Introduction to a traditional Turkish knife-Serik Biçaği

Those are some knives I got for next to nothing on a local flea market from a really nice Turkish gentleman. They are native to Serik in the Antalya region of Turkey and they are a really traditional and old design, maybe dating back to the early medieval ages. https://www.kulturportali.gov.tr/turkiye/antalya/nealinir/serik-bicagi Formerly a pure friction folder design, they share some chatacteristics with knives like the Corse "goat knife ". Originally the knife consisted of a piece of ram's, goat's or sheep's Horn, rarely cow Horn. They are often called Serik biçaği. The knives I own have a very simple backlock mechanism. The really thin blade is held in the handle by friction but locks when open. One has a walnut handle, one Micarta and one traditional ram's horn. The one with the goat horn handle has a blade handforged from saw blade steel, the one with Micarta is made from HSS, the one with the walnut handle is supposedly made from Böhler steel. The blades are 11,2, 11,4, and 11,8 cm long, but just 1,2 -1,4 mm thick. They have a convex bevel to zero, which results in frightening sharpness, although they came rather blunt originally. Some time and effort fixed that and BOY,DO they cut. The locking mechanism on the one with the ram's horn handle is quite good, the others have a bit of radial play. Given that they are friction folder designs originally that is totally okay with me, but you cannot expect a modern knife. The blades are obviously not a prybar. As a folding kitchen knife for foraging and food prepping you are hard pressed to find anything slicier. And edge holding capacity on mine is actually really great. They also cost less than 40€ if you can get one, mine actually cost less than 15€ each. That puts them head to head to Opinel, Pallares Solsona and other folding knives. If you are looking for functionality alone, I have to say that the Opinel is a tad more reliable and the quality is a bit more consistent. But they are actually even slicier than the Opinel and culturally interesting. So you might want to give one a try.

Friction folder with a titanium handle

Long time, no writ, so to say. In the meantime, the world has gone utterly, completely and absolutely mad. M-A-D. Off the rocker. Lost its marbles. Yap. 

Most of you know that, and I could not possibly add to anything that has already been said about that. We will be facing autocrats all over the world, maybe WWIV. Yes, IV. And climate change. And poverty and sickness and decay. Yes. 

Of course I am fucked. Being an artist, as I finally have acknowledged to myself, I will suffer from starvation, neglect or even be manhunted. And time was, I panicked. Been through one or the other ordeal. 

You know what? You know what saved me?

Oh, I think you guessed.... ;-). There are lovely people having me and my smithy, and I could start to forge again. On private ground, with my own tools and my own forge, and for the most part, solitarily, meaning, I can actually concentrate on real progress for myself. Forging outside, in a lovely orchard. Not perfect, and not permanently, and I still have to look for a smithy, but oh so good. It reminds me of the time when I took up smithing, way back then in the garden of my old home by the lake, which is no more. But this is new. 

And when I am forging stuff, there are few things to keep me from focusing on the good work. Meaning, I can make some actual progress, and, focussing helps to keep out all the negative stuff. Just the fire, hammer and anvil. A green orchard, a bit of silence otherwise. Perfect.

This is something I am a bit proud of, even if I still have a lot to learn still. I owe a lot to Fabrice Julien Cognot and master Nobuya Hayashi simply for inspiring me. Same goes for my old friend Joel Delorme, who got me started in the first on wanting to make these folders. I have grown increasingly fond of these. They offer almost the strength of a fixed blade knife, are good to carry around, and they do not scream "combat knife" on top of their lungs... ;-) And it is a dead simple design, which, if made carefully, offer a lot of safety, a surprising amount of it, in fact. 

The all-metal design also is sturdy and resilient to boot. Three parts, no frills.

This is a WIP, of course, not peened over yet, and I have to adjust the handle a bit still. Actually, the handle design is inspired by a knife from the viking age. There are several finds from Novgorod and Birka. As an example, this one might do:(http://users.stlcc.edu/mfuller/NovgorodMetalp.html)

In Birka, there are finds that have the metal handle protrude in front towards the blade, keeping it spring-loaded and thusly in the handle. This works surprisingly well. The knife I am currently making has a titanium handle, which I forged from a round stock of Ti6Al4,5V, which I got on a Marburgian flea market. as I said, the protrusions towards the blade will be adjusted some and will do the job to keep the blade in. If you opened it, the friction in the handle and your hand will serve the purpose to keep it safe. No lock required, and thusly perfectly legal in Germany.

The blade, however, is another novelty for me. I used 1.2842 (O2). I am just beginning to learn the ins and outs of this steel, but as is, it makes for a good compromise between hardness, edge retetntion and flexibility. Of course I gave it a selective temper, including the rivet hole, of course.

Actually, I see this as a beginning of a journey. It feels good to experience a progress, and while I know that this is in no way perfect, I know that another journey just started. And it gives my hands something productive to do and relieves me from code black.

And this , as I hope, is a positive message for my faithful readers around the world. At least, it is for me. The internet is full of the latest bad news and catastrophes, served hot from a press that is meaning no ill but serves its purpose. And there is little we can do. 

What we can, however, is giving our hands something to do. Of course some of you might be confined to your homes, some of you might not be able to get outside or into a shop. But a pencil and some paper, knitting or naalbindning needles, some leather, twine, awl and needles will serve you well, and this is something you can even do in your kitchen or living room. Whatever you do, take your break from the everyday rapidfire of bad news. Give your hands something to do, They are better connected to your heart than your mind can ever be. Don´t try to change things you cannot change. Keep it simple, and put one foot firmly planted upon the earth after the other. One step at a time. And new trails will open. 

Take good care, all of you, and stay healthy!