On the bench...

Just a quick follow-up, because I am short of time these days, and I want to notify you I am still alive;-). Lotsa projects going on....

From left to right: A flower pot heart from mild steel, bushcraft whittler from train wagon leaf spring steel, hiking and snack knife from Zwissler Damascus, tank cannon and 100Cr6, heart for the flower pot, Bush Puukko from crucible steel, a longer camp knife from crucible steel and another heart pendant.

I keep you posted!

On the bench-slicey springy spring steel things

Now this is something of a challenge. Friends of ours had asked for some really thin blades for re-enactment camping, as thin and slicey as it would go and stronger than usual. Hm. Wait... I daresay there´s something.. can´t put my finger on it... erm... HOWDAF***???

I grumbled a bit, thought and mumbled, grumbled some more and set off to work. I figured spring steel would be best suited for the task, with a triple quench dynamic tempering, meaning slowly, deliberately sinking the blade into the quench (heated, boiling lard), and then taking it out to temper with the rest heat from the spine to a blueish hue, resulting in a blade that is not THAT hard (but at an estimated 56 HRC still hard enough). The blade is wider to make for a low profile and will get an even thinner high convex bevel than usual on water stones.

 It was not easy to take a picture of the spine. It´s 0,2mm thick at its thinnest... I am not quite sure how long it will last, but still it´s a fascinating project to learn how to make real knives, not prybars. The question is, where the best compromise will be... projects like this help me to tune in the extremes.

And some knife out of the monster Damascus billet by Matthias Zwissler. It will be a light do-it-all knife with no great frills whatsoever, but I am experimenting with some heat treating techniques. For instance, it´s already normalized, so soft you can easily file it. Still have some work to do on it, but still, I just deep-froze it. It´s not fluid nitrogene, but we´ll see how it turns out;-). I´ll keep you posted!

On the bench-more steel!

 Currently there are a load of projects going on. The blades in the topmost picture are what we typically make at the Bethaus smithy on customer request, with a raw finish, a blade out of spring steel with a selective temper by edge-quenching, forged bolster / guard out of mild steel (file steel on request). They normally get a handle burned-to-fit and get peened over a copper buttcap. With those two, hot - punching the blade décor went a bit awry, so I kept them for myself.

 Top is a damascus Kopis with the squiggly bit;-) fallen off, so it will get some annealing and some new forging a squiggly bit. Next is a file steel blade that´s needing some forging still, and a Nessmuk and a hunting / steak knife out of ancient spring steel with a carbon content of about 0,75% and nothing else;-). Nessie´s already quenched (you can see the quench lines illustrating the technique quite well. For I always use a double quench technique. I heat the steel to the upmost part of the temperature window suitable for quenching. I wait until it is cooled in the air a bit and just right for quenching (you can use a magnet if you want to be sure). I quench the edge part very conservatively. When the temperature is coming down further to a dull red colour I put it in further. It is crucial that this part still isn´t magnetic! Then I take it out, while the spine still has some heat. I remove the scale and oil with a wet wire brush. When the edge part achieves a golden colour with cutting knives and a blue colour with cleaving knives, I put it in the oil to cool down. I then take a file and run it along the edge. It can have some grip, but must not bite, if that makes any sense. If it slides off completely, I use the heat radiance from the forge to bring down the hardness some more to enhance elasticity. After cooling down again, I repeat the file test and allow it to rest some. I then slam the edge against the edge of the anvil. It must not dent too much, best it shouldn´t dent at all. Then it has to carve iron rods. Next in line is a test of elasticity and shock resistance: I slam the flat blade over the horn of the anvil. If it breaks, it breaks. The next test is levering up a 30 kg anvil. If it survives all that, it´s ready to rumble;-). I will then remove any nicks or dents and put an edge to it. It has to cut paper in the least. Then I like to chop at least ten times into hardwood or antler to test the edge-holding capacity. Another good test is carving hardwood from the broad side. It has to stand up to those tests also and at least cut "any which way";-) through paper.

