On the bench - Sica and damascus

New projects galore... I made a big Sica (spring steel, no stock removal yet, not even drilling) and a smaller snack knife out of Damascus that was left over from an experiment...

I know I am a lazy bum... but be patient even if I tend to forge a lot and complete little... in any way I threaten to keep you posted!;-)

Progress on my Rus reconstruction - and Lúgra Móros

 The first steps towards my new Rus knife have been made, and I realized in the process that the Kopis knives I love so much actually have a historical background. One of my all - time favourite and ritual knives, Lúgra Móros (the moon-mare) is very close to a Novgorod find without me intending. In fact, I was always having the opinion, it was more of a Celtic design (hence the Old Gaulic name), but it seemingly also has roots in the Achaemenid Kopis but also in the younger Pishqabz. I wonder a lot of things these days. Could it be that the Varangians who served as a Byzantine palace guard served as a cultural vehicle to submit Persian or general Oriental weaponry and culture to the North? Or was this style of edge line original to Viking culture? What with an Irish influence) Quite certainly an Anglo-Saxon influence can be dismissed. I am fascinated by the thought that the Varangians, when returning home to Kiev or Scandinavia, brought Oriental wares with them (this is well documented). I also wonder whether Varangians also came in contact with Iranian and Oriental Martial arts? Plus, it is safe to say that at least one Russian martial arts and combat style of the medieval ages that was a predecessor to Systema originated in the Ukranian region around Kiev / Novgorod. This is a speculation of course. But a fascinating one...;-)

Anyway, the design of my Rus blade went a bit off the mark of the original drawing, but it is still somewhat historically accurate, for it mixes characteristics of the several Novgorod finds. The deviation is due to my forging it out of memory and not making a scheme out of brass or wood beforehand. This will happen next time. As is, the blade is 115x5mm in dimensions and made out of 45 layers of historical crucible and file steel. A first etching only revealed a tiny bit of pattern, but it is forged out in Masame technique to show the strands better. Below is a small whittling / neck knife I made for fun.

Into the twilight again

 After working in a job I can less and less relate to, I had to get out of the insanity that befouls our world. So off with me to the bus and into something that is different. It is a kind of therapy for me, if you so will, but somehow the term does not fit. For therapy is undergone to be able to fit in again. I have never fitted anywhere but into the woods. Personally I have long thought I was a wee bit off my rocker, and having had a fit of psychological studies myself once;-), I was even capable of clearly naming the exact manner in which I was off my rocker. You know, parental neurosis and such blahblah. And I guess I have always done my best to be a good lad and smugly fit into this world. I have always reflected my shortcomings and have earnestly tried to change myself.

Now I listen to the radio, and read the newspaper, and look around in the internet for news. I take the bus and the train and refuse to drug myself with an MP3-player so that I do not have to hear the ruckus everywhere. Time has been when I even tried to look people into the eyes. I do not do this anymore, for it can hurt either physically or psychologically.

Everywhere I look there is either blunt resignation or a hysterical frenzy to be someone and get somewhere, anywhere, anyhow. Everywhere there are those cyborg zombies not capable of communication other than blunt statements with no emotional or even semantical value or coherence to the statement before at all.

There is a worldwide conflict, that, given its roots lie in the distant past and it still has not changed, will presumeably never end until mankind is extinguished. There are ecological catastrophes just over the doorstep. Media hype and marketing sells fear and death, and we are told we can free ourselves only by being a good lad and buying this or that. Fear to not belong? Buy a smartphone and sign in to facebook or what´s app. Those tools are not in any way evil or anything, but dangerously abused by social control mechanisms. I lost nearly my entire circle of friends that I believed were real - life friends by this, so forgive me if I am a bit grumpy with these otherwise great ways of communication;-). 

Fear of death or sickness? Buy this insurance or that. (70% of all citizens in Germany are overinsured).

