Alex Jemetz

Beautiful knives and gorgeous handles Bob. Makes me want to cut tomatoes with them.

Doug thank you for your feedback and interest, I'm using 5160 spring steel on the saber and I am quite certain I will get the weight down as I have a lot more filing to do and still have the bevels to shape... I do have an historic example to guide me--a Karabela from approximately 1780... the blade tapers to just under 1 mm in the last 15 cm. Incredible craftsmanship. Thank you for your encouragement Doug.

Starting weight of the blade was 2.096 kg or 4.6 lbs, on March 25th... Tough to get free time to work last few weeks... Today the weight is 1.527 kg or 3.37 lbs... Glad to have worked on the blade with a file as I feel I have better control of the blade profile.

Finally got all the hammer marks out! Next steps to shape the grip and tang and work on the bevels. Starting to consider not putting in a fuller as a more experienced sword-maker suggested that making the fuller could be done before the saber is curved...

More grinding to get the blade flat... Started to use a file and achieved a better result on getting the saber flat before working on the bevels...

Thank you for the advice Bjorn, I think I will build a support for my 2 x 42 grinder. If I take my time I think the wide fuller on the Kilij style blade I'm working on will come out even.

Beautiful sword and great idea for the fuller jig. Helps me learn! Any suggestions to help with a fuller on a saber? Or am I at the risk of doing it free-hand on the grinder?

Started to grind the blade to shape, starting weight is 4.6 lbs or 2.09 kg.

Beautiful, the nickle spacers really add to the look. I love the blade profile. It really is an artwork.

Finally had some time to get back in the forge, straightened out the handle and started to grind the Kilij blade-shape. Later will angle grind the blade flat on both sides and try my hand at a fuller before normalizing, heat treat and quench. Some Ukrainian cossack/kozak folklore: the name Cossack is derived from the Turkic kazak (meaning free man)--anyone who could not find his appropriate place in society or wanted to escape serfdom or other oppression went into the steppes of Ukraine where he acknowledged no authority except for the Cossack leadership.

Started to work on carving the cross-guard from foundry wax to give my elbow a chance to recover. This stuff is challenging to work with but became easier when I used the gas stove top to heat the knife. A bit of Ukrainian Cossack folklore: the Cossacks respected and cherished their swords as they were difficult to obtain, they referred to their sabers as their "sister".

DOH! I will do that for the next sword I make from the other half... Appreciate you pointing that out, probably because I was eager to get started...

Hi Doug, thank you for your response! I will be grinding the blade soon and will try my first attempt at a fuller so it will end up thinner and lighter. Soon as I get started on this phase I will post the weight with pictures of the grinding/shaping progress.

Had a little time last night to work on the pommel and grip:

I cut out a cardboard cross-guard to get a feel for the scale I would need to create out of wax:

I started to work on the bevel and was surprised to learn how sharply the blade would 'saber'. I tried to alleviate my worry by looking at historic examples of significantly curved Turkish sabers until I realized I could reduce the curvature by slightly making a bevel on the spine which actually worked (the steel is quite thick):

I've been reading and learning a lot about how to forge on this site and although I'm still a beginner and have only forged six knives I thought that my next project should be what I've always wanted to create--a sword. A Ukrainian Kozak saber in the style of a Turkish Kilij. I'm a believer of learning hands-on and so will be posting pics of the progress as I dive right in... All feedback, criticism and suggestions are most welcome. Apologies in advance if I post too many pictures. The material is 5160 truck leaf-spring. I hope to carve a cross-guard from sculptors wax and cast the brass piece myself. Started from scratch with the leaf-spring, cleaned up the steel, cut in half and flattened it out before working on shaping the point.

Great looking knife Matthew. I too am 55 and relatively new to forging--my kids bought me a 2x42 inch grinder for my birthday two years ago and I built a shed to house my forge in the backyard. I bet that knife would be a great steak cutter.

Comfortable looking shop, would be tough to leave it even to eat. Love the file work on the handle, very unique.

Thank you for your replies. Made a little wood frame and using 20 gauge steel wire...

Hi Nazar, I am new to blacksmithing and also Ukrainian. I live in Toronto and if you were here I would pay for your lessons on forging. I have a small workshop and I'm currently making knives and daggers but I hope to soon start making Ukrainian kozak sabers. Let me know if you'd like to get in touch. I have some Ukrainian friends in the community in Chicago, maybe there is some way they can help you. Send me a private message and I can give you me cell phone number.

Hi fellow bladesmiths, I am going to try my first wire-wrapped handle on a medieval style dagger. Could anyone offer advice on what gauge wire to use please? Appreciate your help, Alex

Alveprins, incredible craftsmanship! How many years have you been forging knives? Would love to hear more about this knife and see more photos of the process. Best regards, Alex

Really attractive swords Bjorn, I like the details in the guard. I too am leaning towards making swords but am building up my skills on knives first... Good luck, Alex

Hi fellow travelers, I decided to build a home-made forge last fall and burner made from parts bought at Home Depot. The forge was built from fire brick and works well enough for me to have made three blades: a railroad spike dagger, a mild steel medieval dagger and just completed a 5160 spring steel kitchen knife. This foray into a possible hobby has led me to build a shed to house the forge-workshop which previously was in my pool cabana...