The Friday after that Ennepetal hammer - In we met at the Bethaus smithy again, and Nick brought his first knife with him... makes me proud, somehow! The blade we forged together in a Khukuri / En - Nep / Kopis style from cold - rolled file steel with a conservative selective (edge quench) temper, for it shall be a chopper also. He already tried to sharpen it... and I daresay we have to do that together, but no harm done at all, he has got nothing at all to do it with, and for that, it was great. The handle is yew, riveted against a buttcap and a bolster from brass.
Then we lit up forge, and I showed him how to forge those snakes that are so popular with the kids:
I was amazed about the product. Really lively, with a good feel for the lines... respect, bro!
I forged a three-layer-laminate that went not too well and started a new damascus.
Nick, however, had a go at a spring steel knife for his woman...
The damascus blade with some raw filing.
I also normalized an old silver plate to forge a buttcap for my licce integral, and quenched the damascus blade (36 layers file and crucible saw / shear steel, by the way). Nick would have liked me to do some more tutoring, but I am simply confident he can manage without;-) and I was being a bit short while forgewelding, for I am learning still, myself, and had to concentrate a lot. I hope I keep the balance right!
Then evening came, and Nick took the bus, and I cleaned up, had a chat with Volker, and made for home.
These days my life seems to be brim full with experiences and encounters, sometimes it is stressing me out, but, for the most part, I really like the fact that I, unlike so many others, have the privilege to live a hard life on the edge, but a real life. Meeting real people, doing real work experiencing real back sores, real hunger, real saturation and real satisfaction, real grief and real joy. I hope that this will amount to more than the sum of its parts...;-)
Those are the adventures of Mr. Fimbulmyrk, in bushcraft and blacksmithing, mountainbiking and hiking, reenactment, writing, singing, dancing, stargazing and having a piece of cake and a coffee. Pray have a seat and look around you, but be warned - the forest´s twilight is ferocious at times.
Beliebte Posts
-
Maybe you know this feeling: The woods call you, call you out into their solemn embrace. They call you in your everyday business, in work ...
-
On Solingen knife expo I had the privilege to meet with Lukas Mästle - Goer, a tutor in Historical European Martial Arts (HEMA), workin...
-
This is the common birch polypore, fomitopsis betulina, also known as birch bracket or razor strop. For a bushcrafter, it is a treasure ...
-
Kai has done it again! When I was on a visit at his place recently, he presented me his newest project. 1.2842 steel, blade 76 mm long,...
-
On Sunday, Kai, his girlfriend Marie and myself met to have a cuppa and a cake at the various smithies and museums in the Muttental. We f...
-
Cool thing about the Vic is that it is totally inspiring arsing around carving. Just occurred to me- sometimes you maybe want a gift for the...
-
Today I have reached another milestone in my learning. Just started my first fire with flint and steel. The striker I forged myself ages a...
-
On Friday I decided it was time to get in some endurance riding... Oh, yes, it´s that time of year again, miles of boring road riding to ke...
-
Now, this is my new Hadseax. Blade is Zwissler seven-bar damascus from tank bearing, tank cannon and stuff;-), some 95 mm long, the spine i...
-
Last weekend Martin from Ireland came visiting to do some forging and general horsing around;-), and yeah, here´s the story;-). Martin a...