Fear of death, however, is the ultimate fear. If we all are honest, it also leads to us oh so critical bushcrafters and preppers and survivalists buying the latest Bear Grylls paraphernalia. Of course, I am no saint in that either, and I also live in fear of death, and I buy a lot of stuff just for the sake of buying it to soothe myself or reward myself or whatnot. But if I think thoroughly about it, why should I be a good lad? Why should I be ashamed of what I am? I have never been, but being mobbed out of any social context I was part of makes you think a bit about your own shortcomings, if you so will;-). But here it was that my learning process started. In that I have to be grateful for what my enemies did for me; for they have started it. And if they wanted to get the better end of me, they have thoroughly failed, again and again. And if I once feared to not belong, I realized that it´s not that bad. I started anew, and that was all about it. Fear of death, however, is a different matter. What helps me most is the thought that I cannot help it anyway. We all have to die, as do the animals and plants. And from the rot and the decay new flowers will blossom and new saplings will stem.

Now this seems to be part of an altogether different world, doesn´t it? A world where there are laws and commandments where you can blame yourself if you don´t follow, for those laws are natural. And you are not a "good lad" if you follow them, but dead when you don´t follow them. A cruel world, too, where this oh so cute rabbit is torn down by the fox, and the graceful fox is left to rot when he dies of hunger. A world where the strong survive. Oh, is that so? The strong will survive?

Once I had a conversation with my boss, right after she offered me informal terms. She stated she believed in the law of "might makes right", and that the strong survive in our society. I had a laughing fit, for she is slightly overweight, and can just so lift her handbag without help. Now I do not want to brag, but I walk a good 50 km, run barefoot through barren forest land, even in winter, ride my bike a good 100 km with a smile, lift a 65kg anvil with not so much of building up a sweat and split a 1x4 pine board with my fist. Her qualification equals that of an average, well educated clerk, while I studied philosophy, comparative mythology, English, German, Medieval German, Anglo-Saxon, Old Norse, Hitthite and Old Celtic and Slawic literature and history, prehistoric history, archaeology, runeology, psychology, attended lectures in arts and crafts, medicine, quantum physics, am a blacksmith, carpenter, coppersmith, artist, writer of songs, poems and fantasy mythologies, herbologist, martial artist and know a thing or two about real life. As I said, this is not to be intended as bragging, and I am not good in all of this, but I guess the point is made. I am stronger, have more knowledge and am more virile, but I am ruled by someone who is not. I have no intention of claiming my right by might, for I am not an advocate of "ad baculum". In my opinion it is a privilege of the strong to protect. Culture should be made that way, but it´s not, of course. But a bit of humility would suit even a tyrant, even if it´s just out of egoistic motivation. For no one has mercy with a fox who has eaten a rabbit just beforehand. In contrast to a boss, however, the fox will not whine about it if it comes to the worst. A human will wail and complain about things he or she cannot change.

But that´s the way of things, and it does not bother me that much. That milk has long been spilled. What bothers me, though, is that we are lied at that we live in a culture of mercy. This was the case, just some 13 years ago, when we still could be proud of our society, where the so - called strong did not yet prey on the weak.

But, to be honest, it does not bother me that much. I can live up to the standards of nature still. Time will come when I will get weak and old, and then I will die, but where´s the harm? We all have to, the hare as well as the fox, tree and flower and the buzzard as well as the dove. I fear death, and I must be honest that I fear life also. But this world is dying. Those in charge removed the ethics to leave a pseudo-natural state of constant war. If the effect of this cumulates any more, then only the strong and virile will survive. I AM strong and virile still. And, most important, I do not fear nature, I respect it. The woods is where I belong, and where I know most every law and commandment, and I like to think that I am welcome for that. And the woods are not gentle or nice or peaceful. They are cruel, and inhumane, and there´s no justice there-but they are just what they are, and they do not lie or whine.

There is this very special oak tree I pass by every time I walk this way. The oak is the guardian of the threshold, and I leave my whining and my fear there to be entirely what I am.

