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...🤣

On the bench: A new dangler sheath for my little sica

 Yesterday I mustered some resolve and got to work on a sheath for a knife that had been lying around in my workshop-turned-attic-turned-home-turned workshop ;-). The knife, a nearly accurate replica inspired by several finds from the Daco-Getian iron age (https://i.pinimg.com/564x/fa/74/c7/fa74c7ce0827111670d94ee08afc1e12.jpg and https://i.pinimg.com/564x/0e/c6/d8/0ec6d888ce524ff55b7cb4d620012bfa.jpg, just to name a few) had to help in making the sheath, and its performance in leatherworking was a big surprise to me. The dangler is handforged out of mild steel, and yes, the stitching DID see some rework... ;-)

 The sickle shape with the tiny, but pronounced tip makes for a very effective cutter. It gathers up the material like a claw and also makes for a very precise cut when cutting small curves. To make a sheath which was not overly huge but big enough to accomodate the shape was a pain in the arse, but turned out well enough considering my lack of practice.

 I must admit I am quite irrationally fascinated by this type of knife. It has a history as a peaceful farming tool and a herbalist´s knife and was an insign of the Mithraic mysteries and therefore of Roman state religion as well as a deadly weapon of the same back-alley cut-throats the Roman empire was so afraid of. In Romania, the sica continues to have a prominent symbolism in the stories of the Strígoi, the fairies of the land, and it was a Sica used to combat the vampires of of Transsylvanian local legends. In Stoker´s "Dracula" it became a Khukhuri that ended the vampire prince´s life, but the differences are marginal.

 It models the shape of the hunter´s moon´s crescent and all the spiritual aspects of its mythology as well as being a most formidable everyday tool. I daresay it is this ambivalence that adds to its fascination. It tells stories in itself, and I like that.

The blade, then is made from a stainless material I found in the woods, under a crescent moon, of course ;-). It is rich with Cobalt, and after a very conservative selective quench and temper came out so hard that it carves a Roselli UHC Wootz blade while retaining an astonishing degree of flexibility. I estimate it at about 62-63HRC. It does not take that fine an edge (yet), and I am still figuring out what the best edge angle might be. At the moment it shaves, but I feel there can be still more performance gotten out of it... we´ll see. It worked the leather well enough, better than most tools I bought for that task, and I could not ask for more! It seems to be some HSS steel or something along the lines, and there seems to be quite a fair amount of Chromium in the steel. It came out stainless out of the ground and takes no patina even after 72 hours in a salt-vinegar-citric acid solution that stains even 440B after 24 hours. Fact is, I don´t know what it is, and the culprit is, I need not know what it is. I did all the tempering intuitively, and it turned out well enough.

I am currently writing a local mythology and, doing some research, found that a sickle played a prominent role in local fairy legend as well. One could easily say that it is a fairy knife... and this, adding to the fact that I found the steel in the woods, adds to the mystique of the atmosphere... ;-)

This, originally was what I wanted to express with my knifemaking; the gift of the other world made flesh. The wonder that waits in the ordinary, for there are few things more profane than a rotten, rusty piece of scrap metal... and yet, from the most mundane, and in the most profane situation lurks a world that is deeper, darker and most profound. It is the realm of legends and fairy tales, of myth ad wonder and awe... there life and death are not antagonists, but aspects of the same coin.  It is the realm of intuition, and I loe to wader there for no reason but my amazement how beautiful this creation and all its creatures are- all of them.

Sheath for my #Iämpedahler waldmetz

 Some two weeks ago I came home from work and, after opening a bottle of beer I realized it tasted like piss. So I thought, that couldn´t be it, made myself a tea and took out the leatherworking tools.

 Way late into the night I worked, and yup, I am not exactly proud of it, but at least I did something useful;-), and it does the job quite nicely.

In fact, I like these knives a lot these days. While they are absolutely badass due to an all-steel construction, selective temper and overall layout, they are well balanced and not-so-tactical at all. The sheath I made from top-grain, vegetable tanned, cowhide leather, hardened with soda and spirit and hot-waxed around the knife... I like it and it rides in my rucksack most of these days now...

