Belligerence

[Stormcrow]

A new member of the Aggression family; this one was a commission from a fellow who like the looks of the original Aggression but wanted a longer blade (a foot-long blade is not enough!) and something a little less retina-searing for the handle wrap than neon orange. :D

For comparison, the original and the other brothers, all with blades approximately 12" long:



I forged the new one out of 5160 and pulled the blade out to 15", with an overall length of 21". The soapstone lines give a general idea of the final look.



After an overnight vinegar soak to eat the scale off and stock removing primarily by hand filing, I had this:



Heat treatment was my standard triple normalization, triple hardening, triple tempering process I use with 5160. After cleanup, it looked much the same as before.



And then came the handle wrap and sharpening. Two layers of paracord, with olive drab for the underlay and black for the overlay, and a three-strand Turk's head knot all impregnated with Minwax Wood Hardener. Kydex sheath with two MOLLE locks slightly offset to slant the handle a bit more forward while worn.





The olive drab doesn't show up nearly as much as the neon colors. Subtle. :)



The top clip is fully sharpened and I have a bare patch on my otherwise hirsute forearm from both sides of the blade.

[bigfootnampa]

Jim Bowie would have been proud!

[HWooldridge]

That resembles the old Spanish belduque designs from the 19th century. Great work and quite a pig-sticker!

[Stormcrow]

Thank y'all!

Funny you should mention that, Hollis. Just had a fellow inquire about the price of a similar one for him to go hog hunting with. :)

[ThomasPowers]

I once had an ex-seal come by the shop wanting to make a knife for himself. I was dreading the possible "mega death dealer" blade; but he surprised me. He wanted to make a 4" blade as he "had never run into anything he couldn't handle with a 4" blade". Nice quiet fellow...I believed him!

I sure like the look you've got nailed down Rainy Raven; I remember you developing it over the years. Both useful *and* "commercial" (as it it sells!).

[Stormcrow]

Can't get too close to zombies, though, Thomas. :D

Belligerence and Overbuilt got used for an informal photo shoot that I put up here: http://knifedogs.com/showthread.php?26363-Post-nuclear-Barbarian-Photo-Shoot&p=222457#post222457

So, a preview:









And my favorite one:



So much silliness. :D

[ThomasPowers]

Bush sword for Zombies, that one is still too small for that use case! Working on an Anglo Machete portrayal?

[HWooldridge]

I like the pics - pretty funny.

Here's a tidbit in the FWIW department. My son has killed a lot of pigs with knives (he eradicates them on ranches using dogs) and the chisel point like a tanto kills the fastest of all the designs he's tried. I think that's obviously due to the wide sharp tip that cuts during the stab.

[Aden Cassidy]

Thats because the tanto was designed to pierce through the laquered leather, copper etc linked plates of samurai armor.
Small, wedge shaped point that pierces through and then has a razor like edge.
Would've flexed less and all that than a longer, thinner more curved edge as well. Structurally more solid.

[ThomasPowers]

Save for the fact that almost *ALL* traditional historical tanto's do NOT have that tip geometry. There are a very few oddball ones like that. It was popularized by an American company that found it easier to make than doing than the more common shape and so became *the* tanto shape for folks who didn't bother to look at the hundreds to thousands of originals still around.

[darkeningpath]

That is just awesome.

[Whirly]

Great looking blade/s Mate. May have to try my hand at something along those lines in the future...dim, distant future at this stage, what with all the other things I want to make... Good to see you using trigger safety even when goofing around.

[Chris john]

Save for the fact that almost *ALL* traditional historical tanto's do NOT have that tip geometry. There are a very few oddball ones like that. It was popularized by an American company that found it easier to make than doing than the more common shape and so became *the* tanto shape for folks who didn't bother to look at the hundreds to thousands of originals still around.

TOO right Thomas nothing japanese in that tanto
Chris

[HWooldridge]

Save for the fact that almost *ALL* traditional historical tanto's do NOT have that tip geometry. There are a very few oddball ones like that. It was popularized by an American company that found it easier to make than doing than the more common shape and so became *the* tanto shape for folks who didn't bother to look at the hundreds to thousands of originals still around.

Just to clarify, my son doesn't use a "tanto" - I made him a long, fairly slender knife to reach deep into the vitals and it worked pretty well for several months, until he chipped the tip prying on something. When he brought it back for repair, I ground an angled chisel point in the hope it would be more robust. He discovered it started doing more damage the next time he used it on a pig. I also wrapped the guard into a complete loop so he can stick his index finger thru it, which tends to keep it in the hand if the dogs lose their grip and the hog runs.

The nice thing about James' knife design is that it will cut a wide path on the push, just like a wide and/ or multi-blade broadhead on an arrow.