Some novel inspiration came upon me with the venue of a 150 kg Beché power hammer (I have heard that tends to happen;-)), so I forged out the preform of a Grosses Messer, but without a crosspiece or Wehrnagel, but an integral bolster. Knives like this were actually historical and in use from the high medieval age up to the 19th century. In contrast to the Grosse Messer, a typically German, English and Scandinavian type of weapon, this was more of a common man´s farming tool. I made it from coil spring steel with a bit more carbon in it (roundabout 0,6%- 0,7%. There´s still a lot of work to be done.
Actually, to be honest, it started out as a Grosses Messer, but I made a mistake with the integral bolster-so no crosspiece. But as I tried the layout I found it extremely dexterous that way and I want to push it to learn a bit about the balance of swords. As is, I forged a taper in that will get more pronounced in the forging process. I want a knife that is an able chopper but could be used as a whittler;-). So, we´ll see how it goes.... I´ll keep you informed of course.