New sheath for my bushcraft knife-and thoughts on Tribal knifemaking

 

So it has been a while coming, and I went for it rather carefully... I had found an old chisel in the woods, which eventually became that bushcraft knife. In the process I had learned it was apparently crucible steel, to be precise, which shows a "Wootz" pattern. To be quite honest, I am not quite sure what to make of that "Wootz" pattern. Petr had looked at some variants of that steel and just said it was due to "uneven carbon distribution". Now that´s a bit of a redundancy, because the dendrite structures in Wootz that are responsible for the pattern also could be called that name.

 

 

Now, it is my personal knife, and I don´t want to sell it. It´s hair-splitting sharp and keeps an edge very well. The shape makes it rather dexterous, and the pattern looks cool to me, so there really is no need to tell.

 

 

Nonetheless, I love this kind of knifemaking a lot. The steel is somewhat "arcane" to me, and the resulting knife more than just a piece of steel with an edge on it. There is an adventure involved in making these things. Chance is, you get crap when you hunt for crap, but sometimes, and more often than not, you can find some right treasures if you look carefully. It is like a hunt.

Now I thought a lot about the sheath, doing some dangler rings and mountings and fittings and putting in a firesteel. But fact is, I have made sheaths like that, and I realized only but recently that there is one real bummer: I just tend not to wear them. So I made a simple sheath that can be worn quite discretely, feels comfy and does not feel like a bag of screws hanging from your belt ;-).

The sheath is quenched in a soda solution in spirit, wet-formed and hot-waxed and treated with violin veneer and then cold-waxed and oil-polished. It feels nearly as firm as Kydex and has a right snap to it. It was somewhat of an experiment, but it worked out fine.

I am still thinking about adding some carving to the handle´s end, or fitting in some silver intarsia, but I am not really sure if it would not foul up a design that´s good as is. But I am still thinking about it. Maybe a little later....;-)

In any case I will keep you posted!

New belt pouch

I tend to be bit lazy when leatherwork is concerned, but not because I do not enjoy it. Yesterday I found my resolve and made this belt pouch... it´s still not perfect and has to see quite some refinement still, but as is, I like it. It´s overbuilt with at least 3mm thick vegetable tanned leather, but I like to be rather safe than sorry.

I have to do this more! ;-)

New clipper sheath for my hadseax

 Bit of a blurred photo, apologies for that, but I guess the idea is clear. I love these sheath models these days. Oh, why does he make a modern sheath for a re-enactment knife? - you might ask.

To me it is far more than just a knife for bbq-ing in a costume. A knife to me is an everyday item, and as I also tend to wear the shalwar pants I made for re-enactment more and more, in the woods, but also for going to the grocer´s, because they are practical, I also use this re-enactment knife for everyday chores as well as bushcraft. The sheath makes for a comfy carry, and as the clip does not show at all it might also make for a solution on a re-enactment fair, at least until I´ve made another sheath more suited to the A-factor (authenticity). The sheath is made from tempered , naturally tanned top grain 3mm leather with pitch twine and brass rivet, wet-formed and tempered around the knife. I achieved a hardness comparable to Kydex (and without the downsides) with it, and it keeps the seax in very well, even upside down. I like it.

The new sheath for Gládhustrók

 I figured one thing: A Viking bling sheath looks great. It´s even a comfortable carry around the camp or the fair. It keeps the blade securely in, it´s very sturdy and simply looks great. But there are distinct disadvantages. It´s a bit clumsy when dangling from your belt. If you have to move through the thicket, it gets stuck to branches and thorns, adds heft to movements to which you are not accustomed. In martial training it can compromise your movements. So it´s better to keep any weight close to your body, and any accelerated mass as little as possible. Since our ancestors were no complete idiots, I strongly suggest that those sheaths found in the burials were especially made for special representative occasions, such as one´s own burial, for instance;-). Vikings seem to have been quite the show-offs. But then they certainly could in the first place. But they were no tarts, either. Surviving in a world where you can´t simply buy fast food just over the street, where you had to work hard for your welfare means you need knowledge or you´d die. So it was well esteemed to be skilled, and someone who did not have enough skills was called "ósnotr madhr", "mind-challenged man" (I refer to the Eddic strophes in the Hávamál).

