News from Viktor

Some days ago I stopped by to visit Volker and Viktor again and to discuss my work for the Bethaus... and I now have a job there! Plus, I got a chance to shoot some photos of Viktor´s tools. Some of you had asked for a detail of the sickle Viktor made while still in Kazakhstan, and here they are;-). Below is a machete he made but only recently for clearing underbrush. Handle is oak, the blade is C75 sawblade steel riveted to a thick spine of common low-carbon steel. Would not be my choice, actually, but I have to appreciate the craftsmanship, which is a sight to behold in my book. Plus, I find the idea quite creative, even though I find it a bit of an overkill. But then who am I to question a master?

This is the sickle´s handle that has impressed me quite a lot. Note the bolster ears that wrap around the handle... sort of.

 That´s the quart / reverse side of the handle.

 Up close. No filing whatsoever, just forgework. Inside there´s a rattail tang reaching even into the handle and ending about halfway through.

 That´s a detail of the sickle´s blade. spring steel riveted to mild steel.

 That´s the machete´s blade, too shiny to see the riveting. I made about ten photos and gave up.

The tang and the handle of that beast. The wood is ancient oak that lay submerged in waterfor about 200 years in an abandoned tunnel ofthe mines around these parts. Viktor gave me a piece of that, too, and I look forward to mount a knife with it!