Byron studley

Going on a year now so it’s looking good

Thanks Clint, me too I’ve had many versions of this knife in my head over the years but I think I’ve settled on something solid now. Just have to turn it into reality

Thank you guys I appreciate it, glad to be back

It’s been almost 3 years since I’ve touched anything to do with bladesmithing. An extended spell of poor mental health, somewhat kept in check by the creative outlet of forging came to a head after forging this blade for a friend nearly 3 years ago. I locked up my workshop and decided I needed to get away from everything so I built a camper and room a 4 month trip with my partner at the time only to find that on arriving home and moving in with her father ( we moved out of our rented house before travelling) I found that my mental health was in fact worse. The trip had taken a big toll, mainly due to the realisation that my problems stemmed from being unhappy in my relationship. So to continue the upending of everything we split, I moved in with my parents and put my whole workshop in a storage unit as it was in a garage that belonged to my now ex’s father. I contemplated a move across the country, I spent a lot of time in a tattoo shop learning the ropes as an alternative career path. Then I met a wonderful women who is now my partner and her lovely daughter who was six months at the time. We had a baby together. The girls are now 2 years old and 4 months old. I genuinely haven’t ever been this happy The tattoo gig got put on hold thanks to corona shutting the shop down and during that time I’ve decided I’m happiest while working with my hands. The two constants through this whole period have been my day job (I’m a carpenter and general builder) this work has been my main job for the last 8 years. The second constant being the San mai Bowie occupying space both in a draw in my dads wood working workshop (where my knife making gear is all currently packed into a corner or two) and a space in the back of my mind. Always reminding myself it’s there and that I wish I had finished it. Bladesmithing has been on the back burner for me since locking my workshop up before travelling, never given up on but life kept getting in the way and it became more of a research pursuit than a practical one. Well the woodworking construction side of my business with my dad and uncle has taken off too a point where we need industrial space and have been actively looking. Which sparked an interest in getting all of my bladesmithing gear setup up and working in a section of the unit. This in turn has sent me back down the rabbit hole and I’ve been hit with a sense of rejuvenation This knife is a san mai a two bar twist core clad in 1095 on the outsides it’s around 8inches and it will be finished in 2021.

I have now reshaped the handle and it feels much better and I think looks much better, I'm halfway through hand sanding but heres an update picture I drilled large wholes in the tang and riveted in brass which I know isnt really necessary on a full tang but this knife is for me and it was more about learning a new skill. I'm going to use this technique on a hidden tang knife I have in the works.

Cheers Vern, I've actually been thinking the same thing last night and decided to to take the tang up where the index finger and middle finger sits, increasing the "height" of the choil, if that makes sense. As I've been handling it and looking at it, that area wasn't quite right to my eye. I'm glad you think the same. Here it is now it's been tempered and cleaned up, I tempered it in the oven for two cycles then used a torch to draw the spine back some more. Cleaned it up on the belt to 320 grit ready for hand sanding but I'm going to go back and relax shape the handle profile a bit.

Update: it's now drilled out, I'm going to rivet some large brass into the wholes then drill my final pin stock into that, I then am thinking I'll put a weight reducing fuller in the tang. Thoughts? It's also been hardened, I normalized it three times once again ( I did normalize after forging). I then quenched in veg oil and I must say it was the most successful quench I've done, no warps and it got hard first time straight away.

Cheers Vern, yeah it certainly has presence when it's in your hand, weighs 447g (16 ounces) but it isn't tip heavy so it feels really nice to swing.

Thanks Vern, I have already tapered it, so I'll drill out some pin holes and a lanyard hole also and see how it is, I think maybe if it's still not right I'll lose a bit more thickness at the spine.

Quick update: I've finally got my new belt grinder up and running and managed to grind the Kukri ready for heat treat inbetween welding Damascus today. Just have to work out my pinholes and maybe a few extra to shed some weight in the handle as the balance is right on the plunge line already.

Thanks guys I myself also like the effect that at a distance it's a knife with beautiful lines and then as you look closer you see that it's made from a beautiful pattern welded piece of steel. I'm new to bladesmithing in general and especially new to pattern welding but I'm looking forward to experimenting with this. I haven't had much time to continue with this untill today, and I've rewelded the two billets to 18 layers each. Going to reweld again up to 54 and I think I'll then twist.