Men had to be skilled in martial arts, crafts and arts, knowledge and cunning. One was estimated far higher for cunning than mere fighting prowess, and it is a mistake to assume Vikings would storm a city if they could help it. Recently this prejudice was fed again in the media...:-/ (I refer to this TV production, whatsitcalled, you know, the one with the underwear model in a starring role and that Taekwondo gurrl with the steel boobies that can actually bend a round shield... or wait, was the shield maybe not made from wood, but hard foam?*ggg*...).

So one can safely assume, that, when working and hunting or even "raiding":-P, Viking men would not actually carry that much bling looking like a chrismas tree, but a more subdued attire.

I made a more simple sheath for actual working with this knife due to my experiences with a bling sheath, and I want to ask the question if Vikings actually wore them in battle or when working or if they used a more subdued and maybe more practical kit. I know that the custom in Norway even today is to have one finely made knife for special formal occasions and one for hard working in the woods. I will do some further research on the topic. Maybe I just messed up with my interpretation, and other people have different experiences, too.

Anyway, I made a simple sheath, with a "classical" belt loop. This fact posed another question: Since there is no archaeological evidence for a sturdy belt loop, I asked myself, why this was the case. The line of thinking around the advantages of a sturdy belt loop centers around the fact that this way a knife is easier to draw with one hand. It requires a sturdy base in a wide belt. All this adds up to a picture where a knife user sees an advantage in having
a) the possibility to draw the knife with one hand.
b) a firm and sturdy mounting on the belt
This leads to assuming that
a1) the user needs the other hand to work with
a2) the user needs the other hand to aid in different actions, maybe a defensive movement
b1) a fixature of the hips and lower back support or keeping the weight close to the body
b2) a sturdy base to draw fast.

The layout of a sturdy belt loop is especially popular with hunting knives, but also fighting knives, so much in fact that many modern sheaths are made from Kydex(TM). A flexible mounting, as with many Saami knives and most bushcraft knives, has the advantage to aid in some movements and when sitting down. That way the handle will not constantly poke into your ribs. It´s more comfortable.

My theory now goes towards a different reception of knives in general. For personal defence and attack people in the Viking age used an axe, a long seax, a spear and shield. Rare are the documents that actually hint of the use of a knife as a weapon. I can remember one saga, but have forgotten the title (I think it was in Grettir´s or Hrolf Kraki´s saga, but am not sure), where the protagonists are assaulted at a feast. It was customary to store the weapons at the clothing room, except for the table knives, which often were highly decorated. The assaulted guests in the saga had to defend themselves with their cutlery, and this was considered shameful.

Even if a sword is suspended from a belt chain, it can easily be drawn with one hand, and it even more so goes for polearms like axe or spear. A seax, however, is a different matter. It can be a bit of a bummer to get a seax carried at the back suspended from two flexible loops out fast and smoothly enough to draw and cut in one fluent motion, which is crucial for fighting.

So I think knives were seen as tools. They even had a  pseudo - ritualistic character, for they were by nature playing a pivotal role at the feast, which was considered as sacred. The receptions of an afterlife in the often ill-received Valhóll (Valhalla) being an eternal feast give testament to this. The handles of those knives found are often decorated with concentric circles (a most ancient ornament dating back to the Neolithic age), zoomorphic or anthropomorphic or simple knotwork ornaments, triangles and other geometric decoration, which one could easily interpret as having an apotropaeic function due to many consistent ethnographic comparisons. Even in the 20th century ethnological field research documented many customs in Finland involving a Puukko serving this function. This function, however, was not generated by the use as a weapon or the cutting ability, but by the material aspects of the artefact. It was iron itself, as the story in the Kalevala, the Finnish National epic poem indicates. Iron (Rauta) had a soul, and "väkirauta" was the "folk of iron" invocated in many forms of agricultural magic. In early Christian Germany, up to the 20th century, the knife fulfilled many aspects of a feasting ritual,  especially in giving thanks before the meal to God.

