Pieter-Paul Derks

No problem! I couldn't find info on the hand pads, everything I could find online applied to the belts. So I just bought all the different colors to find out which was the best for me.

I use the maroon and the green pads, the maroon is a bit coarser and green finer. For a nice working satin, I sand to 400 and finish with the maroon pad

Ah, ''Hoe'' that was the word I was looking for I love how casual he steps over the giant grinding wheel.

I just stumbled across this old german movie of the forging and grinding of an agricultural tool(don't know the english term.) The old guys are very skilled and the workshop is fenomenal, so I guess people on this forum would love to see this one too. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VK5QwqXW_BY&t=925s

Thanks everyone! I'm not sure if I'm going for a sheath, it would take a significant piece of leather, and I'm all out of money at the moment.

I like this one a lot, making a cutlass is something I´ve wanted to do for years now. I also like these power hammers, I´ve seen them pop up on second hand sites and always loved how they look.

Thanks guys! I got a quick selfie() so you can see the scale a bit better. This also is the only picture where the fullers are a bit visible, even at a satin finish they are too reflective for my camera skills.

This turned out really great! I like the raven theme that pops up throughout. I never get enouugh of seeing seaxes. For the suspension, I believe that these birka style sheaths come together in another ring which is attached on a belt and carried at your side like a sword. But for hunting hanging it horizontal on your back might be more comfortable and less likely to get hung up. I did some reenactment and found out you can carry quite a big knife in the small of your back without it getting in the way.

So I did get a lot further on this project. I just took my time with all the hand sanding, almost three feet of blade with three fullers apparently takes a while to sand up to 400 grit. I even had to start at 80 grit, because I cant get nice convex bevels on my grinder. I finished the blade with scotchbrite pads, it was the first time I used it and I am wondering why it took me so long to use this stuff. The finish is a lot nicer than just plain sandpaper. After sanding it was time for handle work, here the problem was that I don't have any hardwood blocks that are long enough (40cm) I did however have an old oak coat rack stowed away somewhere, so it was recycling time. Of course there were nails and woodworm holes I had to fix, but in the end I did end up with a very nice handle. I am thinking of doing a cord or wire wrap to reinforce the front of the handle, as the wood gets quite thin in places. or maybe even thin leather or rayskin? I need to get some in hand shots and a cutting video, this thing as an absolute beast.

Thanks! that cyclone setup looks nice, and I like the idea of just emptying a bucket instead of going through vacuum bags. I think I will look for a powerful vacuum and attach the cyclone thingy, Amazon even delivers to my part of the world.

Hello everyone, I am looking for a shop vacuum, because I am tired of sweeping up piles of grinder dust. With sweeping most of it ends up back in the air and nose anyway. The problem I have is that you can get vacuums for 50 euros and for 1000 euros, and I don't know if an expensive model is worth the extra cost. I am a bit afraid that the fine metal dust will kill anything in a short time, most models seem made for woodworking only. Maybe I'll have to get the cheap ones and expect that they die after a while? I am not looking to suck up hot grinding dust btw, only the metal and exotic wood that ends up on the floor. So do you guys have any recommendations, or things to look out for?

Thanks for these tips Joshua! Getting everything straight is by far the most difficult step for me

I am a fan of brute finishes myself, I think it is a nice way to give some contrasting texture to a knife and I like that it is a test of skill. A lot of people/potential customers seem to like it as it is a easy sign of a forged blade vs a stock removal knife. Here in europe there a a lot of (very good!) knifemakers who only do stock removal even with damascus. So a brute finish is attractive to differentiate the bladesmiths from the knifemakers. I also agree that a brute finish is not desirable on really high end knives or historical work. And In my opinion a brute finish should always be balanced by clean polished steel and tight fitted guards, I think a brute finished blade actually takes me more time than a fully sanded one. The timed saved on hand sanding is outweighed by the extra time needed to forge and straighten.

I have done it once and it worked okay, I used a cheapo stick welder to seal the billet. the biggest piece of advice I can give, is that your pieces of steel need to be close to finished thickness. the combo of stainless with carbon steel is so different that forging it to shape just causes all kinds of problems. I ended up cutting in the tip and tang. becuase forging it on edge just caused the material to split. when done properly it looks really good, so could be worth the extra effort.

What a stunner! That pommel is insanely cool