-Quint-

Yes of course, here's a trophy from my last small game .45-70 hunt

I don't remember exactly where I got it, possibly eBay? I had it quite a while before I started this knife. But the company Mr. Powers posted looks like an excellent source, I just googled it and checked it out. They have pieces that look exactly like what I started with. Moose crown is big though, so expect to make a BIG knife lol.

As my mother always told me, "ain't nothin' wrong with ugly" I wonder why she always said that to me...

I drill out what I can and then use files and these bad boys. Amazing how well they work on horn and bone. Then I soak the whole thing for 24 hrs in a cocktail of wood hardener, turpentine, whatever stain or dye I'm using and linseed oil.

Yeah I'm definitely not done messing with the blade finish. I had it finished, then got a different idea in my head (almost put plunge lines in, glad I didn't) and briefly put it back on the grinder... then changed my mind about that and didn't take those grinder marks out yet. I'm waiting to finally make up my mind as far as what I want the finish to be, then I'll put on the finishing touches. Til then, it's staying this way. As for the blackening stuff, it's from a company called EPI (Electrochemical Products, Inc.) and the product is called SS370. I got it several years ago to experiment on my stainless .45-70 lever gun and it worked so well achieving the old time look that I was going for that I used it on my stainless Vaquero .45 colt revolver as well and I was very pleased. They're an industrial company and only sell the stuff in huge quantities but I had asked for a sample and they gladly sold me 2 small jars (2 different viscosities, one liquid, one more of a loose gel). Anyway, I experimented with it on other metals, including plain steel and it does wonderful things, that is if "antiquing" stuff is your thing.

Thanks man I appreciate that, I keep trying different grits and finishes on the blade. I originally wanted more of a forge finish but all of my fiddling around wound up taking more of that off than I wanted to.This is how it looks now, I wanted a particular rough, old, used look to it. Left lots of marks in it and darkened it with some stainless steel blackening chemical I have. I'll probably refinish it a few more times lol. Went with a flat/convex grind after mostly forging the bevels to the finished geometry. Didn't want any plunge lines on this one, they can make a blade look too modern to me for some reason and I wanted this to look like it was found in the wilderness. It's full tang, heavy steel disk pommel set into the crown, cold peened on... what else, it's straight 5160, guard and pommel are mild steel. It's about 22" overall, 13-1/2" blade. It's BIG and heavy, but very well balanced.

Made a little time recently for the first time in months. Here's a farrier rasp snake I made for my son and a big moose crown Bowie.

Theo! Yes, I'll touch base with you this week, been crazy busy. I'd still like to join the fun one of these coming Mondays.

Theo, I'd be honored to participate and do a demo. Monday's a tough day to juggle anything in, but shoot me a text and maybe I can work it out. -Cliff

Got to see this one up close the other day, it's even nicer than it looks in the great photos. Excellent work Theo!

Looked to be shaping up to a great day of demos, unfortunately I had to cut out early (kids bday party) but thanks to Theo for setting this up and for being a gracious host!

Not sure what I like most about your posts/knives; your trademark use of a checkering file, that great patina you achieve on your blades, or the awesome background textures younusenin your photography!

Loving the 5160 dirk, can't wait to see it finished.

Awesome news, I'll be stopping by for sure.

I never considered a craftsman or dewalt. I'm dumb, but not dumb enough to think I'd find what I needed from something that every hardware store has. I did search for a topic specifically covering the differences between these particular belt sizes and there wasn't one. Probably because everyone around here is already smart enough to know that it's 2x72 or bust. I got a 2x48 attachment for my 1HP bench grinder and it's fantastic so far. If I'm ever good enough or smart enough to need more than what this is providing me I'll gladly pay a "graduation tax".

Ah, thank you for the more accurate info. I don't recall where I read that they were 1045, but I'm sure it wasn't as reliable a source as you are. Now I won't forget. Not that I think I'll be messing with RR spikes once this batch I have now are each mangled into one thing or another, but ya never know...

Right now I'm just practicing. If I intended to make something potentially useful, I'd not take my chances with a RR spike. I didn't realize he was being sarcastic, I thought maybe he was curious about the particular spikes I have. I know even the highest carbon spikes out there aren't ideal for expecting great results from heat treatment, but as I said, I'm just practicing.

Well in my completely inexperienced opinion, the edge got pretty hard. A file and sandpaper don't bite it at all, it took a nice edge and has a nice audible ring to it when tapped. All very unscientific, I know. Honestly it seems to have hardened more than I expected it to. These spikes that I have are marked "HC", but I read somewhere that the HC just means that they're higher carbon than a standard spike, maybe around 1045? But that it doesn't really stand for HIGH CARBON. I love this place. You can get a wealth of knowledge, a ton of criticism, a thousand pats on the back, grumpy curmudgeon "advice" and still regularly bust out laughing more than occasionally

Very amateurish and unscientifically... I got it red and non magnetic, quenched the cutting edge and the poll alternatingly, left the body hot. Cleaned off enough to see the colors, let the hot body run straw into the cutting edge and then dunked the whole thing. Body wound up bluish, edge and poll were straw-ish. This was my first blade of any kind, and my first try at heat treating.

Made my first tomahawk today. First ANYTHING out of a RR spike actually. It was certainly a learning experience.

Lol, yeah they're like underfed doggies over here, funny looking brown greyhounds... Well, none at all by me now that I'm a city boy, but out on Long Island there are plenty.

The ones I put in my 12ga are only an ounce.

This 3 pound slug of 4140 is going to be my first forged hammer.

Hello all, I'm in the market to upgrade from my HF piece of junkola (barely qualifies as a sander, never mind a grinder... they must use rocking horses to rate the power of their motors) to one of the attachments available for bench grinders and I'm wondering what the various opinions are out there on the advantages/disadvantages of one size as compared to the others. I'm assuming the 48" belts have cooler working advantages over the 36" belts, as well as belt life advantages, but is it worth the $100 price difference? As far as the width, I guess that's a matter of personal preference and also partially dictated by the type of work expected to be done. I know the easy curmudgeon type answer to my query is "tighten up your panties and build your own 2x72", but that's not really an option for me just yet...

Really nice job Ausfire! Love it.