Doug Lester

BUMMER!! Doug

How does that top one with the elk slabs feel in the hand? Doug

That Centaur Forge Knifemakers anvil is anything but. It's too small with most of the mass in the horn. They can call it what they want but that's a farriers anvil. You'll work yourself to death trying to move steel with that. Have you looked at what Old World Anvils have to offer? Doug

I think that you chose well to take a pass on that 66 lb anvil. Even if it were cast steel it lacks mass under where you will be working. You would be far better off with a block of steel. As a matter of fact, my principle anvil is an 86 lb block of H13 that I got from a steel supplier in St. Louis that sold cut offs on Ebay. I recall that it cost me $140, shipping included, at the time. Doug

Another thing to keep in mind is that grain size effects hardenability. The smaller the grain the less deeply the steel like 1095 will harden. This is something to keep in mind if you run into a situation where you just can't seem to get that hamon to show up. You might have overheated the steel and grown the grain large enough that the blade will harden all the way through. Doug

Very good work but I think that I'd like to see more of a hardened edge on it. Did you do a differential hardening or was that an auto hamom? Doug

Great job. Nice use of a combination of metallic and organic material in the upper and low guards. Doug

That is one crazy wild looking blade! What is the burl that you used for the handle? Doug

May your surgeon be skillful and your nurses cute. Doug

I have a brass nipple threaded into a plug in a T-coupler in the air pipe just below a 90° bend in the assembly. Basically loose that piece of brass pipe inside the plug that you have. Doug

Dang, Matthew, that is one outstanding sword! Doug

I know that this is an older thread but Mr. Hrisoulas has relocated to Florida. Doug

Outstanding! Doug

There's a lot to like about that knife. Well done. Doug

Very nice wow factor to that sword. Very proper cord wrap on it too. Doug