Bob Hewitt

No, no pictures here either...

That was well worth watching! It’s a poor day when you fail to learn anything, and my education has just had a major boost. Thank you very much for posting this, I’ll certainly be watching it again!

I was born into the butchery trade here in the UK and have probably made tons of sausages over the years. We first processed the meat from fresh then mixed in all the bits and pieces until we had a suitable mix. The sausages were then stuffed and hung in the fridge overnight. They were ready as soon as they were made, but the overnight refrigeration was to stop then spitting all over the place and splitting when cooked. The overnight thing allowed then to dry out a bit to make them easier to cook!

That's a hell of a job you've done there, Matt, seriously impressed!

Love that San mai! I've tried doing that myself several times, as my scrap pile can verify! A great piece all round, lovely woodwork! one day...

If it's just for bladework, I'd clean the top off with a flap wheel and just get on with it! Have you got any engineering works handy that could mill or surface grind the top flat and then weld a new top to it? I believe this process uses molten lead between the two surfaces. the numbers 1 0 5 will be the weight in cwts qtrs and lbs, so that's 112 + 0 + 5 = 117 pounds.

That's the finest bit of craftsmanship I've seen in a good long while!

That's a thing of beauty and no mistake! The contrast between the bog oak, the copper and the antler really works. All round an excellent job!

You've gotta love that, recycling at its best! Your only likely problem is being a bit underpowered, but what the hell, sort out the bugs with what you've got and when it burns out or you start to bog it down while grinding just swap it out for a 2hp'ish motor and then it'll eat anything! i love it!

Hi, Charles, I forgot this bit in my previous post. Yes, the blade does rise up from the handle creating a thumb ramp. The filework I just made up as I went along, viewed from above it looks like a row of dog bones!

Thanks for that link, I missed it first time round! That's a really helpful, informative post and I've bookmarked it for many future reads. I'll be doing more leather carving so I'll certainly be trying out Peter's methods. I'm glad you like the dragon, I thought it was rubbish when I finished it, but that's just how my mind works, as soon as I finish anything I immediately think it's useless and want to fire it in the scrap pile!

Here you go! This is my first attempt at carving leather, the knotwork didn't come out too badly, but the dragon could have been a hell of a lot better! the brass was aged with Clarks antiquing fluid. I immersed the bits in the fluid before fitting them. They were sanded completely to remove any oils or protective coatings and then cleaned with isopropanol beforehand. Why they came out patchy, god knows, but I decided to leave them as they were.

I don't post much on here, or any forum come to that, but I thought it was time to expose some of my work to the world! First is a hunter. 1095 and Sambar, 100mm blade and 210mm overall. The hamon could be a lot better, but I'm trying! Next is a San mai brokenback seax. 240mm blade, 130mm grip. Wrought iron, 1095 and stag antler. The scabbard has some knotwork on one side and a scrawny dragon like thing on the other. The brasswork has been aged a bit! The last one is a skinner/utility. Ramshorn and 15n20. The sheath has an "antique" finish which I'm not sure' worked. thats it for now guys, what do you think?

Liking that! The "ivory" and the old cable just seem to work together. Definitely my kind of knife!

Every day I come here and it's very rare that I don't learn something new! I've often wondered how to do that without making a complete mess of it so there's every chance that I'll shamelessly steal your excellent method at some point in the future. Thanks, Gary, a really good read, your post, but then again, they all are! bob

Yeah, I can see your point! thanks for all the comments, guys!

My latest offering! Blade is 1095 with hamon, 100mm blade, a little under 210mm overall. Some experimental filework which hasn't turned out too offensive, but not quite as planned. Vegtan and a bit of decoration for it to hide in! Enough, already, pictures, man, pictures!

The toaster oven I use is electric, very cheap, and seems to work well! The temperature indicated on the controls is wildly inaccurate, but you can fit a "K" type thermocouple to measure the temperature accurately for not much money! bob

+1 to that. Good episode, very well done!

Every time I see one of your bowies I decide that's the best thing I've seen for a good long time, and then along comes another one and I decide that it's the best bowie I've seen in a good long time! I'm trapped, please stop, now! seriously though, that's a fantastic piece, everything just seems to "fit" it really is a looker! That's got to be one of my favourite bowies ever - until you start the torture again! I'm minded of a Frank Zappa track, "The torture never stops..."

I'll watch out for it when it hits the UK!

I'm just sorry about the size of the text, guys. It seems that if you key in a post you get this size, but if you cut and paste from a "master copy" you get the size above. Seems like it's nearly impossible to change the size without losing all the links and background code. Next time I'll do it with my PC and not my iPad!

I've been a bit quiet recently, life getting the way! Anyway, a bit of stuff recently finished. Top left is a hunter, 1095 with hamon (although my rubbish pictures don't show it too well) 120mm blade, 230mm overall. Comes with a deep vegtan sheath. Bronze pins to handle. Next is a semi skinner in 15n20. Ramshorn scales, vegtan sheath. Blade is 110mm, 220mm overall. Third one along is a trade knife. Oak scales and 15n20. The blade is just under 130mm, slightly under 240mm overall. Steel pins to handle. The fourth one is a bit of an oddity that I can only describe as a puukko on steroids! 01 blade, 155mm long, 270mm overall. The handle is oak cut the opposite way to the grain so it has the appearance of rings if you look at it from the correct angle. The other angle looks more of a mess, but it'll make somebody a good beater! The other bits are cowhorn and fibre spacers. More vegtan for the sheath. At the bottom is a broken back seax. 165mm blade with hamon, again 1095. I refer you to my earlier statement regarding the quality of the image capture and processing, m'lud! 290mm overall. The handle is textured yew with bronze pins. The sheath is supposed to look world weary, battle worn, very well used and repaired and generally knackered! Others might consider it a complete mess! More vegtan and a decent handful of copper rivets. Right, that's it! They'll all be up for sale shortly, so what's the thinking, guys? All comments, suggestions, pain free preferably, and opinions welcome!

You can see the thought process working there, OK, right, go on then, throw it, go on go on go on.....wotz e waiting for? Go on, throw it... or can we eat it? Dunno, wot you reckon... i get the same looks from my springers!

That's a hell of a hawk, Rob! Everything about it screams, "getoutofmyway!"