On the bench...

Just a quick follow-up, because I am short of time these days, and I want to notify you I am still alive;-). Lotsa projects going on....

From left to right: A flower pot heart from mild steel, bushcraft whittler from train wagon leaf spring steel, hiking and snack knife from Zwissler Damascus, tank cannon and 100Cr6, heart for the flower pot, Bush Puukko from crucible steel, a longer camp knife from crucible steel and another heart pendant.

I keep you posted!

On the bench-slicey springy spring steel things

Now this is something of a challenge. Friends of ours had asked for some really thin blades for re-enactment camping, as thin and slicey as it would go and stronger than usual. Hm. Wait... I daresay there´s something.. can´t put my finger on it... erm... HOWDAF***???

I grumbled a bit, thought and mumbled, grumbled some more and set off to work. I figured spring steel would be best suited for the task, with a triple quench dynamic tempering, meaning slowly, deliberately sinking the blade into the quench (heated, boiling lard), and then taking it out to temper with the rest heat from the spine to a blueish hue, resulting in a blade that is not THAT hard (but at an estimated 56 HRC still hard enough). The blade is wider to make for a low profile and will get an even thinner high convex bevel than usual on water stones.

 It was not easy to take a picture of the spine. It´s 0,2mm thick at its thinnest... I am not quite sure how long it will last, but still it´s a fascinating project to learn how to make real knives, not prybars. The question is, where the best compromise will be... projects like this help me to tune in the extremes.

And some knife out of the monster Damascus billet by Matthias Zwissler. It will be a light do-it-all knife with no great frills whatsoever, but I am experimenting with some heat treating techniques. For instance, it´s already normalized, so soft you can easily file it. Still have some work to do on it, but still, I just deep-froze it. It´s not fluid nitrogene, but we´ll see how it turns out;-). I´ll keep you posted!

New projects galore-on the bench

I was in a bit of a forging frenzy, so here they come:

Top to bottom-blank for a project knife, Zwissler monster Damascus, snack knife blade (2mm spine thickness) and pendant knife from Hendrichs-Damascus (15N20, 1.2842), and knife blank from monster Damascus by Matthias Zwissler... I´ll keep you posted...;-)

On the bench these days

 At the recent crafts event I had the opportunity to forge a bit for myself. Top to bottom: Damascus Seax blade from monster Damascus by Matthias Zwissler, a shape that will hopefully become a decent sword from spring steel, two Damascus blades out of Andreas Hendrichs - Damascus, a monster Damascus stock, an awl or shish kebap spit and a BBQ fork, plus a spoon

 The spoon. I consider doing some carving to the rear end, which is a bit sturdy, so to say.

 The spit and fork.

 Amulets and a caplifter. Left to right: Birka amulets (sickle and fire striker), which were worn in combination with a Thor´s hammer (miolnir) pendant. Small Miolnir pendant, a larger one and the aforementioned caplifter which will be great for a key ring.

 And an iron age interpretation of a knife. I used a Hofi-twist to the handle, which is finished with a brass brush. The knife is made from spring steel and, as usual, has a selective temper. The bevel is a high convex one along the lines of a Solingen "Dünnschliff", which will be seeing some work still.

Damascus Kopis

 This is a Kopis design I made some time ago, from a piece of scrap damascus by Matthias Zwissler, forged into shape by myself. I am increasingly fond of it, for it´s very, very slicey and the recurve blade shape makes for a fierce cutter.

 In the pattern you can see that the blade was forged into shape very closely, and I admit, I take some pride into it, especially when I think where I started and where I am now. But I have a lot to learn still, and look forward to it.

The handle is mule deer antler that will see some carving still. Blade´s 115x3,2 mm. The steel has a very fine structure making it hair-splitting sharp. It sails through soft mushrooms freehand and has good edge retention to boot.

Love it!

