Gerald Boggs

4.5 inch handle, 7.5 blade, total is a little over 12 1/8.

Rats!, me and my big mouth. Now I've got to figure out which box in the storeroom. In the meantime, Randell's web site says about 4 1/2 inches.

I have a Randell 14, but with the finger grooves.

Or two days by mule over the pass

While not germane to your quest for a bladesmith. Back during the Grenada Fall Vacation of 83, I watched one of the hotel gardeners mowing the grass with a machete. Just how sharp is a blade that cuts grass by swinging the blade back and forth with mostly nothing more then the wrist?

It's an idea, but I think I need a bit more practice forging blades. Along with a general intro to bladesmithing, focus is on learning to forge a blade that will pass the test and most people DO pass. And afterwards, you never need to do it again. As for brutal, I never took my eyes off the instructor, so I never saw my blades bending and since they didn't break, happy feet and smiles.

I don't know, nothing I think, except you don't get the positive feeling of knowing you got it right. Two blades are so if one fails, you've got another chance. It's great prep for the test if you're thinking of going that path. I couldn't swing the blade well enough to cut the rope and the chopping was a lot more work then I thought. The instructor showed a video of him doing it in 6.5 seconds, I took long time, long enough to start to feel arm burn.

Thanks :-) Sadly, these don't count for the actual blade test. Nothing you forge in the class can count.

Just finished the two week Intro to Bladesmithing class and here's my two test blades. Both passed, but it was very close, especially with the edge retention on the blade on the right. As you can see, the blade on the left had a nice curve after the bend test showing that the bend was over most of the blade. The one on the right did almost all the bending right at the point above the vice. I had a lot of trouble getting a sharp edge on it and the instructor thought I might have over-tempered, plus (can't really see it in the photo) the distal taper is the entire length of the blade, where as the left blade maintains it's thickness most of it's length. Rope cuts was a no-go for me, but the instructor was kind and easily cut the rope for me. I thought chopping the 2x4's would be easy, but it and the rope cut are definitely a skill best practiced. Over all , good class. I'll write up a review later.

Interesting find. I did a bit of traditional sailing and have never seen that blade. Wonder what it was for?

Alas, the job fell through. Part of me is a little glad, don't mind forging a few RR spike knifes, but a 100 was a bit much. On the other hand, I would have gotten pretty good at them.

It looks to be in fair shape. As for price, every 100lb. I've seen sold in the last decade has gone for at least $600 Forged in Fire may have helped with knife prices, but it has also helped jack up equipment prices.

I remember him, he used to moderate an art metal forum. Sadly the forum is no more, it was owned by a NC smith long retired. Anyway, that was a very cool forge. I liked the little vertical burner on the side that allowed one to heat up just a little area, looked great for working small bits.

Don't know about the double headed, but the long spikes are available here. It's been a while, but you could buy a can at a time and they would ship in two flat rate boxes. http://keystonespikes.com/wordpress/

Thanks, between you and Matt, I now know what a surfectant is and that it's easy to find.