A day in the smithy-folder and elven hunting knife blade

 On Saturday I saddled my steed;-) and rode out to the smithy. Noone seemed quite motivated to do some spring fire partying, so I resolved to take refuge:-) at the hottest fire I can imagine, and the one that has never failed me... the roaring, spitting, violent forge. The weather was shitty at best, but no harm done, I am not made out of stuff that will melt in rain and snow. On my way I met practically noone, and I paused to listen to the water birds. In the smithy, it was Volker greeting me and quite some filing work on my elven hunting knife I forged some time ago to do, for I decided to do some more fileworking than I normally do. Volker, that good chap, provided me with good, hot, strong coffee as usual, which was quite appreciated, given that the smithy has no roof worth mentioning and no walls at all;-), and blimey, the wind was coo-o-o--oold.*ggg*

 Then Daniel showed up with his lovely girlfriend, Marie. And he did what he always does, taking the sledge to do some intricate and delicate scrollwork just to show he´s capable of it. I really wished he would gain some self - confidence. He does some good work, but could easily be better if he concentrated on the work and not the proving himself. But I understand he is in desperate need of it, so I leave him be, swallow my tongue, although I keep making fun of him;-). He ´s getting on many people´s nerves, and certainly sometimes on mine, too, but it´s not easy growing up in this shitty mess we have made from this society. And blacksmithing gives him something to cling to (and doesn´t it to all of us?) and makes him something special. And I daresay he´s a good guy and on a good way. His lady was looking on and rightfully proud of her man.

 

 She even did some smithing herself, and fared well at it.

 I did little forging, for the elven hunter did require quite a bit of filing, but finally it got there. Then I forged the bolsters on the integral liners for a friction folder and filed the bevel on the folder blade from Zwissler damascus I made a while ago.

 Björn dropped by. He had found an old forge in a garden of a buddy of his, and decided he wanted to have a go. He had his head humming with projects, and boy, do I know this feeling! We gave him some coal to get the fire started, and some advice how to keep it low at first. I also offered him some free tutoring if he wanted, which he gladly accepted-we keep the flame burning!

Then suddenly they all were gone, I quenched the blade, had a chat with Volker, Jochen and Renate, and before you could say "degasing" I was on my bike and riding home through the silent twilight of dusk. In the distance I saw the spring fires burning down. But another fire will never cease to kindle.

It is the fire in my heart.

Another day in the smithy-Damascus mayhem;-) and something archaic

 On Saturday it was a bladesmithing day again. You know that kind.... you wake up, see that the weather´s foul, and then you sit there drinking your morning coffee, and start thinking. Might be you read a blade magazine or any such like, and out comes the sketchbook and  you start drawing, and thinking some more. One phone call later I was packing my pack with 40 kg of smithy and straddling my steed and off I was to Volker´s place. I virtually met noone on my way to the shop, weather was that foul, albeit quite warm. I had a nice chat with the old man;-) and before you could say "degasing" the forge was alit and the coal was coking, and I started some projects.

 Top to bottom: Zwissler damascus, 15N20 and 1.2842. Then I tried something out: An Andronovo / Sintashta replica out of silicon bronze, which amazed me a bit. It was the first time I forged bronze, and okay, I was one of those techno weenies always crying out "bronze is way too soft for blades". I used a combination technique of hot- and cold forging, and achieved quite a sensible hardness. If you work-harden bronze, you get a useable hardness, definitely on a par with a conventionally treated mild steel. It came in as a bit of a surprise. Of course, you won´t get the edge-holding capacity of highly tempered steel, but the knife got sharp enough to achieve a serviceable edge for woodcarving, making fuzz sticks and even batoning through a piece of dried ash with but minor damage. Plus, I find it really good looking. The next one in line is an own wire damascus. Next lies a piece of wire damascus that ultimately (hopefully) will become a Naalbindning-needle for the magic troll. Aaaand, something I am quite fond of, a folder blade out of Zwissler damascus, 1.2842 and 15N20, for some kind of friction folder. I plan on doing something with liners this time, maybe even with integral bolsters... we´ll see how it goes;-).

 Closeup of the bronze knife. I used it some, and already did some servicing. If the need arises, you can maintain the edge by polishing with a smooth piece of haematite, or by work-hardening some more, as it was done with scythes.

 I forged the spine somewhat thicker and finished the blade with a ball peen.

It was a bit of an eye-opener. I daresay bronze IS inferior to steel, of course it is, but bronze was in use for a long time, and by cultures whose individuals gave their tools quite a beating. But this led me to some thoughts about ultimate hardness. For use in the woods, the edge has to be harder than herbs, rope, hardwood, softwood, meat, and hide, i.e. the material you need to cut and process. You do not always need a harder knife. It´s good, but not absolutely necessary, to use the knife in one edge condition for more than one work. Many indigenous people use knives out of utter crap, as traffic signs (Papua).

This is not to say I will from now on only use bronze. Steel is definitely better suited for the task. But as a reality check, it was an eye - opener. Plus, bronze has the advantage of having an anti-diffusion effect when cutting herbs (no funny taste of iron carbide;-)) or vegetables. And, proverb says, you won´t see any elves when you carry out iron into the woods, "that old know-it-all"*ggg*.

I look forward to all those projects. Life´s too short to forge mono steel... it seems to me these days  *ggg*. Watch this place!

