SethPeters

Had these etch stencils made up by IMG-Electromark in Utica, NY. Did a great job!

Doing quite well, thank you, Update: here's the final product, couple of other pics on the website http://arcprecisiongunworks.com/2017/03/10/hunters-skinning-knife/

This is interesting...I can't tell if it's a fillet knife, a Bowie on Slim-Fast or a derivative of a Filipino/Japanese design, almost the best of all thrown into a blender. Very nice taper on the vertical profile. The part that will make this one stand out is how you work the steel just below the handle in front of the scales, it needs a decision: do you taper into the edge from the handle, work it out away from and curving back towards the handle like a Persian design, or square it off and use a strong corner? When I first looked at the tip, I thought it needed a recurve at the end 1/3 of the blade, but there's not enough steel there to do it without making things look stupid (my opinion). I like the profile except for that lower corner, nice piece!

I finally got a small coal forge put together from half of a 35-gallon air compressor, some grating material and 2.5" exhaust pipe...it's been a good while since I last did benchwork regularly so this project was all about knocking the rust off of old skills and trying to remember the process. I've been saving up some dull files to send to Boggs and just pulled one out to try on this venture - I think it turned out well in spite of me, and learning how to use a new forge. Not completed yet, putting some finish on the handle and polishing out some bits here and there, but I'll update with the finished product later.