New En-Nep EDC with damascus

Had this piece of damascus lying around leftover from a knife I made some time ago for Drui (remember, CUTIE;-), when I used to give you complete knives? Those were ´em days...;-)), and I made this En - Nep from it some time ago and fitted a handle recently. The blade is 120 mm long and 2 mm thick. It has a selective temper that was a right challenge to do, for it warped this way, then the other and another still. I had to straighten it after quenching on a wooden block with a wooden hammer while tempering with the spine heat. I can tell you, I wished I had five hands;-)! Just a tiny bit of warping in the tip was left, and I ground this down with a water stone. It has a convex bevel, and it bites like your little sister, making it a great snack knife, yet it is way tougher than I expected, for I bend it 30° each way and it came out straight. I like it and have already a sheath in the making waiting to get tempered itself. Watch this place...

This is a knife that is certainly built at the limit of my personal ability, and I like that. It is funny that when you look at real tribal knives, they often tend to have very thin and slicey blades, even those made for hard backwoods work. The thickest spine of a tribal knife in my collection is that of a Syrian curved dagger, and this comes at 3,2 mm. A Touareg dagger I own measures just 1,8 mm, another even just 0,8 mm(!), a Turkish Zelim even comes at just 1,5 mm. Those are knives made for cutting, and this they do extremely well. And do not get me wrong, those knives certainly have seen some pounding in their lives, judging by the scars and nicks on the blade surface. And still their edges were in great working order.

The smiths that made them often have only marginal equipment. Often there´s just a hole in the ground for a forge, a plastic bag for a bellows and a lump of iron for an anvil. And yet, making knives like those that they make is a right challenge to me.

My respect to them!

Toodling around the bush;-)

 The other day I was feeling the need again, that itchy, scratchy need to get out and put in some singletrack miles. Also there was the birch sap rising at mild temperatures and I saddled my steed and put some tools into my daypack and a fresh container bottle, made myself a flask of tea, and then I made for the hills. The sun was shining, and at first I was thinking about heading straight to the grove, but then decided otherwise and took in some much-missed singletrack riding. It is funny, I do njot often realize I miss it,l but when I am finally on my bike again and headed down a technical singletrail , everything fallos into place again. I contemplated a bit about that, while I was riding up a steep road that mends into a fireroad, and that I have ridden since I was a child. I took this route home from school when I was kid quite often. Now my time at school was not exactly an easy one. I was better at school than most, I had different questions, I was not very good at sports how it was teached (I hated football or basketball or gymnastics, and even though I rode mountainbike races already, even worldcup races, I always failed at school sports;-)), and, generally I was a strange kid, growing up in the woods as I did. Mountainbiking up that trail always had a kind of katharsis effect from all the mobbing and mocking and violence I had to suffer. I struggled up that road, and where it ends and goes on as a fireroad into the woods, I used to stop and relax, and it always was as if a great weight was taken from my shoulders. 23 years later my life is not exactly easy, and will never be, and sadness is a companion on my trail. But as I took my feet from the pedals of a way different bike, with a loooong high-mech suspension fork and no drum brakes at all;-), I felt the weight of it all subside, and I breezed in the early spring breeze freely. I often think about mountainbiking in general quite critical these days. Most mountainbikers I know behave like right morons. This is a development I witnessed since quite recently. Noone respects hikers, horseback riders, or hunters anymore, in fact it is deemed an act of coolness to ooze out quite some language into their faces. Slowing down before hikers is uncool, and tearing up the landscape with manmade stunts off the trail, is no longer  a no-go, but commonplace. Okay, so I have built stunts myself, on abandoned trails, and had fun with them. And it´s not really a great damage done, if it´s done properly and with respect to nature and fellow human beings. But this new generation of riders (with quite a lot of old-generation riders in it also) simply does not care a shit, to a degree that they even get bodily against people pointing out it´s not okay to do this or that. I always try to talk to people politely and to find a solution, but I have given up on trail access issues, for the worst enemy of legal trails are the mountainbikers themselves. And if you add politics to the issue you got a brew that will drive the sanest man mad. So the taste of mountainbiking has become a bit of a bitter one, for on many outings I meet with hunters, pedestrians and equestrians, and simply because I talk to them, even if it is difficult at times, politely and with respect, I get a right shower of the foul, of their bad experiences with bikers, and I often have to admit that they are right. I feel ashamed and cannot but try to make things right others have made worse, and continue to do so.

