Mike Blue Posted December 28, 2004 Posted December 28, 2004 I am going to host a nordic knife class the third weekend in February 2005. Instruction by Kay Vikstrom of Finland. He was here a couple years ago and we all had a great time. Class starts Friday morning with blade forging, second day is handle and third day is sheath work. This class will have the opportunity to work a little more of the detailed leather work than previously. Cost 125.00 USD, includes steel, birch burl handle block and the Finnish leather for the sheath. Expect to leave with a knife and sheath in hand. Class size is limited to twelve and will fill pretty soon. Let me know via email or PM off this forum if you are interested. I will forward directions to the shop and local hotel info. The shop is located near Cannon Falls MN and pretty good flight connections can be made into Minneapolis MN (MSP). There are three kinds of men. The one that learns by reading. The few who learn by observation. The rest of them have to pee on the electric fence for themselves. Will Rogers
Mike Blue Posted February 7, 2005 Author Posted February 7, 2005 The first weekend is done. Here's the results. Everyone had a great time. Most attendees were hammerheads before getting there and had little trouble forging two or three blades before getting down to handles. There are three kinds of men. The one that learns by reading. The few who learn by observation. The rest of them have to pee on the electric fence for themselves. Will Rogers
Christopher Makin Posted February 7, 2005 Posted February 7, 2005 I like the look of nordic knives kinda natural . What kinda stock did you start out with?
Mike Blue Posted February 7, 2005 Author Posted February 7, 2005 1086M, masur birch handle material. Edit: that's not enough, I worked the material down from 1.375 inch round bar to about 5/16 by 1.5 by 10 inches. Then the class hot cut in half and hand worked from there. There are three kinds of men. The one that learns by reading. The few who learn by observation. The rest of them have to pee on the electric fence for themselves. Will Rogers
J.Arthur Loose Posted February 7, 2005 Posted February 7, 2005 It's cool to see the results of the class all together. Looks like fun was had. jloose.com
Mike Blue Posted February 14, 2005 Author Posted February 14, 2005 Second weekend is complete. Here's the wild bunch together, eleven new knifemakers. There are three kinds of men. The one that learns by reading. The few who learn by observation. The rest of them have to pee on the electric fence for themselves. Will Rogers
Mike Blue Posted February 14, 2005 Author Posted February 14, 2005 Here's their production. These guys could not stand to wait for one person to use the grinder. I saw three of them working each wheel on a grinder. Talk about into it... There are three kinds of men. The one that learns by reading. The few who learn by observation. The rest of them have to pee on the electric fence for themselves. Will Rogers
DGentile Posted February 14, 2005 Posted February 14, 2005 Mike, thanks for sharing... the pics are cool... and the knives too... I always liked the nordic knives, especially the wooden/leather sheaths... but do me a favor ... show as a pic of that hammer on the left side of the last picture.... is it a treadle hammer? or power? looks quiet cool... and "homemade"... please share (I've built a powerhammer "KRUSTY", so I'm still a bit on the "hammer-trip"...) dan FERRUM - Daniel Gentile custom knives & forging classes http://www.ferrum-d.com
Mike Blue Posted February 14, 2005 Author Posted February 14, 2005 Hmm, I had a real good look at that hammer but I didn't take any pictures of that. Call it a power treadle hammer. Homebuilt. I'll see if Tom will send me a picture. There are three kinds of men. The one that learns by reading. The few who learn by observation. The rest of them have to pee on the electric fence for themselves. Will Rogers
Mike Blue Posted February 20, 2005 Author Posted February 20, 2005 Last weekend finished. Everyone is tired and pleased. It was a good weekend spent on steel and knives. There are three kinds of men. The one that learns by reading. The few who learn by observation. The rest of them have to pee on the electric fence for themselves. Will Rogers
Mike Blue Posted February 20, 2005 Author Posted February 20, 2005 Here's Nathan, the Hammer guy, pouring taconite. Don't try the styrofoam cup at home... There are three kinds of men. The one that learns by reading. The few who learn by observation. The rest of them have to pee on the electric fence for themselves. Will Rogers
Mike Blue Posted February 20, 2005 Author Posted February 20, 2005 Class production. There are three kinds of men. The one that learns by reading. The few who learn by observation. The rest of them have to pee on the electric fence for themselves. Will Rogers
Mike Blue Posted February 20, 2005 Author Posted February 20, 2005 Here's some of the steel we got last night. Very satisfying to produce a bloom with this quality and get a knife done amongst good friends. There are three kinds of men. The one that learns by reading. The few who learn by observation. The rest of them have to pee on the electric fence for themselves. Will Rogers
Mike Blue Posted February 20, 2005 Author Posted February 20, 2005 Kay Vikstrom has express interest in coming back for more classes. So far classes may be coming to Duluth MN, Eastern South Dakota and Eastern Nebraska. As more information comes available, I'll post back here. Thanks for the exceptional forum Don. There are three kinds of men. The one that learns by reading. The few who learn by observation. The rest of them have to pee on the electric fence for themselves. Will Rogers
DGentile Posted February 21, 2005 Posted February 21, 2005 Mike, cool knives... which ones are the made by you? oh and the styrofoam cup is awkward ... KIDS Don't try this at home *grin*... but what is "taconite" ??? dan FERRUM - Daniel Gentile custom knives & forging classes http://www.ferrum-d.com
Mike Blue Posted February 21, 2005 Author Posted February 21, 2005 Everybody in the class made a knife. Mine is fifth from the left in the back row. More of a classic tommi knife. One of the fellows tending fire had a styrofoam cup go poof. They burn pretty quick. Good gloves, or reflexes, are important. Taconite is a type of iron oxide ore mined in northern MN. There are three kinds of men. The one that learns by reading. The few who learn by observation. The rest of them have to pee on the electric fence for themselves. Will Rogers
polarbearforge Posted February 21, 2005 Posted February 21, 2005 ...So far classes may be coming to Duluth MN, Eastern South Dakota and Eastern Nebraska.... Eastern South Dakota would be cool, especially southeastern. Then it'd be in my kneck of the plains. Jamie Jamie Boley Polar Bear Forge
wardn1 Posted February 21, 2005 Posted February 21, 2005 It was a great class. Thanks for hosting it Mike. Kay is great guy and a fun teacher. I'll be making more of these knives in the future for sure. Ward Nelson
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