Repairing an old sheath and progress on the Trollstein knife sheath

Well,  this is a really old and treasured knife I have had since the 1990s,  a Helle Fjellkniven in H3LS steel. I have used this really slicey cutter on and off, really hard,  and it always came back for more. 

Trouble was, the sheath was made without a welt or inlay. Actually this was less of a problem as it might seem at first glance,  because the leather was molded really intelligently to the shape of the knife. But leather gets softer with time, so the mold got loosened up and consequentially,  the blade cut through the stitching. So I removed it altogether, cut a welt and stitched everything back together with pitched twine. 

I also made a concoction to harden the leather and give the handle a bit of love. I took 3 parts spirit alcohol, 1 part spruce resin,  1 part beeswax from old candles, and 1 part turpentine oil. You can see the effect on the handles. 

I also worked on the Trollstein knife sheath. It really IS tricky to convince it to keep the knife in (see my previous post). Maybe this is why that reindeer hunter lost it in the 6th century... I think,  I will have to add some kind of retention device,  maybe some brass sheet or something like that. 

 All in all,  I really like how it all turned out...

Now to the other projects...🤣

Thoughts on the Trollstein knife

 So I am in a really fascinating process of recreating the Trollstein knife,  a knife that had been found in the glacier melt near Trollsteinen in Norway in March 2023 by Secrets Of The Ice archaeology. 

Now people who know me know that while I have a strong fascination with all things historical and archaeological,  I also want to know how those things worked and whether or not they would still work. I believe in check, check and doublecheck whether a technological Innovation really benefits our everyday- or not. We have been sold a lot of BS (and that is getting worse), nuff said. 

What we have here is a real knife used for a kind of bushcraft we cannot even imagine. For while,  to be quite honest,  for most people including myself,  it might be a leisure activity or maybe even a lifestyle,  they most certainly not even called it any special name at all then, because it was simply life reality in those days. 

In our time we have very specific things we want from a knife. And while it is a good thing we are able just to walk inside a shop and buy the latest tool with a steel of precise specifications, we tend to dismiss anything that the industry doesn't hype. 

The original (see my previous post) is roundabout 1400-1600 years old. You can bet that it saw some pretty hard use before the owner lost the tool,  and it suffered a huge load and immense force and pressure from the ice drift. The tang and handle are bent. That's the damage it suffered. And it is pretty much good to go. Put an edge on it,  and it will cut again. 

We like to put knives to extreme tests and even destruction. That is pretty okay and understandeable. 

The test this knife has been through is the most extreme I could think of and it is neigh on impossible to duplicate it. Not that it would make any sense at all,  but it is a fact.  

Thing is,  if I posted the knife in a lot of bushcraft groups,  I can imagine the kind of arguments that would arise instantly. You know,  "but batoning " and "survival " and "tactical settings". Hard use,  you know. Not that sissy reindeer hunting,  woodcarving,  building traps, butchering and processing firewood and what have you. The knife doesn't even have a full tang,  mind you! 

Fact is,  I have built these two first knives to see what they are capable of. Or better yet,  what I can do with these knives. They are not as close as I would like them to be,  but about as close as I can get without handling and measuring the original. The first one is made from file steel and quite close to the original as far as the blade is concerned and the general shape and layout of the handle  are concerned. On the second I stuck more to the shape of blade and handle cross section,  but added bronze bolster and peening disc and a bit of a finger notch. That blade is made from 80CrV2 with a selective temper,  an awesome steel that I am just coming to terms with. Balance point on both knives is on the index finger. 

Using the knives I can safely say that I cannot say much,  and in the best of ways. Everything simply falls into place. And this is not due to a special achievement on my part. The design simply does everything. It is awesome for food prepping,  cutting meat and Slöjd. No,  it is not the next hyped survival knife. But if you know what you are doing,  it really COULD be a one-tool-option.

It almost certainly was for the hunter who lost it in presumeably the 6th century. That is humbling. 

First try recreating the Trollstein archaeological find

(Photo courtesy of Secrets Of The Ice,  Norway)

This is an awesome story. Says I. 

Because it was once upon a time,  in the sixth century,  to be quite exact,  that a hunter ventured far out to stalk reindeer on a glacier near Trollsteinen in Norway. 

A lot of you guys know how it is. Got your game,  stalked it most of the day,  get to skin and butcher it,  while the light is getting dim. Cannot let it go to waste,  too. 

Where the actual what now did I just put that knife now? 

Sliding down that slope into that crevice,  that is where I put it, for whosesakeever.

That was in the sixth century AD. 

Zoom in to March 2023,  climate change killing us all,  but also melting the ice of that glacier. A team of Norwegian archaologists discovered a knife that melted out of said ice and,  no irony intended,  lovingly and caringly secured that site. Shout out to Secrets Of The Ice archaeology team for literally doing that. Those guys are awesome. They deserve a whole lot of more support than they get,  and that is a fact. 

Enter uncle Fimbulmyrk,  leisurely browsing the devil's own webs and getting sent arse over teacup into the next rabbit hole. 

Fire lit,  forge roaring. 

Like that,  see? 

Smitey,  smitey,  little filey,  no more work,  become a knifey. 

Fact is,  I messed up,  but actually I did not expect to succeed in the first. Because I really want to make this a real archaeological experiment,  so making this knife will be just a test for the real one.  

On the other hand, I already got an impression of the capabilities of the concept,  and that knife will be a biter. 

Actually the differences are not toooo bad,  and the mistakes I made also have a lot to offer in terms of understanding the knife. 

Blade is file steel,  with a selective temper and a high convex bevel to almost zero,  as on the original (as far as I can tell without having handled it. 

I,  for one,  think I earned that cuppa tree. 

The picture above is an X-ray of the original,  courtesy of the Musem of Culture Norway,  Vegard Vike (Copyright). 

The Museum studio photo shows the original and why I have ways to go still.  This knife is stunning. It is dated to the 6th century AD. It bears some striking similarities to the finds from Illerup Ådal,  too,  which is really fascinating. 

I really do need to do more research on the topic and really look forward to putting this knife to use.  

So,  stay tuned and thanks for your patience and loyalty!