  

 And then the road goes on. A lot of memories lie there, embedded in the gravel. Often have I hiked this trail, often ridden it by bike, I walked it with combat boots on, all blistered, I felt it with my bare feet. I left my blood there when I took a mouthful dirt, I felt the sun and the rain and the snow and the warm earth.

 Snow-jewels were glistening their twinkling song into the bright day, and the bright blue sky was full with birdsong.

 And so the ground and the sky blended into each other, and over old hills and far away I walked, way farther than my feet.

 In the woods there was a new home of what I assume is a rabbit.

 Under the dark and twilit treetops gently swaying in the breeze I took a deep and soothing breath. Sika deer were passing in the distance, and I saw a hare flee my steps, and just for the fun of the chase, I followed at a run.

 Hare droppings...

 And fox droppings... what story does the fact tell that these were just a metre apart?

 Then I began to walk slower, for I still have problems with my blood circulation.

 Ever deeper I went into the mood of twilight, ever deeper I ventured into another world, a world where there is just breathing and being and light.

And so I walked smilingly, silently, stealthily, along the song of the murmuring creek, laughing with joy because of the smelting snow´s waters that had poured their essence into it; to sink, to rise, to laugh the spring into a winterday´s thought.

 Golden and ochre, and sun on the rise; behold that the night is fading!

 And twilight and darkness play their shadowy jests...

 And then I came to my favourite place and had some rest...

..and now for something completely different...;-P

 

 I do not want to hide this new knife from you; I got it on the Jagd und Hund expo from a Pakistan knifemaker, Maqson knives. It´s made from Damascus out of 1095 and 15 N20. Mrs. Maqbool, who spoke excellent German (in fact she IS a German with a Pakistani background), even informed me about the fact that Damascus is not always taking a homogenous hardness like monosteel without me actually asking. This was very professional, and certainly endeared me to the corporation. The knife came out of the box razor-sharp. It has a high hollow grind with a flat secondary edge bevel. The scales out of beautiful walnut needed some reworking, for they were a bit loose. I attribute this to the change of climate. I fixed them with a bit of epoxy and a ball peen.

The pattern is showing excellently, no welding flaws are visible.

 Etching a part of the spine showed a continuous pattern. It is not a fake or a mild steel handle welded on, but one - piece Damascus.

 While having a sip of tea, I made some fuzz sticks with it, which worked like a cinch, nice and curly locks with no tearing. Whittling soft and hard wood did not alter the sharpness in any way...

 The sheath is made from relatively soft, but supportive leather. The knife is held in quite well, even upside down and will presumeably be kept in even if the sheath softens up a bit with time.

The loop makes for a high carry position I do not like so much, and the sewing is nothing to brag about, but I have seen far worse! I paid more for it  than for a typical Pakistani knife, but the quality is well there, and hey, craftsmanship comes at a price!
I will do some more testing soon.

 A long time I sat by the creek, listening to its glistening, silent song... and forgot about the tidings of the world of make-believe. To be honest, I also forgot about knives and tea and about myself. I came to my senses just then; breathing, breathing in the winterday´s air. And the cold came creeping up my legs and spine, bearing no relevance for what I had become.

And up I got, finally, as the sun was sinking behind the ancient hills... and in my heart there is a winter. And there is twilight, mist and stars. And there is spring in the laughing creeks that sing:

 

Summer cometh!;-D

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!

AYAHI-and yet another hammer-in;-)

 After the Solingen Knife expo (see monster post;-), we decided to do some forging again and met at the smithy. Volker was already busy with the kids, so we geared up, and got at it. Nick was there, and he is making some huge process. Great to see, how well he gets along with the kids, too! He forged some pendants, chain links for "The chain";-), oh so little knife-lookalikes from mild steel (that´s easier to forge for the kids, and by  cold-working the edge even cuts a little), snakes, awls, and the like.

