Cylvre

It's a Zombie Straight Razor, sized for when you're in for a close shave!

Also came to mind, "That's not a knife, this is a knife!"

Thank you Cylivre for the kind words.

 

I don't always use chemical to induce rust. I find that the environment I live in is very rapid in producing rust so I often take advantage of that when conditions are right. when I have to use something I use a solution that was passed to me in confidence.

I find that how you grow the rust is not as important as making sure it is grown gradually. For me the ideal is only to color the metal rather than mutilate it with the pits and bumps of aggressive rusting. I want to be able to see the finest detail and metal character through the patina. Working gradually day by day fosters this.

I use a hand scrubbing brush for the rub downs. They are good because the bristles are staggered in irregular patterns. they are designed to wash your finger tips. With a regular brush your fingers fall in between the rows and so do the edges of parts... These brushes work really well for rubbing down the rust. The nylon bristles are just right for knocking off loose material and burnishing whats left.

For the solution I use chips from oak burls I harvested in the forest. I boil them until the water is black. All kinds of tannin solutions can be used. Most use Tea leafs.

The final step is to seal with a wax while the piece is hot enough to melt the wax. This makes sure the wax penetrates deeply into the patina. Once its cooled you can buff it up with a soft cloth. I use a clean Horse hair brush to do buff it up as the last step...

 

patrick

Thank you for the information! I'll be looking forward to your wip's in the future.

~Chris

Hi Jason thank you,

first let me ask you what does "wip" stand for? I see it getting used all over forums, but must have missed what it stands for exactly?

The "bruising" is just natural oxidation for Shakudo. Basically the beginning stages of tarnishing. It has to be scrubbed off before it goes in the patina bath.

All the parts in this set beside the Tsuba are Shakudo alloy.

patrick

WIP is an acronym for 'Work In Progress.' WIP's a really great way for those of us less skilled in particular methods to see step-by-step how pieces from more skilled artists evolve and develop from start to finish. On the flip side someone trying out something new and posting a WIP is able to get better feedback on their processes, how they may be able to refine particular steps or what they may be able to work on to improve their work overall.

Thanks for sharing you work, those are some amazing pieces.

Could you maybe go into more detail on how you produced the rust finish on the guard; for example what you used to used to accelerate rusting on the piece (water, saline, peroxide?), what is used to rub the rust twice daily (sandpaper, cloth, polishing slurry?), and how you make your tannin bath (tea, oak leaves?) An even, deep, durable rust finish like that is a personal goal for me and any tips I can get will help me dial it in a little closer. Thanks again!

Can I have your ghetto one?

 

I vote for a multi-bar celtic leaf blade shortsword. Maybe three bars of 1060/15n20 in an opposing twist pattern, with 1080 edges. Give that new grinder a workout.

That's got my vote!

Or a nice beefy Kukri, such as: this one. If you got really motivated you could even do a really beautiful set complete with karda and chakmak (like this basic one.)

Mmmm, stabby goodness.

We're going to have to start calling you Thor with a hammer like that!

Love it! That's a crazy nice hamon you got there too.

I'm not seeing the picture.

I'm definitely no expert but maybe the black marks near the tip are alloy banding that developed during the multiple heats? Though looking really closely at the pictures I can see possible cracking so you may have hit it on the nose (no pun intended.)

That's a real skinny looking blade, I like it. Seems like it would be very fast in the hand. It'll be fun to see it develop into final form. Thanks for sharing!

I think the only way this could get any better is if this was a leaf-blade... but that's probably because I kinda have a thing for 'em. Definitely watching this topic!

That'll be gorgeous! Keep us posted, WIP pics are always nice. *hint hint*

Really, really wish I had $100 laying around for this one. I like it alot!

That's a mean looking bowie. I like the curve of the edge and that's a beautiful piece of burl you found. Thanks for sharing!

That is beautiful, clean lines and I love the dark tones.

Those things are tanks. Very nice!

That's a big disappointment about the other blades, but on the other hand you've knocked out a hell of a workhorse. With that forge finish and the spike head cap it just looks mean, a knife made to be dirty and get the job done. I like the temper color coming up from the guard too.

Online Metals has 1/8in T-410 sheet starting around $100. I haven't had a chance to try them out but have heard good things:

http://www.onlinemetals.com/merchant.cfm?pid=9806&step=4&showunits=inches&id=793&top_cat=1

Other thicknesses, from about half a millimeter up to a quarter inch, are also available:

http://www.onlinemetals.com/merchant.cfm?id=793&step=2&top_cat=1

Very nicely done. The only thing I may have done different would have been mount the blade on the other end of the antler and have the tines act as a guard, though that may have been more trouble to mount than it would have been worth.

Damn, $65 is a steal IMHO. I sincerely wish I could take it off your hands! Good luck, I have a feeling this'll go quick.

Hmm, interesting development with the rice straw. I wonder what kind of insulation properties it has. Maybe a sacrificial forge liner material, or flux barrier in a kaowool forge?

Looking forward to your progress on the blade!

I really like that profile, kukri-esque. I'm sure it'll serve him well.

A nice user... and a scary big squirrel. :-\

That's beautiful. I love the "bulby" look, it really gives it an organic flow.

What I hope to present here are four examples of a single process as it was practiced over a 1500 year time span. By reading each of them in sequence you can put together your own picture of what they were doing. This process is unique in that there wasn't any attempt to create a deep carburization of the iron or steel.

Very interesting comparison Skip, thanks for taking the time to gather them together for us.