I will continue to follow my heart on the path of my soul, and this involves riding as well as being a part of nature. And I do not think it´s a contradiction. Tire tracks will heal with time, even stunts would be okay, but you have to know where, when and how you do it. If you love nature, you want to get to know more of it, and if you know, you will have your fun in a manner that does not ruin too much. But this is not a post for the morons. It´s a post about silent joy. It´s a post about feeling flow on a singletrail as well as sitting on a stump and having a sip of tea, savouring the sun, and a gentle breeze in early spring, listening to the birds singing and feeling the sap rising. The morons will never understand. They are too busy posting the weight and mass and colour of their morning shit on facebook or what´s app to simply sit back silently. Language? Quite truly so, but that´s the only jargon they understand.

I have always been different to them, I never had a part in their business. Mountainbiking has been my vehicle into the other world, to get there faster, there, where I was born and where I belong. I am a different being, and have more in common with an oak or birch or a hare or fox or the wandering hunter´s moon than I have with their world. As an infant, my lullaby was the song of the breeze in the soft treetops of spruce and fir, and the hooting of owls and the cry of the buzzard was more important to me than the latest top ten pop song.

I will no longer partake in a world where I don´t belong, at least not more than I must, and I will become stranger and wilder still.

 I arrived in the grove with all thoughts run out, as it well should be, for these thoughts are poison. Death it is to insult a poet, death, to love him, and to be a poet means death also. He who knows must not ask, he who asks, knows not. So, I left all these thoughts to the breeze and the light and the eraly scent of spring, wafting through the birch grove ever so gently. Down I sat with my back against a birch tree, and sipped my tea.

 I took out my two latest projects, two Kopis knives, that will fit in the concept of "Grimsarksberarmál", a poem and a story I have in the making, given by the wandering moon and a feather of the cat-owl;-). The topmost knife is made from Zwissler damascus with a wild pattern, which I know nothing of, but it took a good temper. Below is a knife out of Wootz steel I found in the woods.

"Beyond the dream road through the iron wood

Lord of the forest made love to a faerie:

Silently the moon´s reflection in the water."

The hours passed in thought and without thought, and in reflection and meditation (others call that drinking tea;-)). Then it went a bit cold, and I went over to the birch I tapped and got me a bottle of sap and fixed a fresh one to it. Oh the loot:

And I rode home with freed shoulders.

On the bench....;-) er the stump, that is.

 The sgian achlais for George is finally finished, now I simply have to make a sheath for it. It cost me quite some nerves again. I don´t know what it is, everytime I work for Scotsmen, everything imagineable goes awry;-). Wrecked my belt grinder, my air heater and my drilling machine, two sawblades and a file on it, so this is as tribal as they come, for I had no shop also, so I did a lot of work out in the woods, with no vice, a rasp, a knife, a hammer and sanding paper.

 I also had some progress on my damascus folder blade. The integral bolsters on the liners give me quite a headache, and I am currently thinking of just doing something in brass. The damascus is 300 layers of 1.2842 steel and 15N20 (C75Ni8) by Matthias Zwissler. Below is an EDC damascus blade for myself, 240 layers (Or was it 480, I lost track) 85mmx3,5-2,0 mm mild steel, file steel and spring steel. I am also thinking of making a virobloc folder from it...

 And, being inspired by Petr Florianek, I carved the antler on Eikinnsleikr with a mythic snake that bites its own tail, symbolizing the regenerating forces of nature, life and death and the mythological antagonist of Thor, the snake of Midgard.