Ok thanks Gary, that would work ok for me, cut in two stack and weld. Then repeat again. How many layers would be too many for a twist? At some point would too many layers make the twist look "muddy"

Hi all just posting some pictures of my first ever Damascus forged on my own at home. I took a class in April with Owen bush where I forged a billet and twisted it ( I haven't yet done anything with this billet yet). I have now just forged these two 9 layer billets. They are destined to become a Bowie knife for a friend in the Army. I'm thinking I want two make a Turkish twist pattern with four twisted bars. But in my head I want the pattern to be quite detailed and fine layered. I don't really want a big, bold, low layer pattern How many layers do you think I'll need before twisting each billet? Thanks in advance for taking the time too look and any comments and advice is welcome

Yeah the exploration helped Kris, thanks for that I'm still a way off trying it myself but I'm trying to get an understanding of everything I need and the process.

Excellent thanks, I live near Lyme Regis if you know where that is, Plymouth is nice I visit there from time to time

No problem, it's a good book for a wide general overview of swords and knives from all over the world and a nice section on bayonets. It also has some really fine examples of the weapons the Author is writing about with length measurements where possible.

Excellent work, I really like the bronze spacers and the pattern on the blade. could you talk me through your casting process a bit please, it looks like you have a basic setup from the pictures and it's something I'd like to learn but don't want a massive financial outlay right at the start.

Thanks Charles it's the illustrated worlds encyclopedia of knives swords spears and daggers, although it's pretty short on spears... https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/aw/d/0754831957/ref=mp_s_a_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1526976586&sr=8-1&pi=AC_SX236_SY340_FMwebp_QL65&keywords=knives+swords+spear+and+daggers&dpPl=1&dpID=51oV5L7AZ7L&ref=plSrch

Hi all, it's been a long while since I posted any work. I suffered some unexpected health problems which put me out of action for a few months last Christmas. I had a lung collapse on me and had to refrain from to much physical work until the whole in my right air pump had healed. I'm now all sorted and a couple months ago I got back out to the garage, which has now grown from a dark, damp block building with a forge, anvil and a couple basic tools in. It's now becoming a proper workshop although currently waiting for a more permanent electrical supply for a 2x48 belt grinder. Because of the lack of electric and grinding facilities I've been doing alot of forge work and it's really helped me learn my way around the hammer. So here it is a couple pieces waiting to be ground which I've forged out this weekend. A Kard inspired kitchen utility knife, going for the look of the one in the book, though it won't have a jade handle, or a wootz blade. Maybe in a few decades I will try and go for the wootz haha. The Kard was actually a practice it came out of some round spring stock I had which happened to be the same size as some Damascus twist round stock I forged at a class with Owen bush, which for any beginners looking at getting into Damascus, who are in the UK ( or can afford the flights over) is an excellent way to start. I can't stress enough how brilliant a teacher he is and he helped me design and then guided me to get a more complex pattern than the usual random pattern he teaches, it involved an accordion cut and it went very well. And then a Kukri ish chopper/fighter, I have some African blackwood for the handle on this one. Apologies for the essay everyone any feedback welcome

Congrats on the wedding! Can't wait to see the final pattern of this billet.

Glad it you got the bug again! That's a nice looking knife. Any plans for the next project?

I agree, there Is very little "wilderness" left in the UK. This place is surrounded by farmland and small villages. But in the south west there is a wealth of history and I enjoy learning about the places I pass everyday.

I often do, I went up there one pretty miserable day (weather wise) the cloud was hanging low and the hill top was not visible from below. The wind was howling and it was bitterly cold. Anyways I braved the weather and walked up. Once up there there was not a soul, I could only see the top of the hill and no further. I couldn't see any roads or cars or houses. I felt like I had stepped back in time and could feel what it was like to be an iron age warrior in the hill fort. I could feel where the superstition came from. Some of the worst weather but best experience I've had up there

This is one of my regular walks as I drive along the road too and from work everyday. It's called Pilsdon Pen and it's the site of an Iron age hill fort. Experts think it was laid siege to by the Romans as they've found ballista bolts here during archeological digs. A vast flat topped hill, the highest in the area. With a large ditch encircling it the whole way round, except for two spots which would have been the entrances. The ditch is 10m deep at see points.

Looks really nice love the dark wood with the forged guard