 I was taking it easy a little, doing some "making" work and less smithing, like grinding and polishing this three-layer laminate, spring and mild steel. I experimented with some pattern-controlling. Did not work out quite the way I wanted, for the laminate is a bit off - centre, but I guess, it´s a learning process, and there´s a lot to learn still.

 Then I worked on the handle of those two Kopis knives. Above is a damascus blade, 115x2,4mm, bronze fittings, volcanic fibre, mule deer antler, and below is the would-be "Uhlenfang", "Plattdiütsch" a Northern German branch of language dating back to ancient continental Saxon, meaning  "owl´s fang".High carbon steel given to me by the forest, 120mm long with a distal taper from 8mm at the handle to 2,4 mm at the tip which might be crucible steel, for it shows a pattern, Mokume Gane, and reindeer antler.

 I made a buttcap for Uhlenfang to peen the tang over. Not that it needs it, but I like the looks;-). It´s Mokume Gane also, not yet etched.

 A fork I made quick and dirty for the barbecue after work... this tends to become a tradition, and I don´t complain...;-).

 Then I redid the edge bevel on the knife of Kathrin, Nick´s woman. Volker provided us with a steady flow of caffeine, so much in fact that it became hard on my stomach and I had to decline...;-) imagine that!

 Those two girls came over all the way from France to visit the smithy!

 But there also were kids from the neighbourhood... many are not here for the first time, and drop by whenever possible. This is the best compliment we can get.

 The young ladies enjoyed the work thoroughly.

 We forged hearts and a pendant, and it was fun to work with those two.

 Then the dale fell silent, and I set out to normalize the Seax I forged recently. I am currently thinking of how to fit a handle. I am fond of the Torgard seax, but also like the ones from Lembeck... we´ll see how it goes;-). It´s made from spring steel, with a rather thick spine and a medium length.

Then Goldemar obviously rode me;-) and I started a damascus billet from 1.2842 and mild steel. No progress shots yet, but it´s in the making, and I´ll keep you informed. Nick was getting somewhat hungry and started the BBQ fire, while I was firing away and salting;-). Do you know that feeling, when you were a kid, and were drawing away at arts classes, and completely lost in the work, and the teacher called "Now, lads and lassies,  should you come to an end...". I hated that feeling. It was not without humour that the situation remineded me of that;-), when Nick sat  there waiting (and making no secret of the fact*ggg*). Then I ran out of Borax, and had to close up. Crazier still, the stuff I thought was Borax was no Borax, and as I used it as a flux, resulted in a stench of flowers and the cockrot;-). The billet came apart at the end as a result, but I will try to weld that back on again. Just an exercise is all...

I was feeling all fluffy from the effort anyway, so I cleaned up, with great help from Nick, and we finally got to the point of grilling. I had prepared some champignons with a stuffing with cheese, lard, wild herbs, garlic, onions and cream, Nick had brought steaks and stuffed baguette, and Volker provided us with beer. Renate soon joined us, we had a simple but magnificient meal together, and chatted and laughed and generally enjoyed ourselves thoroughly.

Then suddenly it was all over, and I saddled my steed and rode home, with a big gratefulness for the fact that life, while being a right bastid from time to time, generally is a great place.

New knife finished!-Capuchadou le original!;-)

Soooo, this is a new one I am quite fond of. It is some 85mm x2,5 mm with quite a shallow blade, made from 240 layers of rebar, spring and file steel, with a selective temper. There is a predecessor of the famed Laguiole folding knife, the Capuchadou native to the French region of Laguiole. While currently there is a folding knife currently marketed as such, peasants of the region carried a small, light fixed-blade knife for all the odd little everyday life of a farmer or shepherd before the venue of the folding knife, which was influenced by the Spanish Navaja. Et Voilá, le Capuchadou...;-). The handle is genuine rose wood, meaning rosa canina wood, which I really love for its wild grain and deep colour nuances. The ferrule is ball-peened copper. The knife has soon become one of my favourite kitchen knives. It is a cinch for dicing onions and vegetables, for cleaning carrots and peeling apples, and a great snack knife, too. I am therefore rethinking my stance towards thick spines in knives. Okay, I would not want to carry a bush beast with a flimsy 1,8 mm spine thickness, but, provided the temper´s right, I guess you can live with thinner even in the woods. Just look at Mora knives... guess there will be more like this one.

