Kevin Colwell

Dave - good to see your work again. I like the lines a lot. Pretty radical fuller. The bolster is my favorite part, though.

that is a great idea. I like the original and your interpretation. Please don't take this as critical, but I would like to see the sides of the handle (the wood and the steel) sanded to 400 or 600 grit with the scratches running lengthwise. It would be a little tight in the curves, and you would need a hard backer for the paper when sanding, but it would bring this dagger to a higher level. I really like the work you have done here. I am not criticizing at all. I am just letting you know this in case you want to try it. It could help. People shared this info with me, and I am passing it on to you. thanks for sharing.

what they all said! that is one fine knife. The shape of the guard is unique and cool. I love the way the blade looks. the blackening, too!

I missed this one. That is a really nice knife. I love the details you have put in it.

good to see you getting your hand back in. that guard is really sweet. I like the handle pins, too. Very cool stuff.

that is one fine dagger. all of the components are just right. The time you spend getting the handle dialed in will be worth it. great work kd

That was a failed attempt at a naginata from a few years ago. I often have some pretty cool scrap stuff laying around that failed for some reason. Ricky has made some beautiful stuff by taking failed swords from me and reworking them into bowies and tantos. Adam, thanks a lot for taking and posting all of the pics. It was an HONOR and a PLEASURE to host this event. These guys are great.

I forgot to add that I think this looks like a great filet knife. I thought that was implied, but I needed to say it. Nice work, as always. I have been a fan of your work since I first started seeing it on here, and you have taken time to explain a whole array of things to me. Thanks.

beautiful addition to the series. Looks right, given the previous stylings. That pommel is an original, and bad ass, too. I like the profile, the s-guard, and the whole package. Great knife.

those are both well made (at least they look it). I think that is pretty good smithing. Thanks for sharing.

Jon Cook, I am making a set of "working knives" right now. 2 wharncliffes and a simple clip point. micarta handles. At a deeper level, I have a great friend, among my very best, who is just finishing his Ph.D. in Cognitive Psy. In a previous lifetime, he was in Special Forces, and he is also a smith. So, I am working with him to create a few knives that are actually likely to be usable and sturdy under a variety of field conditions. He at least knows what one needs for various applications that I don't. We aren't going to go nuts with it, but come up with a few designs that actually have shapes that work, good heat treatment, etc. We will fall far short of, "cool." But, so what. A former farm boy/rancher type and a former soldier who are both Ph.D.'s and both smiths putting their heads together to make good knives. That's the idea.

Dan - sounds great. If the weather holds, I will set the twist-o-matic up outside. I have a crappy little post vise I clamp it into (I have a good post vise I recently bought that needs a stand). Everyone - We are on, rain or shine. Hopefully, shine. I need to get the plumbing to hook my T-rex up to my heat treatment barrel. I have a regulator and a ball valve, and the hose. But, the connector fittings I don't have. If you have any spare fittings, or want to trade, help me out! I have a disk grinder, scroll saw, cheap silver rolling mill, and a barrel for heat treatment kiln making all to be given away. kc

that is an awesome thing, vicious but still attractive. The wood is great, too. Nice work, and scary.

Salem, that steel is just awesome. It is up there with JDs work in some ways. Truly, that kicks ass. I am really impressed. The forge-welded bolsters are a great idea.

aha! now I get a little more insight. That is one cool little newt! Seriously, great attention to detail and great technical skills to hollow form that.

Well, that is a good start. The only one I ever made from this process had a neat pattern. It just begs for hamons, too. But, I am tempted to just fold more when that happens. I have tried to cut open and clean or grind away everyyouuu flaw before, too. It just left me with a pile of bits and a lot of dust. I have seen others just fold the steel again and keep forging. looking forward to meeting you.

Edited to add: What is Raven Oil? I think your idea of holding the eye in a vise after the weld for some later work is brilliant. I think I saw that done during one of James Austin's vids. Either way, it is a smart trick. The finished products look very nice.

I like it. If you go with the butt plate, bale, etc. then it will be a very fancy knife. I think you did a great job, and it harkens to another time!

having a steel spark fly out the front of a gas forge every now and then (the type that bursts when it hits the oxygen outside the forge) is a good sign that you are ready to weld. So, you may be on to something with the more iron oxide in the exhaust gas. (I was a chemistry student, once, too). So, aim to have the stack just below the point that it begins to sparkle or crumble, in an oxygen-poor environment, and you are at the right point. You CAN weld colder (Cashen does, Fogg doesn't), but there is no NEED to weld colder and it is easier when you have )it hotter. When you try O1 you have to work colder (Cashen uses it), but with simpler steels there is no local depression of melting point due to alloy concentrations, and so no danger of the steel melting in some places at relatively lower temps and falling apart on you like brass does when you heat it (for the same reason). kc

yes, and there should be a LOT of fuming when you pull a borax-coated billet from the forge. That fuming is a great measure/indicator. I agree with Owen on the atmosphere as it relates to borax behavior at temp. I was going to type it but he beat me to it. Fast. Move fast. Steady and quickly to the anvil and to strike the firm blows. Strike and push a bit rather than just letting the hammer bounce. If you have steel with a lot of nickel, borax won't work on nickel oxides once they are formed, so that may be part of it. Try hot and clean, first.

I have never made an axe, but I like them. I should probably make myself one like that for use around my home. I have to finish my machete first, though. kc

fun idea. The Chinese make fighting knives with big brass pommels shaped about like that mace. Wooden handles with a tang through them and a mace-head-like pommel on the end. I like it! I have to make one of the Chinese knives. I will show you then.

I used to do that trick - etch between temper cycles and build up and then set oxides. Boiling is supposed to help in some circumstances, although I am not sure exactly whether it makes a difference with the oxides from etching. I know it does with rust bluing, though. Filet knives are just about the hardest knife for me to make. That long and thin blade takes work. I guess I should do them stock removal and leave forging alone unless they are clad or something. Nice looking blade. How does it flex?

I love these.

I am just the opposite, I use a rasp or file for EVERYTHING on wood that I can. Chisels or milling machine, too, but usually a rasp for curves.