Stormcrow Posted November 29, 2012 Share Posted November 29, 2012 I haven't posted anything new in a while, but I've been busy. This isn't all I've been busy with, but it's taken a lot of the time. When the attack on our people in Benghazi happened, it angered me enough that my lips exploded into fever blisters. It wasn't just the attack, but the events on our end that led to the attack succeeding like it did that angered me. The only thing I could think to do to help was to get some quality tools in the hands of some of our warfighters in the sandbox. I e-mailed a Marine I knew and asked him if he could get me in contact with five or six warfighters, regardless of which branch of the service as long as they were in the sandbox. He said he could, and I ordered materials. I made six knives and got my friend and fellow knifemaker Tobin Nieto to make one as well to donate. A civilian customer whose order got bumped back to accommodate these and other military orders found out about what I was up to and sent me a check to cover all of the materials, as well as some other generosity for the other military orders. I documented the process as much as I could and I'll be posting all of the the pictures later. It's kind of late tonight for all of them. :) These are in the hands of some Marines that are training for a deployment next year in Afghanistan. For the knives I contributed, they were forged from 1 1/2" x 1/4" 5160 with natrual canvas Micarta and flared stainless steel rivets. The blades are around 6" long (forgot to measure them before I packed them up) and are stout. After heat treatment and fitting the handles, I slammed several of their points into an old clothes dryer (no, they aren't what tore up the dryer so badly in the pics I last posted) and they stayed solidly in the hand and were undamaged while penetrating the sheet steel. This is what they started out as: This is what they ended up as: The sheaths are coyote brown Kydex with TekLoks. I made them where they'll shake upside down pretty vigorously without moving, yet will pop out easily when pulled. There's a little bit of variation, mostly in the angle between the blades and the handles, but they're pretty close to each other. All of them shave hair. Tobin made his from 1084. He usually works in bone, antler, and wood for handles and leather for sheaths, so this was his first go at Micarta and Kydex. I helped him some on them. :) He went with olive drab with brass flared tube rivets. We took some pictures when it was mostly done with his buddy's AR as a prop. Tobin looking like Subotai: And after final tweaking and sharpening to slice newspaper right nicely: Tobin's blog: http://stonehavenknifeworks.blogspot.com/ Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
graveyard Posted November 29, 2012 Share Posted November 29, 2012 im a old soldier my self . i say ( outstanding) too you and thank,s my all ore come home! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bigfootnampa Posted November 29, 2012 Share Posted November 29, 2012 Nice Knives!!! I like them! Pretty terrific gifts! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Loneforge Posted November 29, 2012 Share Posted November 29, 2012 Nice knives and good on ya! Awesome gesture all around! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stormcrow Posted November 29, 2012 Author Share Posted November 29, 2012 Thank y'all! After cutting out the blanks, I drew the blade pre-forms out to length. Then I forged the blades out. Here they are all forged out with the final one going through its final normalizing cycle up on the fire brick. Then I cleaned up the profiles. Then I drilled out the rivet holes and the lightening holes. And ground and filed the bevels. After heat treating the blades, I cut out the handle slab blanks. Then I bolted the slabs on temporarily and rounded the corners with a router table. Then I contoured the front of the handles and beveled the front edge. Then it was time to cut the tubing to length, epoxy everything together, and flare the tubes with dies in a 1/2 ton arbor press. Good thing I drilled out those lightening holes or they would have been very handle heavy. After cleaning up the handles, I started on the sheaths. After cleaning up the remainging baked-on canola oil and sharpening, I ended up here. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tantofolder Posted November 29, 2012 Share Posted November 29, 2012 Great job Stormcrow!! I always enjoy and appreciate the work you post.and am certain it is appreciated by those who recieve your knives. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Robert Yates Posted November 30, 2012 Share Posted November 30, 2012 I would Like to Have one with Antler or Wood on it . Pm me with a price I may need a few . as a retired US Army Disabled Vet I would be honored to get one and a few for some of my brothers Serving in Iraq and Afghanistan Now . Sam Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
metalmangeler Posted November 30, 2012 Share Posted November 30, 2012 Great job thinking of others. Thank you. You did a good job keeping them similar as well. I expect the men who recieved them appriciate your thoughtfullness. Mark Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stormcrow Posted December 1, 2012 Author Share Posted December 1, 2012 Thank y'all. This design is pretty similar to the SERE knife I made for an airman about a year ago, but with Micarta and a spine that's more curved instead of angular. We named Tobin's the "War Tusk" due to its blade's similarity to a boar tusk and how its shape suggested to me an upthrust stab or slash similar to how a boar will swing its head to tear up dogs. Sam - PM on its way. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
metal99 Posted December 1, 2012 Share Posted December 1, 2012 That's pretty cool man. Great looking knives! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
windancer Posted December 2, 2012 Share Posted December 2, 2012 Good onya and well executed!' Dave Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gearhartironwerks Posted December 5, 2012 Share Posted December 5, 2012 Nice selection of knives and it's obvious your heart is in the right place. Thank you. I have one suggestion, from experience, and that is using bricks to hold blades in the ht oven tends to inhibit thorough heating. I've since gone to using 1/4" stainless pins in a stainless plate to lean the blades against to facilitate surrounding heat. My damascas was not etching evenly in the spots where the blade was held by the brick. John Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stormcrow Posted December 5, 2012 Author Share Posted December 5, 2012 John - I hardened in my gas forge. I held the end of the tangs in some tongs and kept moving the blades to ensure an even heating. They were always suspended in the air. The only time they touched firebrick was during the cooling phase of the normalization process. That's interesting about the damascus etch. I guess it makes sense that it's not just the different alloys but the hardness that makes for the pattern; after all, that's what goes on with hamons. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gearhartironwerks Posted December 6, 2012 Share Posted December 6, 2012 Storm, Who would think that the small areas of a damascas blade held upright by a soft brick at the same temp as the blade...heated in a ht oven together from ambient to ht temp would etch differently? As half owner of a Rockwell tester, I haven't done any tests on those spots. I probably won't as I know there is a difference and I don't want to waste time, effort and blades doing so. Well, maybe I would if I didn't have to make a living... So, I went to stainless pins in the oven for less contact. And, recently built a high temp salt bath. More on that later. John Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
eric sprado Posted December 6, 2012 Share Posted December 6, 2012 How do you work with that sheath material? What is it? thanks, Eric Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stormcrow Posted December 6, 2012 Author Share Posted December 6, 2012 John - There wasn't any dust from a soft firebrick clinking to the blade as it was quenched, was there? Erik - It's Kydex. You heat it with a heat gun or in an oven to soften it, then form it around the blade with some foam rubber backed with a hard plate so it conforms to the shape. Line up the two halves of the Kydex, drill holes, set the rivets, clean up the profile, and then spot heat and tweak as necessary to get the correct tightness. Simple, not to be confused with easy. :) There are a number of videos on Youtube showing the process. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gearhartironwerks Posted December 7, 2012 Share Posted December 7, 2012 Storm, I don't think so, but as you know, the time from the oven to the oil is seconds at most. John Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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