September 5, 20169 yr I found this forum on the Web. All I can say is wow. There is alot of info here. I am reading as much as I can. I have been buying production knives and blades from bladesmiths for a few years and have built a good following. Ive always been interested in building my own blades. So I've been taking yalls advice and been reading as.much as possible.
September 5, 20169 yr Howdy & welcome! Read all you can & when you post questions include as much pertinent detail as you can think up. The old-timers will still ask for additional info. Shoot, I'll even kick it off.... What sorts of blades ?
September 5, 20169 yr Author Hunting knives. I've been working with 1095 steel and then read where maybe I should have started with 1080 or so. I also have a bunch of old files and rasps that I've been toying with. Here's a 1095 skinner test fitted. Still needs to be heat treated.
September 6, 20169 yr Quite nice! Were the two in the last picture textured hot? If so, that's really striking.
September 6, 20169 yr Author No the last 2 are production blades. A file I've been working on for a pig sticker. Reading up on how to heat treat
September 7, 20169 yr Outta work. That would be a way bigger hog than I needed to be against. Planning to project it somehow?!?
September 8, 20169 yr on purpose? Some folks have a thing for mice, others it's creepy crawlies like spiders, wasps, snakes. I've worked on a commercial farm; wild hogs give me nightmares. They don't leave nothing for the next of kin.....
September 8, 20169 yr Wild pigs heck pigs in general are smart and dangerous animals but nothing like the recent "hogzilla" craze makes them out to be. I call hogs coming to raid the farm, ranch, etc. Delivery. One significant thing you see on the hog hunter shows you see on TV is how shooting one means the rest leave for good and that pack is gun shy to the point they becoe very hard to hunt. Not saying they're not dangerous, just not as dangerous as current hype makes them out to be. But hunt them with a knife? Uh uh, unless it's a bayonet on my rifle. Frosty The Lucky.
September 8, 20169 yr Author The guys catch hogs with dogs. This is the reason for the knife. They don't want to shoot guns around their dogs, risking hitting one. The guys try to Dispatch the pigs quickly so they try to find an efficient knife.
September 8, 20169 yr I used to hunt pigs on foot with a dog and a big pig sticker when I was young and dumb (and fit). Nothing quite like running a paddock in the dark, nothing but a full moon for light, chasing big pigs behind a dog to get the blood pumping. Reason you want the stickers long is to stick them in at the base of the throat, stick knife straight down, turn it over (not that you would have to with the one) and run it back up the spine. The major blood vessels in a pig that go to the head cross under the spine and you cut them both doing that. If your good you also can lance the heart. Either way Pig bleeds out quickly and internally killing it cleanly and humanely.
September 8, 20169 yr I've only hunted Javalina a few times when I was about 15 and I used my M1 Carbine. I didn't point my rifle at the dog and the dog didn't get in a scrap with the pigs, she was smarter than that and the Javalina weren't used to being run by dogs. She ran them back to us and we shot them. That's almost 50 years ago now and that pork wasn't all that good eating. Different times and pigs are smart I'm not at all surprised they know about dogs, people and guns. Frosty The Lucky.
September 8, 20169 yr Javelina are odd critters. Not much reason to eat them unless you are starving or they still have their stripes. Feral hogs are different. To them, you may be the game.
September 9, 20169 yr If you are looking for help, look into Balcones Forge. It is a Central Texas Blacksmith Association. We will be having one of our most distant meetings Sunday, Sept 25th at the Wendish Festival in Serbin, Texas. October they will be helping auction a blacksmith shop in Cibolo (I think). Not sure where November will be, but December 10th we will be hosting the group at my shop in Devine. The majority of the group are blacksmiths along with some bladesmiths mixed in. A lot of really good people that are very willing to share what they know. Jerry
September 9, 20169 yr Author The guys catch hogs with dogs. This is the reason for the knife. They don't want to shoot guns around their dogs, risking hitting one. The guys try to Dispatch the pigs quickly so they try to find an efficient knife. Devine. Shoot I'm just.minutes away. I'll be there
September 9, 20169 yr Jerry, I was in Austin this week and ended up pointing some folks toward the Balcones group, (and towards the Half Price Books at exit 251 selling copies of "The Backyard Blacksmith"; they also have one of Bealer's books)
September 13, 20169 yr On 9/9/2016 at 10:51 AM, ThomasPowers said: toward the Balcones group, I've met a couple of them at the steep hollow forge event last February, actually bought some tools from them! such a small world.... Littleblacksmith
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