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I Forge Iron

Mini Karambit from "Agricultural Steel"


norrin_radd

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Pretty sure those mower knives are 1095 .... I have a five gallon bucket full of them and have been making knives out of them as well. Like your Karambit though...might have to try a couple. looks good...

 

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Hey thanks. Yeah I think that's what I have heard on the 1095. They are pretty fun to forge with. I've got a crap ton of them too, a few different sizes. I've made a few knives out of them. First were throwing knives:

http://www.iforgeiron.com/topic/42348-forged-throwing-knife/#comment-434345

attached pics of a few others.

 

IMHO, half the fun of these is trying to get the most out of what steel there is. One of these days I'll try to make a "Damascus" billet out of some. 

I'd like to see what you make out of them.

Hay Mower Blade Stuff - 1.jpg

oldkarambit.jpg

1813ff803367ade883114082e73b6061.jpg

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That's all pretty cool. I saw a pile of them at the scrap yard, and though "ah, not enough steel to do very much with" and passed on them. You have inspired me, next time, if their still their, then I think I'll pick some up. Thanks for sharing with us!

                                                   Littleblacksmith 

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17 hours ago, littleblacksmith said:

That's all pretty cool. I saw a pile of them at the scrap yard, and though "ah, not enough steel to do very much with" and passed on them. You have inspired me, next time, if their still their, then I think I'll pick some up. Thanks for sharing with us!

                                                   Littleblacksmith 

No problem, that's great! There is not a lot there but its a fun challenge to figure out how to make them work for something.

Posted a forging video on the Karambit too just for kicks and giggles.

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6 hours ago, JHCC said:

I'll check out my local ag impliment dealer -- they're the ones who gave me the lawnmower blade that this knife came from:

IMG_20160123_220308190.jpg

Rather than a dealer JHCC ...I would go find a consumer. Meaning a farmer. Unless they too are a smith then the old knives are just junk to them. Even if they flip the blades over once after they are worn I generally find that it is just the actual knife edge that is worn. Plus ...with the knives being short as they are I find that there is rarely cracks in the metal unless they are swathing low and doing a bit of landscaping with the machine haha. You can buy em cheap ...but any person who puts up hay every year is likely to have a pile of them lying around for free. Most mowers will have at least 8 of these and they are generally all swapped out at once. Annnd while you are there you can ask them if they have any old plow/harrow disks (1080) , hay rake tines ( 1/4 inch round 1095 ...also used on some square balers) , plowshares ( the detachable leading edge is supposed to be 1080. not sure about the mold board) and rotavator blades (6150 or 50B50 both fairly similar ) .....

 

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Haven't seen one of those in a long time. A staple of Pencek/Harimau Silat weaponry.

I always liked the FMA portion of the Jun Fan/Kali stuff I trained in the best. My instructor liked Silat and incorporated a lot of it into our training. I made a Karambit from plexiglas to train with, but I think it's long gone now. It was smaller than yours tho.

Very cool indeed.

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4 hours ago, 7A749 said:

Haven't seen one of those in a long time. A staple of Pencek/Harimau Silat weaponry.

I always liked the FMA portion of the Jun Fan/Kali stuff I trained in the best. My instructor liked Silat and incorporated a lot of it into our training. I made a Karambit from plexiglas to train with, but I think it's long gone now. It was smaller than yours tho.

Very cool indeed.

Hey thanks. I've watched a few videos of people training with them and it is a very interesting style. I'm not knowledgeable in the different disciplines though.. I thought about making a dull trainer version, I did poke a nice hole in my forearm with this one, and that was before I sharpened it.

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Yea, they tend to be kinda nasty if you get yourself with them. I'm by no means an expert on Silat MA systems, but the Harimau or Tiger Claw (something to that effect, it's been awhile) style involves using these as a sort of "retractable" edged weapon that can be used in a reverse grip, or flipped outward, like a tiger would extend his claws for a swiping attack.

The finger ring serves as a pivot for the retraction motion and also doubles as an effective limb destruction striking weapon. Again, I'm not an expert and it's been a long time, but MA systems such as Silat, Kali, Eskrima, Arnis use a a lot of limb destruction tactics in their basic teaching. Also, every technique performed with a weapon can be translated into an empty hand version all the while losing none of its effectiveness for the type used.. Since the opponents limb is the closest thing to you, and an immediate threat, neutralizing it not only responds to the threat, but also creates a counter attack at the same time. It's economy in motion, and a big reason why Bruce Lee employed Filipino MA into his Jun Fan system of MA using Jeet Kune Do concepts. It would fall under one of the five methods of attack (Hand and/or foot immobilization)

Ive always been very fond of Fillipino and Indonesian MA edged weapons. The Karaumbit is a functional weapon on several levels and can be easily concealed. To be clear, I do NOT advocate carrying or using edged weapons specifically designed for harming people. That's my personal stance anyways. Defending themselves was a very large part of Indoniesan and Fillipino cultures since they were put in dire positions over centuries of attempted and successful conquests by foreign attackers. 

At this point in time, I have no real interest in learning how to make blades, but if I did, a Barong and Kris would probably be goals I would eventually shoot for. I've had some nice FMA edged weapons over the years. They're unique and are quite lethal in trained hands. They have always fascinated me in their design and function.

Great job on it. Don't stick yourself with it again tho! :D 

IMHO of course

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