How was working with the tooth?

Thanks Theo. Ivory is one of my favorite material, it's beauty at its pure state. Warthog is slightly softer than mammooth and so it's hippo. But, still hard and beautiful materials. Better not to work them with high speed machines: heat can make them crack. and I like how it yellows a little over time. Love it!!

Hi folks,

I really, really need to find an anvil in Las Vegas , used because I don't have so much money right now, I just moved... Can anyone help me???

Thanks

Francesco

I am having really hard time closing my mouth... I am sooooo impressed!!!!

I am a luthier and I have been studying maples for a pretty long time. The curly pattern in ANY wood is due to the wave pattern the grains. The deeper are the curls, the wider are the "waves". Now, when you cut and shape the wood, you interrupt the grains. Try to draw a constant waved line and then draw a line which goes a little bit underneath the top of the waves. That's, simplified, pretty much what happens to the grains: you create a lot of short, interrupted, weak curls instead of a long, strong grain. That is what makes the curly woods weaker, in fact, in furniture making/carpentry, the curly woods are discharged because they are not good. And they are very unstable, being, curly grains, a defect of the wood, indeed, because they tend to return at the natural straight status (even though they will never return) so if cut really thin, those kind of wood will warp and crack very easily. Even making scales for a knife (6-8 mm) can be at risk of cracks if intensively used just for humidity adjustments, no matter how old is the wood. You cannot believe how many times I heard huge "ka-boom" on old and new double basses and cellos and violins in my master workshop when humidity changes and woods move, resulting into big cracks in curly maples and poplars. Brocken necks... We use to cope over sizing some parts like necks or sides is we want to use a pretty wood but not always it's possible.
So, bigfootnampa is right, but, next time if you want to use such this wood (and I can totally understand, it's so beautiful...) you can laminate it: cut two stripes from the same piece all along the length and use the inner part of the cut as the external side of the handle so you will have matching patterns on both sides and the direction of grains will make the tension on the two pieces invert each other (this will add a little strength although not so much) then glue them onto a stripe of another wood, I usually utilize rosewood to change a little the colors and because it's a lot stronger, but you can use also a plain grained maple or walnut or whatever you want. The sandwich, even if made using a thin stripe in the middle, is a LOOOOOOT stronger than the single piece. And more stable. I hope this helps...

Francesco

You could also contact a company that makes punches and have your symbol done onto the punch. Then, you just have to hammer it before hardening and that's it!

Yah, it is pretty unusual as a handle shape. But at the end, it fits the hand much better than it looks like! Thank you , Frosty

Thanks Robert. Yes, it took long time to finish this one, it is not my most time consumer knife though... :)

Thank you Chrisopher, I think so too. :rolleyes:

This is an old project, I made it after a friend gave me a warthog tooth as a gift. It was pretty big and I didn't  know what kind of blade to make on this kind of handle so, after struggling a little, a friend helped me to design this blade. At that time it was not my kind of blade as that was not my kind of handle but, after working a little on it, I learned to love those.

After designing, It came clear to me that it would be a heavy duty knife, so I made it from a 4wd truck spring leaf, 6 mm thick to handle batoning since it has a little extra weight on the tip due to its shape. Left Brut de forge on flat surfaces, selected hardening with etched hamon, holow ground. Inox bolster, hippo ivory collar, nickel and blackened maple veneers spacers. Blade length 16.5 cm. Oal: I don't remember. I believe it's skinning some animal now, as the customer recently said...

 

Thanks for looking

 

Francesco

I think they are all good reasons!!! I like the bacon comment!!!

 

I think it will handle batoning just fine. Beautiful work, looking forward to see it finished!!

For a liner lock, as already said, there is a detent micro sphere pressed into the spring/liner at te upper corner usually that "falls" into a little blind hole drilled in the flat face of the blade in closed position. It looks not enough but if done properly it can stop the blade from opening quite well and safely. For the lock back: in closed position it works exactly like a slipjoint, with the head of the spring pressing down the heel of the blade beyond the pivot so that the blade rises inside the handle. Although, I designed, some months ago, a lock in closed position that works perfectly, but it is not simple because you have to do it very last thing on the knife, so if you give just a single file stroke too much you can jeopardize the whole thing.

 

I attached a couple of pics. This is the way I use, I like to reduce the quantity of pieces in my knives. The spring is one piece with the back. In those pics it is oversized, I carefully grind it after HT to reach the strength I desire. This way of making the mechanism allows me to reduce a little the size of the butt of the handle. I put just one pin at the end of the spring to force it upwards. This spring is MA5M (420C) but you can make it in any carbon steel you want. I'd rather use C45 (1045 I think) because it decreases the possibilities of breaking since I usually close my folders with rivets and not with screws.

 

This is just my experience I hope it helps

 

Francesco