A recent ride... much needed again...

 Sometimes it is outright disturbing... there´s so much going on and on, and work to do in a shitty job and messy voluntary work and stuff and a bike that keeps constantly falling apart that I just seem to be unable to get a regular ride in. But the other day I had fixed the old steed so that it worked quite sweetly and I rode to work and back on a detour.

 And as always, the soothing effect of the forest happened in an instant. That moment I left the road and set my tires in the dirt. That moment when the noise and ruckus subsides. That moment, when the singing of the songbirds and the croaking of crow and raven, and the eerie, faraway cry of the buzzard fills the air... That moment when all your fears of foul weather and the petty sorrows that ride high upon our backs simply dissolve into nothing. That moment when you realize that life is all the more complicated and all the more simple than you could ever know, and that it´s simply right that way, or rather, it is neither right or wrong, but simply is. That moment when you could laugh your head off when you look at yourself and all your little distractions that you deemed so important.

 That moment, when you look over darkening hills in not exactly nice weather, and you feel cozy despite the fact that you´re soaked through. And you sit on a stump, and you rode down a trail, and that is all that matters.

 Yes, I rode some gnarly trails through the thicket, over hill and dale, and it all passed as if in a frenzy.

 As if in a fancy, in a dream, I sat down in the underbrush, stashing my bike away, and just breathed for a while.

Then I got back on the trail and rode over the heath...

 To that oak that had welcomed me ever since I was a child and still offers me its serene hospitality...

 I sat down there and had a flask of tea and played around a bit with my new #Iämpedahler waldmetz.

 ...in my true living room...

What more do I need? Time is running short for man. I´d rather spend it with things that matter, at least for me...

Iämpedahler waldmetz (Ennepetal forest knife)

 This is one of the latest incarnations of a breed I simply love to make these days - and it seems others do actually approve as well, for some already found a home elsewhere... ;-). This one´s a tester, which I made from silver steel for a change to further the game a bit... selective and conservative temper of about 58HRC (the steel with a carbon content of 1% can take a lot more), but that way it gets really, really sharp. It will be a personal eating and snack knife for me. The bevel is a high convex grind to zero.

 The handle is a bit of a pain in the arse to make, for it never comes out straight... ;-) but slowly I get the gist...

 Personally I like this twist a lot, even if it is quite basic and of course I have a lot to learn still... but I am getting there...

The leaf structure is made with the peen of a Scandinavian smithing hammer... I am currently dreaming up other design possibilities as well... we´ll see how it all comes out...

The knife´s now in for a spoon and fork and awl to go in a pouch.

Overall the knife design is surprisingly complex and handles a lot of tasks quite well. Lacking any scales or handle materials makes it easy to clean as well as really sturdy. It also does not stain as fast, even if it gets a patina. It is suited for eating, snacking and camp cooking as well as lighter to heavier bushcraft tasks, and the handle is big enough to offer you a decent hold on the knife. The downside is of course that the handle gets hot quite easily and cold as well... but you could easily tie it to a stick to use it as a makeshift harpoon or for harvesting leaves or fruit from a tree. Also it looks pleasing to my eye at least... I like it and want to work on the design more. I will keep you posted!