Joshua States

I substituted regular diesel fuel instead of kerosene, because it is a lot easier to obtain. I just go to the local Shell station and pump diesel. I usually weld the billet tacks and weld it to the handle, then stick the billet in a 5-gallon bucket of diesel while it is still hot. I think the idea is to form a thin layer of something (not sure what) over the surfaces and in between the layers to prevent rapid oxidation in the forge. Does it work? I don't know, but this is a good time to talk about ritual. Lee Sauder talks a lot about observing rituals in iron smelting and associated metal working. Rituals help focus the mind on the tasks ahead and develop a standard series of practices in any venture. Forging iron or steel is mostly about forcing your will upon the material. It's about intending a specific result, focusing your intent, and realizing that intent in practice. Nothing focuses your intent and develops consistent results, like adhering to a ritual. Folks laugh about the whole "facing true north" thing, and I agree it isn't necessary in terms of the hardness gained from the quench. It is possible that it plays into someone's ritual practice. That, may help them to act in a specific manner that focuses their intent on what they are doing. It puts their mindset into "The Zone". As Alan said:

That's nice! That design is very much like the CRTK minimalist slip joint I carry.

Or buy some recycled material from someone like these guys: https://www.realwroughtiron.com/

I shed a few tears myself. Bravo on you Dave and thanks for the honor of being in the circle of folks you would share that with. Though they are gone from our immediate life, every time we tell a story about them they continue to touch someone’s life. So tell his story often, and with as much detail as you can muster. He will continue to live through you.

I purchased one of those many years ago from The Leather Factory (before Tandy acquired it). This one, to be exact. I used it a couple of times with limited success and never use it anymore.

Tandy Leather is trying their best: https://www.tandyleather.com/en/

+1 on that. +1 on the pumpkin idea as well!

Exactly. You can also match the dowel with the wood, in which case they come out pretty invisible. Walnut dowels are pretty easy to come by at Home Depot or any woodworker's store. This knife has a walnut handle and 3/8" walnut dowels.

My wife turned me on to white charcoal pencils. The marks stay very visible at high heat. I also just noticed your signature line about the Czar. That reminded me of one of my favorite Broadway musicals and a scene with the villagers and their Rabbi. Villager: Rabbi, do you have a blessing for the Czar? Rabbi: A blessing for the Czar? Sure. May God bless and keep the Czar......far away from us! Happy Thanksgiving!

I am a fan of the idea that when you find something that works, buy enough to last you a long time...... So I built a quench tank out of 8x8x27 inch steel tube and welded it to a baseplate and made a cover for it. Then I bought 5 gallons of quench oil. That was back in 2006? Haven't bought any quench oil since. (although I did manage to get 30 gallons of medium speed oil for free) No, you don't need one that big, but when it comes down to having more volume and buying oil as few times as possible, bigger is better. Not to mention that a vertical quench helps eliminate quench warp. See if you can find an old coffee urn at the Goodwill or other thrift store.

Dude. Rather, your dudliness. I am lovin' that blade. The slightly recurved/downturn edge? Yeah, I bet that feels wicked to hold. I especially like the combination of the slight broken back and the length with the slender width. Nice combination of Baltic/AS flavor. Things that should have been (J.A. LOOSE) Smokin' man. Simply Smokin'

You are seeing things correctly. I needed to bring a bit more down from the head area to get the length JA recommended and got a little overlap in the forging. I need to do some clean up before laying out the shank. Thanks for reminding me. Thanks Rob. I have two people asking me to make them an axe. I really have to get this figured out.

Welcome back! Good to see you back in the saddle. Those are very classy knives and I wish you the best for the show.

Sounds messy and stinky. Besides, the trick with epoxy is to avoid a thin layer if at all possible. Burned epoxy doesn't necessarily create a really good surface to try and bond fresh epoxy to either. The surfaces that epoxy like to bond with are clean, oil free, and slightly roughed up. Epoxy does not like smooth or dirty surfaces. Seriously, the easiest way is the method Joël described. If you are planning on shaping the handle with the blade already glued in, just push the tang into the putty, cut the excess off and let it cure. The only problem with this is epoxy shrinkage. It may recess slightly into the handle. If you shape the handle off of the knife and glue up later (my preferred method) use the dowel shim technique. It's really pretty easy.