Damascus Iscian knife with a dangler neck sheath

I made this knife after a ritual knife pattern I found attractive. It follows the lines of an Athamen / iscian knife. The blade is forged from Zwissler damascus out of 15N20 and 1.2842. The handle is made from bog oak that lay submerged under the mud of an old coalmine in the Muttental, resulting in a very rare bloodred colour. Mounted with copper and brass, the blade is 90 mm long and 2,5 mm thick, resulting in a very slicey feel. The bevel is convex, the tempering selective, as usual. I like it and use it as an EDC and as a knife that means something...;-).

Modifying an old knife - and a new bushcraft style sheath

 I had this knife lying around that did nothing anymore after the blade chipped after testing it hard, but the concept still appeals to me, so I figured I´d do something about it. I annealed with an industrial "hairdryer". To do it, I wrapped the handle (the tang was not tempered at all in the first place, other than that you cannot do it) with a big piece of cloth, which I wet through. Since the blade had a selective temper, I just heated the part which was tempered until it was completely blued and let it cool, while constantly renewing the moisture in the cloth. I repeated the process three times, constantly checking the temper with file and mild steel rods along the entire edge. I have now tested it, and it has an even temper of about 59 HRC. The handle still is yew with mosaic pins and double lanyard holes;-) which I buffed up a bit. Then I went on and made a new sheath for it, for the old one was more of a suitcase than a sheath. By the way, the blade is a laminate three layer with tank bearing steel for a cutting layer and wrought iron-crucible steel with titaniumcarbide and silicium xilite (ferrum noricum) by Matthias Zwissler that I forged into a blade. The spine of the blade is 7 mm thick, but, having a high bevel convex grind and a wide blade, the knife still cuts well.

The sheath. I used a technique Joel introduced to me, mixing iron oxide with linseed oil to achieve a light brown tan. The sheath is wet-formed and hot-waxed around the knife and I am quite pleased with the outcome. The carving shall represent a Celtic boar;-).

Pimp my blade;-) rebirth of an old knife

This knife on top is the old  knife on the picture below, the lowest in line. It always felt kinda awkward, so I hacksawed a big part of the handle off and made a copper butt cap to peen the tang against. And what can I say? It certainly was a difficult decision, but it was well worth the effort. The knife has far better balance, and now is a real EDC utility with a great feel to it I really like. I also reshaped the bevel, making it a bit more slicey. I like it! Zwissler "monster" damascus, 300 layers, integral, 80 mm blade, spine thickness 3,8 mm.

On the bench-a whittling knife

This is another blade I have in progress to date... one for a whittling knife, nice and thin blade (70 mmx2 mm), will get a scandi grind, and a handle out of blackthorn or bog oak... or maybe a mountain man mounting? I am currently thinking about that, and it might go in the same sheath as the utility I finished recently. Laminate steel, tank bearing and wrought iron, courtesy of Matthias Zwissler, my master (somehow;-)).

*φoutanjā-lugra-moros! Progress on my Kopis

 Today I had a rare day competely off, and I worked on my Kopis knife. Here´s a shot of the work in progress.First I did the lineout with a v-shaped wood chisel. Did the contours first and worked from the outside to the inside. Be sure to "charpen your chisel":-) frequently! It was a funny sight but did not surprise me any, that the chisel made perfectly spiral - shaped shavings. Just a coincidence, of course, but nice indeed:-). I worked the transitions by sanding and checking and cutting the knot with a small mini locksmith´s file.

 Then it was the spirals, and some sanding. I will now clean up the incisions, and then it will be a reindeer or stag antler/silver/leather sheath. And I will write the Ogham-inspired poem the knife itself gave to me:-)

Sketch for Lugra-Moros-handle

 I just drawed the carving outlines on the handle of "Lugra-Moros" (moon-mare), first in pencil, then in pen.

 Top...

Bottom.

On the bench these days;-)

 This is the little damascus utility I made at Volker´s smithy. It´s made from Zwissler seven-bar damascus, tank cannon, tank bearing and 1.2842. Blade is 9,5 cm long. The handle is made out of some wood Viktor gave to me: 250 year old oak that lay submerged in rusty water in an abandoned iron mine. It is hard as metal (you can carve fir wood with it...;-)), polishes like a cinch and I love the red colour it shows.

 Top is the Kopis I made in the Industriemueum smithy on Sunday, polished and with the bolster fitted.

Etching detail of the damascus pattern. Yap, those ARE slag marks in there, and YAP, I am NOT proud of it;-). I look forward to the knife nonetheless. I think I will fit a handle of the red bog oak Viktor gave to me and do some knotwork carving or spiral patterns on it... but we will see...