Einar

Thanks, Doug!

I finally finished my grosse messer. I guess this is more of a messer/falchion hybrid. I've had this blade laying around for a few years now, and finally finished it. When deciding on the type of hilt to put on it, I was inspired by Peter Johnsons "Mess of a saber" post from a while back, which is one of the nicest messers I've seen. Mine is... well... not as nice, but I am still quite happy with it. 106 cm/ 42 inches total lenght 76 cm/ 30 inches Blade length 1150 grams/2.5 lbs Point of balance is 11 cm/4.3 inches from the guard 6.4 mm thick at the base of the blade, distal tapering to 2.5 mm at the widest point of the clip. Hardness is about 55 Rockwell. Made from spring steel with a mild steel guard and butt cap. The grip is oak with a textured leather wrap. It's been a few years since I made this blade, actually. its from before I had a belt grinder, so the whole thing is ground with an angle grinder and files. But I finally finished making the hilt assembly today. Better late than never. Lots of mistakes on this one, the most glaring being that I managed to mess up the risers on the grip when I wrapped the leather with chord to texture it.

Thank you, Sir!

Thanks! The handle is very comfortable (I have now learned that its probably ironwood) though I was more happy with this one that I also made a while ago (Beech burl for this one).

Thank you. My parents loved it too, so I am very happy.

Just finished this cleaver in time for christmas. Its a present for my parents since they keep chipping the edge of the thin ikea cleaver they have. This one is made from 8 mm spring steel, so it should take some abuse I think. The blade is 12 inches long and 4 inches wide. Flat ground down to about 4 mm thick before the convex edge grind. HRC 55-56. Not sure what the wood I used for the handle is. Got a mystery block of wood given to my dad from another knifemaker. Hard and dense as all hell. I doubt it even floats. Had a brown and reddish tint to it, but I coloured it with ebony stain. The other is an 8 inch santoku I'm giving to my sister. Already made a thread about that one, but I included it for scale.Silver steel (115 CrV3) blade, 4 mm thick at the spine, full flat grind. Beech burl handle. HRC at about 61-62.

Oh I am really looking forward to see the finished piece! The blade looks beautiful, and that old transmission belt has a wicked texture. Good choice!

I wasnt planning on crying today, yet here we are... Dave, that is a beautiful tribute to your father.

Thank you very much, Sir!

Thank you! That is very kind.

Thanks, its been a loooong time since she asked me if I could make her a santoku, so I think she'll be happy. I'll have to teach her how to take care of it though. It's her first high carbon knife. Thank you, Alan. Thanks! Full disclosure though; that shot had VERY favourable lighting. Its not as highly polished as it looks in that pic.

Just finished up this Santoku which will be a christmas present for my sister. Unfortunately I got some scratches on the blade during sharpening, so I'll have to polish those out later. 8.5" blade, 5" handle Thickness at the spine is a little less than 4 mm, or 5/32" The blade is a full flat grind on both sides, almost to a zero edge before sharpening. The steel is 115 CrV3 (also called Silversteel) I havent tested the hardness, but according to manufacturer should be 61-62 HRC with the tempering I used. The handle is burl from birch wood. sanded and oiled. I love the pattern in this wood. I sometimes stain my handles, but with this wood, I thought the natural colours were too nice to mess with. The spine and finger choil are rounded, very comfortable to use.

Thanks! This can slay the mightiest of cheeses. I should get one of those zombie test cutting heads and try it.

Thanks! Neither would I! In fact the thought of dropping it on my toes is terrifying enough.

I was reading a book called "Island in the sea of time" by S.M. Stirling when I spotted this. In the book, in 1998, some supernatural event occurs and the whole of Nantucket island gets sent back to the bronze age. A lot of the book is about using the resources that came with the island to survive in this new (old) world, and one of the characters is a blacksmith who starts making swords and armor from the spring steel supply the islands machine shop has available.

Thanks! Any excuse to watch Conan!

My goal with this was to make it look like a weapon from a museum, not a brand new one with a shiny blade. I dont know how well I succeeded in that. I'm guessing I am not fooling any curators any time soon. But overall, I like the look of it. The blade is mild steel with a spring steel edge. Somwhere between 55 and 60 rockwell according to my hardness testing files. I believe the haft is hickory, or maybe ash. Its from an old snow shovel. I stained the wood a deep ebony color, and the blade was given a very dirty sanding before antiquing it with a mix of strong vinegar and salt. I would have liked deeper pitting than I got, so I might redo the vinegar treatment later. I let it rust for about 4 days before lightly sanding the rust away. Total length: 168 cm or 66 inches. Blade length: 56 cm or 22 inches. Blade thickness: 4.8 mm, or 3/16 inches Haft length: 145 cm or 57 inches. Weight: 1930 grams or 4.25 lbs

Thank you!

Thank you! Yeah, if this was for sale or a gift, I wouldnt have added the fake peen block. But this is just for me, so I put it on there. If the glue should fail and the peen block falls off, it wont matter to me.

The grip is hickory wrapped in leather over chord, with mild steel bolsters. 18 inch spring steel blade, 25 inches total. Its a single edge, full flat grind with a thick spine. Its 0.25 inch thick at the base, with a subtle distal taper to 0.2 inches just before the curve to the tip. Pretty happy with this one. I think its my best so far. The peen block is cosmetic. I glued that on after I had finished the knife and thought it needed a little extra bling.

The steel is called Nablo 5028, and as far as i can recall, its almost identical to 1060, apart from a bit higher silicone content. The hamon was clearly visible after a lemon and vinegar etch, but the etch was uneven and just didnt look very good, and I was running short on time, so I brought it back to a satin finish.

Thank you, Eric.

Thank you both. My nephew loved it, so I'm a very happy uncle today.

Happy Festivus, folks. As a seasoned procrastinator, I finally finished this chefs knife for my nephew around 2 o'clock this morning. Here in Norway, we open the presents today, at Christmas eve, so I'm cutting it close. Spring steel blade, differentially heat treated with clay. The hamon is there but not really visible in the pics because my attempts at etching were... unsatisfactory to say the least, so I sanded away the etch for a more plain, satin finish. Beech burl handle and spring steel blade. 12" blade, 6" handle.

Thank you, I really like the wild patterns you get from burl. Will definitely be using more of it in the future. Thank you for the kind words.