I personally think now, that it is safe to assume, that if the Vikings deemed the feast as such a kind of ritual service (compare giving thanks before the meal), that the richly decorated knives were carried at the feast to be used as a maybe not even structural, but essential tool. This is of course a commonplace, since the host did not provide for cutlery in that time, so you needed a knife to cut the meat and for eating in general. Quite certainly they were not seen as weapons, and it was seen as a last-ditch resolve, if not a shame to use a knife for defending oneself.

So back to the sheath. It´s a modern approach, then. To me it´s more practical (and not because I need it for fighting;-), whoever thinks a knife fight is romantic has never really thought about it and might want to get a good psychotherapist). I also have tried something new that Willi brought up and Nick inspired me to: I used to use water soaking for modelling and reinforcing, but have tried to do this with pure alcohol (Pure Ethanol, Spiritus). That way you don´t have to add layers of duct tape to the blade that gets thrown away afterwards, it dries far quicker and makes for a more controlled soak when modelling. Then I added three soaks of a mixture of spirit alcohol, beeswax and linseed oil before heat-waxing it to a firm and sturdy sheath that actually locks around the handle. I personaölly like it... 

Ranger bag-it was about time

 Yap, it really was. Indeed. It was about time that I completed a project so long overdue that none but my longest - time readers might remember me having the plan. I had always been a bit timid to make a real bag. I am - out of reasons even I cannot tell - always a bit reluctant to measure and meter and draw schemes, and for a simple leather sheath that is fine. But a bag, even a simple one, is a whole different matter, due to the complexity. But, keeping in mind the craftsmen in the Viking age also did not measure and meter and scheme in the way we do, and concerning the immense quality of their products, I figured that there had to be a way. I had read an article about ethnomathematics in the knotwork panels of the Celtic peoples and am slowly becoming aware of the fact that the way things were measured in the Viking age and earlier might have been altogether different than nowadays. Many things were made by manual geometrics using compass and lines or estimation. So, less talk, more action, I simply cut the pieces, punched them and stitched them together. Above´s a typical content as it will be used. Gladhustrók is lying there , because I made an EDC sheath for it. There´s also my striker, an ear spoon toiletry device, the shot spoon and two silver mugs. I guess I am still about what items to fit in, and I will quite certainly make another bag, because it was fun. 

Of course, the magic troll made fun of me because the bag´s a bit overbuilt, so to say ahem;-). The back is made from 6 mm leather, the sides are 3 mm and the front still some 2,5 mm leather, all put together with tough and sturdy 2mm pitched twine. But I had suffered enough bags coming apart in the middle of nowhere and thought I´d rather carry a bit extra weight instead of having to walk 20 km with a lot of stuff in my arms again.:-)

I think the bag´s not quite eloquent, of course, and my decorating it will not help that;-), but it´s well sturdy, and I like it. Now it´ll be some carving the flap, adding a bit of brass or copper for reinforcing the strap and strap hole, and it´s in for waxing and oiling and off to the trails!;-)

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;-).

Sheath for my mini Nessmuk;-)

I made a new sheath for my mini integral bolstered Nessmuk the other day. I am really fond of this knife, for it is compact and sharp and gets the job done quite good. Silver steel, convex bevel, 85 mm, deer bone handle (I found in the woods), burned and waxed to finish. The sheath is made from naturally tanned leather with a knotwork triskell bird design. The stitches could be cleaner, as usual, I was too fast again, but since no seam on any sheath has ever come apart in years of hard use, I guess I got something right nonetheless. Yap, there´s still a lot to learn, and I keep practicing;-).

For want of a shoe....

...a shoe was made... needed some shoes for reenactment, so I made myself some;-). Modelled after shoes from the Iron age / Vendel / viking age. Those are stitched from the wrong side up and then turned upside down, from 4 mm soles and 3 mm oiled upper leather, and I am really, really fond of them. In fact, I built an outer sole out of Latex and wear them in the woods. Can do with some fine-tuning, but comfy they are, and that´s what counts... ;-)