 I tanned the carving with iron oxide.

 Still quite some room for improvement, but as is, I am content with the outcome. And yes, the snake IS upside down, to be seen when you handle the knife. I am growing ever so much fonder of that knife, and will do a sheath to go with it, and am currently thinking what material to take. I think of oak, naturally;-)...

We´ll see... I hope to get into the smithy soon and to forge myself another seax... can´t have too many  seaxes...;-)

A day in the smithy-folder and elven hunting knife blade

 On Saturday I saddled my steed;-) and rode out to the smithy. Noone seemed quite motivated to do some spring fire partying, so I resolved to take refuge:-) at the hottest fire I can imagine, and the one that has never failed me... the roaring, spitting, violent forge. The weather was shitty at best, but no harm done, I am not made out of stuff that will melt in rain and snow. On my way I met practically noone, and I paused to listen to the water birds. In the smithy, it was Volker greeting me and quite some filing work on my elven hunting knife I forged some time ago to do, for I decided to do some more fileworking than I normally do. Volker, that good chap, provided me with good, hot, strong coffee as usual, which was quite appreciated, given that the smithy has no roof worth mentioning and no walls at all;-), and blimey, the wind was coo-o-o--oold.*ggg*

 Then Daniel showed up with his lovely girlfriend, Marie. And he did what he always does, taking the sledge to do some intricate and delicate scrollwork just to show he´s capable of it. I really wished he would gain some self - confidence. He does some good work, but could easily be better if he concentrated on the work and not the proving himself. But I understand he is in desperate need of it, so I leave him be, swallow my tongue, although I keep making fun of him;-). He ´s getting on many people´s nerves, and certainly sometimes on mine, too, but it´s not easy growing up in this shitty mess we have made from this society. And blacksmithing gives him something to cling to (and doesn´t it to all of us?) and makes him something special. And I daresay he´s a good guy and on a good way. His lady was looking on and rightfully proud of her man.

 

 She even did some smithing herself, and fared well at it.

 I did little forging, for the elven hunter did require quite a bit of filing, but finally it got there. Then I forged the bolsters on the integral liners for a friction folder and filed the bevel on the folder blade from Zwissler damascus I made a while ago.

 Björn dropped by. He had found an old forge in a garden of a buddy of his, and decided he wanted to have a go. He had his head humming with projects, and boy, do I know this feeling! We gave him some coal to get the fire started, and some advice how to keep it low at first. I also offered him some free tutoring if he wanted, which he gladly accepted-we keep the flame burning!

Then suddenly they all were gone, I quenched the blade, had a chat with Volker, Jochen and Renate, and before you could say "degasing" I was on my bike and riding home through the silent twilight of dusk. In the distance I saw the spring fires burning down. But another fire will never cease to kindle.

It is the fire in my heart.

Another day in the smithy-Damascus mayhem;-) and something archaic

 On Saturday it was a bladesmithing day again. You know that kind.... you wake up, see that the weather´s foul, and then you sit there drinking your morning coffee, and start thinking. Might be you read a blade magazine or any such like, and out comes the sketchbook and  you start drawing, and thinking some more. One phone call later I was packing my pack with 40 kg of smithy and straddling my steed and off I was to Volker´s place. I virtually met noone on my way to the shop, weather was that foul, albeit quite warm. I had a nice chat with the old man;-) and before you could say "degasing" the forge was alit and the coal was coking, and I started some projects.

