Joshua States

I use J-weight belts in a lot of grits, both ceramic and Aluminum Oxide. Yes, I feel the lap joint on the grits 220 and above, but only on steel and I don't use anything above 220 on steel. Any snail trail or imperfections from the platen get wiped out on the disc (I don't think you have one of those do you?) so they really don't bother me. My J-weight belts in 100, 220, 320, and 400 are really only for fittings and curved surfaces on handles. I know some guys use them on integrals to get that sweeping inside curve at the bolster/blade area. I also find that running at a slower speed helps eliminate any distortion from the lap joint.

Wowsa! Those handles really catch the eye.

What a fine job you've done with that. I saw this in the FB group for bronze casting earlier and the additional photos here are a pleasant bonus. How do we know what the handle shape was from such an old find?

What's the center photo? Looks like a canister weld prep. BTW- Nice collection of concrete saw blades Game changer time!

Serious traditional smith. Be prepared to take lots of notes. You won't remember everything.

Weekend steel making.

I was going to suggest curving the tang for that purpose, when you and Geoff mentioned adding the buttcap. The other option for handling the step transition Geoff pointed out, is to add a ricasso and match the ricasso height to the spacer height.

I saw one of these on FB. They look great man.

It sounds like the hole in the blade tang is too tight on the pivot pin. Either that, or there's not enough clearance between blade and liner causing a slight flex when the blade cycles. This is why some guys use bushings. It alleviates both problems.

Nobody said it was easy!

You did everything right up to the point where you forged the blade to shape. An accordion cut pattern always has those flat spots. This is another accordion cut W's blade. If you want to avoid them, you need to tile cut and reweld them back together. Personally, I think the accordion cut is more visually attractive, but who am I to say? This type of pattern is usually not forged to shape, and the bevels are not forged either as that distorts the pattern. TBH, I think you should be very proud of this knife. It's a massive undertaking with a lot of advanced techniques and you did a good job of it. Alan has povided some excellent pointers and suggestions for the next one. Take notes and follow the advice given. The only advice I can give you that hasn't already been offered, is to draw the blade out at full size before you start. Look at it from different angles and distances. Lay the drawing on the floor and walk around it. If something doesn't look "right", erase it and fix it on paper. Then when you have a design you like, post a pic in the Design and Critique" foum. Get feedback before you start.

Maybe I'll try melting this and casting an ingot......

I suppose you could make a clay mold and a clay crucible. Pour a sheet-like object using that tech. I don't think they had polished marble in the 6th C though......

Please tell us your process on the pattern.

Oak tanned leather is what you want to get. it comes in various thicknesses, dries very stiff, and is great for carving or tooling. For the one I recently made I used what we call 8/9 ounce. It's 4.5 mm thick. To stop the point from stabbing through, form the opening to fit the end of the handle and limit how far into the sheath it goes.