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Hello, I would like to introduce myself and especially my work here. My name is Jiri and I come from Czech Republic and I am interested in forging and other related crafts for a long time (maybe since i was 12 years old…now i am 25 :D). My work became presentable (I hope) since covid times, when i had plenty of time to practice. I enjoy making knives/ other things inspired by history and fantasy stories (mostly Lord of the rings). First thing i want to introduce, is my Rohirrim set which consists of small utility knife and bigger broken-back seax. The small one is the first knife where i

This was commissioned by the manager of a deer estate for processing red deer. The references he gave me were 'Viking Knife' and the Tapio Wirkkala puukko, but the design took a lot of back and forth, as it needed a long, narrow blade as they are now required to go in through the pelvis for large portions of the cleaning. This is what I came up with in the end: 13.5cm blade, a little under 1/8th thick, in clay hardened 1095, with a mustard patina under a baked oil finish. Antique wrought iron bolster and pommel, mild steel pommel

This is the newest power hammer in my stable! - had to downsize things a bit since the workshop whoopsie last year Tod is very good at videos, I just stand and grunt on command - hope you enjoy!

You only need one tool to start carving and you can make it in half an hour. I use this graver for 90% of my carving: It's a little under 1/8th thick, 1/4" deep, 4" long. the point is a little under 3/8ths long, so about a 35ish degree angle, though there is a tiny bit of relief in the first 1/4" The edge is sharpened slightly steeper - I just touch it up on a hard felt wheel every year or so. the handle on this is a commercial graver handle, but it's really just there to rest against your palm, so any rounded lump of hardwood will do. The tape is just padding to redu

An update. I had to buy belts and some mill tooling (which is dammed expensive, IMHO), but I'm making progress. There is still a bunch of material to remove, and I need to clean up the fuller before HT, I may try a scraper. G

Got the scabbard dyed and greased so next up is the suspension. Still haven't completely decided wether to go with a baldric or a belt

Hi, i begin with the carving. Ruggero

Well I completed the Kabar! It isn't an exact replica, and I'm aware of some flaws, but over all I'm happy with it.

And finished. (Crappy cell phone pic for now) Not perfect by any means, but overall I'm happy with it. The San-mai didnt come out looking quite the way I intended. I over-etched it and pitted the 1084 outer layer pretty good. As I went to sand it down it revealed an almost wrought iron look in some places, especially up by the ricasso. Between that and the hard line where it transitions to the 15n20 core, it was a cool enough look that I decided to leave it be. Hopefully I'll have enough time this weekend to come up with a fitting sheath for it. 4 different blades, 2 guards,

Walrus tusk with and Ebony insert, stainless fitting, 1080 / 15N20 stretched crushed W's pattern. +

If it were me I would tell my friend that I don't do gut hooks. There are people who feel differently but I know there are those out there who hold t hat they are not very functional as the hook is not large enough to go through the skin and the underlying muscle. I probably opened a can of worms here but I'm just saying what I would do. Doug

Little sneak peek after glue up, and a little celebration for not screwing it up to badly. Yet. Oops, looks like you'll have to wait until it's done to see it all now. Ok. Maybe that's not the only empty bottle in the shop tonight!

Hello, Recently finished project - Customised 15-16th cent. Messer Blade: spring steel Handle: mild steel, brass and yew Sheath: waxed and tooled leather Thank you Jacek

Hello, Norman Sword made during sword making class with a student. Blade: EN45 Crossguard and pommel: mild steel Handle: wood and leather Scabbard still to do....:) Thanks Jacek

It's a san mai with damascus outer layers and a 1080 core.

I think that this part of her post makes not having a go at it, not possible. "The very nice gentleman who made me my power hammer asked for a skinning knife with a gut hook."

I tried a couple more times to make damascus with 1095 and 15N20... they're not going horribly for a change, but it is taking forever since all I had up until last Saturday was an anvil-shaped object and my hammer. But I have made a last bit of progress. Having never made a sheath before, I've now made several and I'm really happy with my latest, which I think is the one I'll go with. It's a pocket-style, but I think it goes well with that sort of knife.

Pro tip: If you cook your brussel sprouts in coconut oil it makes it easier to slide them off of your plate and into the garbage. Really nice looking knife, Austin. I like the curve of the base of the blade near the bolster. Also, the sweeping curve of the butt of the grip is elegant. Well done.

Peter- you can easily see progression! Your grinding game has definately improved... I'd say- keep going!

Great looking sword, Jacek. I wish that we could get the equivalent of EN45 on this side of the pond. I think that I'd pretty much confine my knife making to it if I could get it. Doug

This one came into my shop today for some sharpening and clean up. I made this knife probably 12 years (?) ago. At the time, this was a standard full tang "elk skinner" in my portfolio. This one was made with elk antler scales and brass bolsters. I was astonished at how big it was. The blade is over 4" long, and about 1.5" wide. Hollow ground O1. The OAL is about 9 inches. It took a really sharp edge in no time at all. He said he has cleaned quite a few elk with that knife. There were some minor rust spots that I didn't really do anything with, but I polished the blade and blosters.

That's a right purty lil' stabber...................