On the bench-more steel!

 Currently there are a load of projects going on. The blades in the topmost picture are what we typically make at the Bethaus smithy on customer request, with a raw finish, a blade out of spring steel with a selective temper by edge-quenching, forged bolster / guard out of mild steel (file steel on request). They normally get a handle burned-to-fit and get peened over a copper buttcap. With those two, hot - punching the blade décor went a bit awry, so I kept them for myself.

 Top is a damascus Kopis with the squiggly bit;-) fallen off, so it will get some annealing and some new forging a squiggly bit. Next is a file steel blade that´s needing some forging still, and a Nessmuk and a hunting / steak knife out of ancient spring steel with a carbon content of about 0,75% and nothing else;-). Nessie´s already quenched (you can see the quench lines illustrating the technique quite well. For I always use a double quench technique. I heat the steel to the upmost part of the temperature window suitable for quenching. I wait until it is cooled in the air a bit and just right for quenching (you can use a magnet if you want to be sure). I quench the edge part very conservatively. When the temperature is coming down further to a dull red colour I put it in further. It is crucial that this part still isn´t magnetic! Then I take it out, while the spine still has some heat. I remove the scale and oil with a wet wire brush. When the edge part achieves a golden colour with cutting knives and a blue colour with cleaving knives, I put it in the oil to cool down. I then take a file and run it along the edge. It can have some grip, but must not bite, if that makes any sense. If it slides off completely, I use the heat radiance from the forge to bring down the hardness some more to enhance elasticity. After cooling down again, I repeat the file test and allow it to rest some. I then slam the edge against the edge of the anvil. It must not dent too much, best it shouldn´t dent at all. Then it has to carve iron rods. Next in line is a test of elasticity and shock resistance: I slam the flat blade over the horn of the anvil. If it breaks, it breaks. The next test is levering up a 30 kg anvil. If it survives all that, it´s ready to rumble;-). I will then remove any nicks or dents and put an edge to it. It has to cut paper in the least. Then I like to chop at least ten times into hardwood or antler to test the edge-holding capacity. Another good test is carving hardwood from the broad side. It has to stand up to those tests also and at least cut "any which way";-) through paper.

On the bench these days... Wootz / Bulat-blades from steel I found in the woods

 I can tell you, I nearly fell on my south, when I learned the "crap steel" I found in the woods actually was refined Wootz! In the etch you can see the characteristical carbide distribution...Click here for a scientific article on Wootz / Bulat / Pulad steel.

 Even if it were not this kind of steel, there´s be no harm done, for it makes for a blade that wickedly sharp and holds an edge very well. Okay, so it got some dents, when I slammed it full bore into an iron rod, especially to the rear, where it did not hit the tempering concoction fast enough, but no harm done... when´s the last time you used a knife to chop through iron rods?;-)

 I fitted a stag antler handle that´s currently being tanned.

 The spine´s rather thick at 5mm, the blade´s 95 mm long. I love the Kopis design, for it makes for a smooth cutting motion!

 And my hadseax is there, finally, and talk of being snobbish, the damascus is of ancient file steel and Wootz steel... as I have learned now. It is wickedly sharp, flexible and boy, I simply love it.

 If you look closely you can see hints of the wootz structure in the layers.

 Okay, I have to remove that glue;-)!!!

The blade´s 105 mm long and 3,2 mm thick, has a high convex bevel with a very slight curve. The handle is bog oak from an old mine with a lovely burgundy colour. Fitting and bolster are brass, the white piece is reindeer antler that will see some carving. Watch this space, I am back...!(that a threat?);-)