 Top to bottom: Zwissler damascus, 15N20 and 1.2842. Then I tried something out: An Andronovo / Sintashta replica out of silicon bronze, which amazed me a bit. It was the first time I forged bronze, and okay, I was one of those techno weenies always crying out "bronze is way too soft for blades". I used a combination technique of hot- and cold forging, and achieved quite a sensible hardness. If you work-harden bronze, you get a useable hardness, definitely on a par with a conventionally treated mild steel. It came in as a bit of a surprise. Of course, you won´t get the edge-holding capacity of highly tempered steel, but the knife got sharp enough to achieve a serviceable edge for woodcarving, making fuzz sticks and even batoning through a piece of dried ash with but minor damage. Plus, I find it really good looking. The next one in line is an own wire damascus. Next lies a piece of wire damascus that ultimately (hopefully) will become a Naalbindning-needle for the magic troll. Aaaand, something I am quite fond of, a folder blade out of Zwissler damascus, 1.2842 and 15N20, for some kind of friction folder. I plan on doing something with liners this time, maybe even with integral bolsters... we´ll see how it goes;-).

 Closeup of the bronze knife. I used it some, and already did some servicing. If the need arises, you can maintain the edge by polishing with a smooth piece of haematite, or by work-hardening some more, as it was done with scythes.

 I forged the spine somewhat thicker and finished the blade with a ball peen.

It was a bit of an eye-opener. I daresay bronze IS inferior to steel, of course it is, but bronze was in use for a long time, and by cultures whose individuals gave their tools quite a beating. But this led me to some thoughts about ultimate hardness. For use in the woods, the edge has to be harder than herbs, rope, hardwood, softwood, meat, and hide, i.e. the material you need to cut and process. You do not always need a harder knife. It´s good, but not absolutely necessary, to use the knife in one edge condition for more than one work. Many indigenous people use knives out of utter crap, as traffic signs (Papua).

This is not to say I will from now on only use bronze. Steel is definitely better suited for the task. But as a reality check, it was an eye - opener. Plus, bronze has the advantage of having an anti-diffusion effect when cutting herbs (no funny taste of iron carbide;-)) or vegetables. And, proverb says, you won´t see any elves when you carry out iron into the woods, "that old know-it-all"*ggg*.

I look forward to all those projects. Life´s too short to forge mono steel... it seems to me these days  *ggg*. Watch this place!

A damascus knife for the magic troll;-)

 Originally this should have been a Chrismas present, but I messed up, so I gave it to her this weekend.

A short (85mm x 3mm ca.) damascus blade from Zwissler damascus, 15N20 and 1.2842, selectively tempered. Titanium bolster and a yew handle. Better photos will follow soon! And I am looking forward as to what sheath she will make for it...;-)

Damascus Iscian knife with a dangler neck sheath

I made this knife after a ritual knife pattern I found attractive. It follows the lines of an Athamen / iscian knife. The blade is forged from Zwissler damascus out of 15N20 and 1.2842. The handle is made from bog oak that lay submerged under the mud of an old coalmine in the Muttental, resulting in a very rare bloodred colour. Mounted with copper and brass, the blade is 90 mm long and 2,5 mm thick, resulting in a very slicey feel. The bevel is convex, the tempering selective, as usual. I like it and use it as an EDC and as a knife that means something...;-).

Örnie;-) Pummelzahn party at the Bethaus

 On Saturday, the children´s holiday program "Ernie Pummelzahn" took place in the Bethaus smithy, and I helped out Volker. It was right mad, for there also was a wedding taking place and passers - by came along like mad! So but few pics. Above is Lukas, who forged, annealed, filed and tempered his first utility sheath knife and was righteously pround of his achievement. We made this from some C 45 with 0,45 % carbon content. To do it more safely, we quenched in oil, and yap, I know, we should have quenched in water;-). I forged hearts, snakes, snails, nails, Thor´s hammers, mini horseshoes, ram´s heads, and all the while they kept coming. But suddenly, all was over. Funny, but all of a sudden, the smithy was empty.

So we vleaned up the mess, and I worked on some projects of my own.

 Skinning knife with a finger ring that also works with a full-hand-grip. 1.2842, and edge - quenched.

Top is a project I have been working on for quite some time now, a dragon handled spring steel knife. Below is a big En - Nep, C 100Cr6 that has to see quite a lot of forging, too. And the camp knife out of crucible steel courtesy of the woods around my home I tempered encore une fois, for it got not hard enough, and it did not work, either. So next time will see some water quenching. If that does not work either, I will experiment with a carbon cementation process Viktor taught me.

