Progress on my Fimbulmuk

 Now this is a knife that I am increasingly fond of... It´s my trademark Fimbulmuk design that incorporates characteristics of the Canadian belt knife design and a Nessmuk. Scales are stag antler, the blade is Wootz steel I found in the woods. It still has to see some work, such as finishing, and a bit of filing and engraving, but as is, it´s a slicer.

I already put it through a bit of testing. it carves mild steel rods, chops stag antler, cuts funny curvatures into wet newspaper. When I tried its sharpness on the hair on the back of my head, I accidentally got myself a haircut...;-D Do I love it?

Yeah, I do!!! Plus, it´s a bit of a stinky finger into the face of all those know-it-all rationalists, for obviously you cannot find legendary steel in the woods....;-)

An old knife revived - Fimbulmuk....

Now this is an old knife I have somewhat revived these days. I just cleaned the blade a bit and did some stropping. I had shared it some time ago, and I find it appropriate to share some thoughts with you.

First and foremostly I want to say that I searched for it for some time until I realized it rode on my belt. I guess that tells more than thousand words. I use it hard. Every day. It´s a good kitchen knife, it cuts meat and skin and chops bone and antler, opens boxes, letters and destroys analog spam. I had to fix the scales a bit for they came a bit ajar, but nothing that could not be mended with a drop of epoxy and a gentle tap with a peen. I like the blade´s offset a lot, and the simple spring steel has never seen actual sharpening, just a bit removing of scale due to a fit of aestehtics;-). By the way, the lanyard bead is by my lovely magic troll... ask politely and she´ll make you one, too;-). (I know she will whack the good out of me for that, but it´s worth it;-)) Contact her via her blog: Koboldkerker.blogspot.de

I will try to enhance the design in a further knife, but it will be hard. Why do I rant about this here?

I made this knife from scrap steel and antler from a flea market find. I use it hard for years now. There´s a message... I daresay you can find it.

Tribal knifemaking rocks!!!!

On the bench- another Fimbulmuk from crap steel

This is something I have in the works to date. This design is becoming a favourite of mine, and I prefer to call it a Fimbulmuk;-P, for there are some minor differences to your common Nessmuk design. First and most obviously, the blade is offset to make it easier to use in a kitchen application. That way, slicing onions or processing herbs is a cinch. But there´s always some kind of downside to an offset blade, as e.g. the Grohmann Canadian Belt knife, which is good enough. But I find knives like the Grohmann a bit awkward when whittling. I thought long and hard about that, and one of my all - time favourite backwoods whittling knife is the Roselli carving knife with the 85 mm blade, closely followed by this one:

So I found out that a knife whittles best when you can draw an imaginary axle through the butt and it is in a straight line with the tip. Also, if you draw this axle through the blade, the major contact points of the hand should not be too far off. With the Fimbulmuk I think I solved the problem by radically curving the handle. Take note that both edge line and handle silhouette follow a whiplash line, which I think makes for more dynamic cutting. To put the balance point on the finger tip, however, I had to shorten the tang a bit, because drilling out the tang was not an option with the shallow silhouette. I solved this one problem with a cigar - shaped end, and the knife will get a short lanyard fitted with those lovely lanyard beads by my CUTIE *ggg*magic troll (she always get mad when I call her cutie, and she´s so cute when she gets mad*ggg*). The blade is made from an old wrench I found in the woods, apparently out of crucible steel, 85mmx3,5mm, olive wood handle, screwed and glued on with a screw cut / rolled into the tang and scales. Convex bevel, that will see a lot of polishing still.

The other pic, by the way, is of a knife I made years ago from cold -rolled file steel, selective temper, Scandi grind, elkhorn handle with brass fittings, 90x4mm blade. I tested it hard these years. The handle has minor cracks towards the end due to constant exposal to the elements, but is trustworthy as a rock still.

The more I get into knifemaking, the more I get interested into the finer points and details. Peter Johnsson did a lot to promote my thinking geometrically when blades are concerned. What´s good for a sword can´t be bad for a knife, if you know when to apply geometry. And the principle of the whiplash line fascinates me ever since I first heard about its use in the art nouveau movement which far transcended mere art.

Still so much to learn;-). As is, I am content with the outcome. If you want elegance, look elsewhere. But I think I can safely say that I am nearing the point where I can make knives that actually work.;-)