Nice job Colonel....................

That thing is sleek! Turned out Great!

Welcome, and lovely work!

Getting the layers balanced as you did is job rewarding enough. I ain’t a big fan of etching except in some cases. Handle isn’t overstated nice work Alex!! Someone will be pleased for sure. Gary LT

Just about all that is missing is the "USMC". The fuller might have gotten a little wobbly and you could have put some metal or plastic spacers between the leather washers every third or forth one but you did a real nice job there. Doug

You don't have to take a lot off of that point, just a little to blunt the tip so it cannot snag the entrails. A 1/4" (or larger) round file should do the trick to cut the slot and the bevel. Is that pattern welded steel?

Large game. So if I make the point shorter and rounder like the chalk marks, is that better? And for large game it probably needs to be a bit wider right? I would truly love to, because I hate gut hooks too. However, Gerald hit the nail on the head as to why I feel inclined to make one anyway.

I would rather have a skinning knife with a separate gut blade. Outdoor Edge makes the swingblade that has both in one blade. That is the best combination I have ever used. Would be simple to make a set and a double sheath to hold both blades.

To expand on Jakes 100% correct short answer: You can also fill the engraved sections with something (e.g. antiscale) to protect them during the final heat and quench. Just want to make sure you don't go overboard and add too much insulating mass.

Stories like this really boils my p*** as I see more and more of this from large online platforms. I am myself no longer able to run ads on Facebook due to (supposedly) selling "weapons". Same with Instagram. I am a member of engraving groups on Facebook - where they fear the groups will be shut down due to the fact that most engraving jobs are done on firearms, then knives and swords - in that order. Most recently it has come to my attention that YouTube has similar policies in regards to firearms, and monetization of such videos, and most recently people who publish hun

I'm not sure if you're on Instagram or not but a folder maker, "Scorpion6knives", had this happen to him also, and after a few months of back and forth and paypal flat refusing to release funds or even review his case he was finally able to pressure them enough to review the case and they found he was not in violation and reinstated his account. I remember he made a post about the Ebay thing as well and that it was a large part of his defense. He might have some pointers for you if you reach out, I remember it was very public and he was excited to put a stop to it happening to individual m

Just amazing!

I miss Tom and Ray.... Sorry Faye, nothing productive to add.

Looking pretty good to me. What did you use to patina the blade?

That kitchen knife looks really great! Brussel sprouts wrapped in bacon and a light drizzle of balsamic vinegar and olive oil, then baked!

When I saw the still I thought "What, John's bought Owen's A&O?" After watching I must agree, you have the coolest hammer ever!

Very cool! that looks like a very satisfying fit between all the parts

I always love that little sneak peek of the damascus when normalizing

Forging a copper rose pommel for a misericorde I'm working on. Also going to try and make a couple of tiny ones for the ends of the quillions...

The fear of losing memories is well understood as you get older.

It was well worth the work you put into it. Very nice indeed.

Hot work is fine. I want to thank Gary Mukey for sharing this process in previous posts. I'm certain I would never have thought of it otherwise. Here is my plan, going forward. I'm going to build a vblock for one end out of carbon steel. That will cradle that end and weld to it (I hope!) do that I can use that for the tang. On the other end I plan to do the same thing, except that piece will be coated in a release agent and will NOT weld to the stack. My end hope is to have a billet that is already pointed so that I can do a minimal amount of forging that distorts the

Alright, as this is a quite interesting post - I thought I'd throw my progress into the proverbial basket as well. Four years of progress. First blade was a full tang cooking knife in san-mai lamination with folded and twisted 15n20 and high carbon tool steel. Handle in african Ebony. I folded this steel entirely by hand as I had yet to aquire my pneumatic hammer at that time. Damn, I really punished my arms and shoulders with this one. Latest blade I suppose is known to most of you as I posted it quite recently here on the forum. I was thinking

I totally forgot about my first stock-removal-only knife. Made about a year before my first forged knife, about a year after I started smithing: Bandsaw blade and walnut with brass pins, hardened in the fireplace. I made it to replace my grandmother's favorite paring knife she'd had since around 1935 after it finally died in 1999. She loved it, and I got it back when she passed on a few years back. It looks just like the old one, except for much less embedded grease and a full-width blade. The old one broke because she'd "sharpened" it into a hair-thin sickle over the 64

These posts give me hope for the future, lol very very first knife shaped object from rebar. It was a going away present to a friend (don't worry, we're still friends, even after this gift, lol) And my most recent blade, and first attempt at a multibar construction

I had to dig quite far, but I managed to find a picture of my first knife, now 6.5 years ago. mild steel of course, and the picture is horrible too, but we all have to start somewhere. On the bottom a knife I finished earlier this year, which I'm quite proud of,takedown construction, my own damascus and leather sheath. I also got a lot better at taking pictures.

I really like this thread. It gives me hope that maybe someday I'll be able to actually create the blades that I see in my mind before I begin. Lol My first: The last one I've finished:

The ABS tests don't really say much about the quality of the knife, per se; rather they test the ability of the smith to forge, heat treat and grind to meet a set of (somewhat arbitrary, somewhat contradictory) criteria....