And the lowest in line is a damascus viking women´s pendant knife, 1.2842 and tank cannon I tempered.

Lalalala!*ggg*

Hammer-In in the Industriemuseum Ennepetal: Classic cars, knives and hop

Last Sunday, it was a hammer - In at the industrial museum Ennepetal again, and I rode by bike to work. I was feeling kinda exhausted, as seems to be the norm these days. I guess that´s what happens to you from time to time when you live a life that´s exciting and sometimes strenuous. It´s starting to take its toll. My dedicated readers might have noticed...;-). My holiday has done a bit of relieving, but I could have one again, already. But none in sight. Forging is starting to get on my nerves, too. It´s not the kids, but the circumstances. It´s not the hard work, either. But hard work for nothing or very, very little money is another matter, and if you work hard all the time and always give your best - whatever that may be worth - and have to wonder if there will be bread until the month´s end in your cupboard, something´s wrong. I actually often forage for my food. Others are just queuing for their dole, but that´s not my way of living. Some of them don´t do anything, in the contrary, I have met several people taking pride in the fact they have never done a bit of work in their entire life. I do not step into the trap set by the wizards of our society by hating them or despising them for that opinion. In fact, I do not know what has led them to get that opinion, and it might work for them. And there is a prominent desire by some individuals in the social context, usually higher up the ladder, (but not even necessarily so) that citizens would not socialize or even solidarize with each other. Thusly, I believe that the stark opinion poor people were lazy, is made up, partly, at least.

For me, that would not work. But I work hard at times, and get about one third of the income I would get if I applied for a minimum dole, which would amount for the limit at which one is considered legally poor. No, I am not complaining, it´s all my fault. I even take pride in the fact that I manage, and I believe it has taught me many valuable lessons. I even believe, making do with less might be the most profitable thing to learn for our society there possibly could be.

Where was I?*ggg*

Ah, yes, I was feeling exhausted. So I decided to take it easy that day, and smell the roses. There were, as usual, many beautiful classical cars. Enjoy!

The bakery "Kritzler" was there, offering their delicious products. You do not know the taste of bread until you have tried a homemade one, industrial bread simply does not compare.

There also was an abundance of grilled sausage (BRATWÜRST!!!!*ggg*). I had three!

Ah, yes, we even did some forging, and we got some valuable compliments about our style. Seems we were not taking it as easy as we thought...

Willi forged some really great damascus blades from Matthias Zwissler damascus billets. I had a go, to, and forged out a rod. I also finally got the temper on my railroad screw knife wired:

When I had another break to have a cuppa coffee and a cake, most of the cars were gone, but this jeep had arrived.

From a piece of iron I found in the woods I forged a large camp knife. It took a strange temper, though, so I have to try again. We discussed matters and came to the conclusion it might be wrought iron. It showed a high carbon content in spark analysis, so should take a high temper, up to 60 HRC. Turns out it doesn´t.

I heat-treated it very conservatively. You can better temper it higher afterwrds than fix a blade broken in testing!

At the end I forged this dragon-head with funny teeth*ggg* didn´t turn out too well, either.

When all was said and done, we went to the parking lot to have a chat, and what did we find? Hop in blossom (Humulus, in German: Hopfen). Good as a nerve-calming tea, or for brewing. We were happy and collected some of the flowers.

Willi was quite amazed at the find. We had some good hour of a chat, did some foraging, and then we said goodbye and I made for home.

On the way back I had to stop in the woods to relax a bit. The sun was out and enchanted the trees.

Then, on my way home, I passed the schoolyard of my old school. And there I finally shot a photo of this monument that has followed me through my school years and later on. Now I can finally understand it.

I rode on, towards my sorry excuse for a home, and I knew again why I live life the way I do.

Never give up.