Absolutely wonderful tutorial. The knife turned out to be beautiful. Really nice work.

I have a couple of questions for you.

You said you peen the edges of the guard. Are you talking about the bottom edges of the slot or the top?

Also, you mentioned that you hammered the guard onto the shoulders. Would it not fit prior to this?

Not criticizing, just curious since you've achieved a really nice fit on the guard/blade. This is really useful informations and it is appreciated.

Thanks.

WOW that turned out amazingly the highlights and lowlights in the wood accent the pattern beautyfully i am thinking about ordering some of that wood, is it consistantly good quality? what is it like to work with?

Hi Josh,
I got that piece from Texas Knife Makers supply, and I've always been happy with their ironwood. They seem to be out of the good stuff right now, but you can go instead to http://arizonaironwood.com/

Maybe this picture will show what I'm talking about better.



This is the side that faces the blade. Can you see the dimples from the ball peen hammer? They expand the metal at the edges of the slot, and make the slot slightly smaller. Then the guard is driven onto the tang. Then the guard is taken off and the surface ground down until the dimples are gone.


I always try for a fit tight enough that the guard has to be pressed (or hammered) on. This just helps guarantee a good, gap-free joint. I guess I forgot to mention that the tang is slightly tapered. It's thickest at the guard location.

Thanks to everyone who commented! Your kind words are much appreciated. :)

This is the side that faces the blade. Can you see the dimples from the ball peen hammer? They expand the metal at the edges of the slot, and make the slot slightly smaller. Then the guard is driven onto the tang. Then the guard is taken off and the surface ground down until the dimples are gone.


I always try for a fit tight enough that the guard has to be pressed (or hammered) on. This just helps guarantee a good, gap-free joint. I guess I forgot to mention that the tang is slightly tapered. It's thickest at the guard location.

Well, I just got the pics from the pro photographer yesterday:

You are a MASTER . that was an amazing journey through your craft, long may you inspire us beginners. awesome, many thanks again.

Beautiful! Very nice. Thank you for the extra effort in showing the process.

Phil

I came in after this journey was finished, but what a beautiful knife. True craftsmanship. Truly Awesome.

that is über nice...

Stunning... That is a fine knife!

Absolutely stunning work.


Peter

Nice! I'm looking into making knives and this has given me a good idea on how it works. Thanks!

Phillip - Thank you for showing so much the forging process of this beautiful knife. I'm just starting to forge my own blades and this thread has become invaluable.

Haven't been around in a while so I'm coming in really late on this one. Because of a slow connection speed, I usually don't take the time to check out pic heavy threads. But from the first post this one captured me! Outstanding work! I confess beforehand that I am going to steal your guard setting jig design. That's the simplest idea. I've learned a few things from this thread. Thanks for posting!

I'm relatively new at bladesmithing, but i was wondering what kind of "etching" you did that brought out the patterning so beautifully. I search the forums for things but there are only so many hours in a day and the search function doesn't help all the much. Is there a link somewhere on here of how to do it? This is a stunning blade. I just hope that someday I'll be up to making one half as nice.

I'm relatively new at bladesmithing, but i was wondering what kind of "etching" you did that brought out the patterning so beautifully. I search the forums for things but there are only so many hours in a day and the search function doesn't help all the much. Is there a link somewhere on here of how to do it? This is a stunning blade. I just hope that someday I'll be up to making one half as nice.

Hi,
I use ferric chloride. I make mine using powder, but I forget the recipe offhand. You don't want it too strong, or the steel will look ugly. I like multiple, long, slow etches.

Phillip