Jziegenbein Posted August 19, 2010 Share Posted August 19, 2010 i only recently discovered bell dirks. i'd never even heard of them, before seeing some of the topics on here. the design struck me as interesting. different from pretty much anything else. since i've been working on a couple massive chopping commissions, i wanted to do something slender and pointy. so here is my feeble attempt. its still a work in progress, and since i've never really done one of those before either i thought i'd try a double helping of new. the blade is some 1/8" thick alabama damascus that i forged some into the the right dimensions and close to the right shape before final grinding. here it is basically finished, minus a final etch and polish. my initial sketch can be seen on the paper it's sitting on. the handle is what im told is ostrich bone and a solid brass bolster. it's not exactly a bell dirk, so it isnt integral and im not using all silver. grinding to the right dimensions, allowing extra material for the windowpanes. a bad picture of one of the panes filed closer to shape. the top window pane another of the side windowpanes. another dry fit to show the basic shape. sorry about the abismal pics, they were all taken with my phone as i worked. the buttplate will be some cutouts of a silver platter, soldered together. thanks for looking jared Z. lilzee on britishblades. From now on, ending a sentence with a preposition is something up with which I will not put. -Sir Winston Churchill Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sam Salvati Posted August 19, 2010 Share Posted August 19, 2010 YEaH!!!! rock on Jared! Let not the swords of good and free men be reforged into plowshares, but may they rest in a place of honor; ready, well oiled and God willing unused. For if the price of peace becomes licking the boots of tyrants, then "To Arms!" I say, and may the fortunes of war smile upon patriots Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Alan Longmire Posted August 19, 2010 Share Posted August 19, 2010 SOMEbody's work is taking a big step up! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jake cleland Posted August 19, 2010 Share Posted August 19, 2010 nice. Jake Cleland - Skye Knives www.knifemaker.co.uk "We can't solve problems by using the same kind of thinking we used when we created them." "Everything should be made as simple as possible, but not simpler." "Two things are infinite: the universe and human stupidity; and I'm not sure about the the universe." Albert Einstein Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jziegenbein Posted August 20, 2010 Author Share Posted August 20, 2010 thanks you guys! this is a serious challenge, getting the windowpanes crisp and the flats flat is not easy. handle ground to shape up to 320grit and file work started. after i get the filework roughed in, i'll start on the buttcap jared Z. lilzee on britishblades. From now on, ending a sentence with a preposition is something up with which I will not put. -Sir Winston Churchill Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jziegenbein Posted August 23, 2010 Author Share Posted August 23, 2010 most of the rough filework is done and i got the buttcap started. i'm going to solder the silver together and then engrave it. what kind of tool should i use for engraving? ive never actually tried before. jared Z. lilzee on britishblades. From now on, ending a sentence with a preposition is something up with which I will not put. -Sir Winston Churchill Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jziegenbein Posted August 23, 2010 Author Share Posted August 23, 2010 a couple more horrible pictures to show the filework a little bit better. jared Z. lilzee on britishblades. From now on, ending a sentence with a preposition is something up with which I will not put. -Sir Winston Churchill Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Luke Shearer Posted August 23, 2010 Share Posted August 23, 2010 I'm really excited about you posting again. Its been a while . I can't wait to see this thing done. Did you forge your own damascus? “Then something Tookish woke up inside him, and he wished to go and see the great mountains, and hear the pine-trees and the waterfalls, and explore the caves, and wear a sword instead of a walking-stick.” Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Alan Longmire Posted August 23, 2010 Share Posted August 23, 2010 Rockin' right on, Dude! Really nice work on the handle carving. As for the engraving, if you've never used an actual graver you may want to consider just using chasing tools, which are basically dull chisels hammered straight down into the work rather than sharp gravers that are pushed through the work. It's a LOT easier to chase than to engrave if you haven't been shown how to sharpen and use a graver. That's a very hard thing to explain in writing, too. Check out the Lindsay engraving forums, and Sam Alfano's tips and tricks for hand engraving if you really want to try it. See the posts here and in the tools and tooling subforum by Charles Wu for chasing tools, he did a really good job showing the tools and how to use them. Another hint: Before you start hammering on that silver, be sure it's completely filled with some kind of hard-ish backing, like pitch or epoxy. If you leave a hollow underneath it'll dent when you try to engrave on it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jziegenbein Posted August 24, 2010 Author Share Posted August 24, 2010 thanks for the tips and encouragement guys! i'll definitely check out that forum. odds are i'll have the whole thing filled with epoxy before i start finish work on it. jared Z. lilzee on britishblades. From now on, ending a sentence with a preposition is something up with which I will not put. -Sir Winston Churchill Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dee Posted August 24, 2010 Share Posted August 24, 2010 looking nifty thanks for taking pics as you boogie Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kevin Colwell Posted August 24, 2010 Share Posted August 24, 2010 hey - that is really coming along. You are doing good at a really challenging task. nice one. kc please visit my website http://www.professorsforge.com/ “Years ago I recognized my kinship with all living things, and I made up my mind that I was not one bit better than the meanest on the earth. I said then and I say now, that while there is a lower class, I am in it; while there is a criminal element, I am of it; while there is a soul in prison, I am not free.” E. V. Debs Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jdsmith02115 Posted August 24, 2010 Share Posted August 24, 2010 That's shaping up nicely. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jziegenbein Posted August 25, 2010 Author Share Posted August 25, 2010 thanks! got a little more done on it tonight, namely soldering (badly) the buttcap together and rough grinding it flush with the flats of the handle. i got a new phone, so the pics are slightly better this time i hope. jared Z. lilzee on britishblades. From now on, ending a sentence with a preposition is something up with which I will not put. -Sir Winston Churchill Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jziegenbein Posted January 26, 2012 Author Share Posted January 26, 2012 Wow, It's been a year and a half. I'm terribly sorry about my disappearance, life managed to butt its ugly head into my knifemaking time. I made a small mistake gluing the handle on before polishing the front of the bolster, which took the wind out of my sails for a while as well. Anyways, I finally decided to pick it back up and finish it In the 3 days it took me to finish this I: polished the front of the bolster as best I could with the blade in the way cleaned and re-etched the blade cleaned up the edges of the handle as best I could, there's still some wobble I couldnt get out Polished the bone and the bolster The horribly fit buttcap turned out to be silver plated steel, so I opted for an acid resist etch Polished everything again and wicked some wood stain into the cracks and filework to give it some depth The Dimensions are: Blade - 5 5/8" Handle - 4 1/4" OAL - 9 7/8" The handle tapers from front to back going from 3/4" to 7/8" at the buttcap All in all I'm not 100% happy with this piece. It's chock full of flaws and shortcomings, but it's a good indicator of where my skills are now, and it was a good challenge. Sorry about the bad pictures, these are taken with yet a different phone. I'll have a buddy of mine take some real pictures of it Once again, sorry about the ridiculous delay. Thanks for looking, I'd love some critiques jared Z. lilzee on britishblades. From now on, ending a sentence with a preposition is something up with which I will not put. -Sir Winston Churchill Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Alan Longmire Posted January 27, 2012 Share Posted January 27, 2012 Wow, I'd forgotten about that... You captured the look pretty well! You know the obvious stuff, but the one thing that sticks out at me is that the handle is about twice as thick as it ought to be, but I know you were limited by the material. Plus, you've actually finished one, so you're one up on me! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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