Timothy Artymko 39 Posted January 13, 2016 (edited) I happen to thoroughly enjoy the massive differences between each style of bowie, so I found it excessively difficult to decide upon something to work with. But I think I have found something I like... a lot! It is on the bowie spectrum in a few different ways, notable the clip point (barely... but it's there) and a big guard, but I also decided to work a good deal of sub-hilt into it I am going to use a big ole Nicholson file.. so I am thinking 1095/W1 ish-kind of maybe hopefully... If that decides to work for me I am taking some mild steel from wherever I find it cheapest, in other words some rusted tool lying around I won't use anymore, and using it for the guard and sub-bolster. Handle material is still kind of stumping me, I could always used a piece of maple hardwood or something, but I want just one piece of wood, not two together, so any help here would be amazing! If I go with a maple, I think staining it red or something might be flashy.. give me your thoughts on that, what color would you like to see if you got this knife? An last of all, I want to use some used brass for the pin I have some .303 British from 1944 that I could use for it..... or just go with my 25-06 shells I have lying around An my design: Hope you all like it Timothy EDIT: I forgot to add, the overall length of the knife is 14.5" and the blade is about 8.75" Edited January 13, 2016 by Tim A. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
JJ Simon 123 Posted January 13, 2016 Very nice design.Look forward to seeing it come together. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Joshua States 1,441 Posted January 13, 2016 Ambitious to say the least. I have an idea for your handle. Not red (that's what I'm doing ), but if you want a solid handle that you can easily dye, use a bone. They dye well, are easily textured for a good grip and you can get one like this: I purchased this for $4.99 at the local feed store to use for the spacer on my KITH knife. Yes, I had to dig through several racks of them to find one that works for what I need, but hey. If it were easy, anyone could do it, right? Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Timothy Artymko 39 Posted January 24, 2016 I finally got a start on my blade! I have been itching to start out, and I had nothing better to do this afternoon/evening. I had to clear away about 8" of snow before I could even start forging, but hey, it's Alberta xD I was advised and decided to use a Stanley Wonderbar, which should be 5160, for my blade. I believe it actually is based on how it acted during forging. It was definitely tougher than any mild steel I have worked with! Unfortunately, I forgot to test quench a piece :I Oh well, it's already forged, so kinda too late to change my mind! A picture of my humble little "forge." Yeah, it's not much, but it does get hot enough to weld, I made a small (3.5") neck knife out of 52100 and 1084 for a subtle look a ways back with it, it's just not enough even heat for a big billet And the complimentary pair of tongs I made today, I needed a new set of flat bit tongs. My other ones were.... "crap" seems like a good enough word! My forge does get hot And my rough forged blade. Unfortunately, there just wasn't enough steel in the thickness of the prybar to get the width I wanted, but I compromised and changed the lines of my blade a bit. And here is the (rough) profile ground blade! It's a few inches bigger than my original idea, but I have no argument with that! I think I did pretty good with this one, and more will come soon! Right now, it's around 10" of blade and 1 more for the ricasso and between 3/16" and 1/4" thick. More should be coming sooner than later, if not mid week then next weekend for sure Hope you folks like it! Timothy Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Robert D. 73 Posted January 24, 2016 I see I am not the only one who has to dig their forge area out of a large bit of snow in order to work during the winter months. I was going to fire up the forge today to give a few files I plan to use for my KITH knife a test on hardening, but at the moment we are getting a pretty decent snowstorm here in Utah, so Ill spend the day working on other projects instead. I like the way its turning out, should end up being a pretty sweet blade. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Timothy Artymko 39 Posted January 24, 2016 Thanks I am doing a lot of calculating just how I want it to be as a finished piece because of the fact that it is less steel than I anticipated, but oh well, I think it will still come out really nicely! Timothy Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Timothy Artymko 39 Posted January 24, 2016 I more or less had to take this design back to the drawing board because there simply wasn't as much steel there as I had hoped for, so I am opting for a blade about an inch shorter coming in at about 9.5 inches. Now to head out to the shop and get some work done! Timothy Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Timothy Artymko 39 Posted January 26, 2016 Gotta love getting off work at 4! I got home and worked on my knife for a bit. I mainly did some draw-filing on the false-edge and bevels to make everything as flat as i could before taking it back to the grinder. I am still going to take another 30 minutes or so to try to get the false edge as perfect as I can, but I screwed up a wee bit in the forging, so it might be an hour of work to make things pretty. I did a little whoopsie here an forged it backwards xD But at least the writing is still in there And a small peek at my mediocre beveling skills. I freehand everything, so it just takes some draw-filing to clean things up. I need to set up a HT system for this knife because my normal way of doing it works for blades up to about 6-7", but not something this big. And while I have the forge fired up for that, I may as well get the pieces ready for the guard and bolster I hope you guys are liking it! Timothy 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Joshua States 1,441 Posted January 26, 2016 This is some seriously hardcore knife making Tim. Looking good. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Timothy Artymko 39 Posted January 26, 2016 Haha thanks! I feel quite incompetent at times due to my perfectionist personality But I learn to live and let go of little things. I am really liking the blade shape, so hopefully I can get the rest to go well with it! Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Alan Longmire 2,312 Posted January 26, 2016 Yep, looking good! Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Timothy Artymko 39 Posted February 2, 2016 Not sure how much excitement is out there for my knife but I know I am excited , but I am going to be posting some more pictures soon on my cross-guard and my work on the spacers. Nothing impressive, just MS with a touch of brut de forge thrown in to match the blade. I am kind of stuck though, copper or brass spacers for some thin fitting..... copper or brass xD Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Joshua States 1,441 Posted February 2, 2016 Not sure how much excitement is out there for my knife but I know I am excited , but I am going to be posting some more pictures soon on my cross-guard and my work on the spacers. Nothing impressive, just MS with a touch of brut de forge thrown in to match the blade. I am kind of stuck though, copper or brass spacers for some thin fitting..... copper or brass xD There's plenty. Bring on those WIP photos y'all! Brass is classic and looks really good against the black/gray of MS. I vote for brass. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
grpaavola 29 Posted February 2, 2016 I am excited for this one also! Love how you kept the stamp in it! Can go wrong with brass, but lately I find myself using copper. so... flip a coin? -Gabriel 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Timothy Artymko 39 Posted February 3, 2016 A quick update before I hit the hay, I have the guard and first spacer fit onto the tang and partially ground to shape. I am leaving the guard more or less as-is and the spacer will be ground down to an appropriate size. I still need to fit one more spacer to the tang, but that is for another day! The guard is going to have a brass shield in front of it. I still need to upload the photo of my new design, but my design does kind of like this: MS guard, MS spacer, ebony spacer w/leather (yes, my hardware store sells ebony and purpleheart), MS spacer, brass spacer, purpleheart handle. A photo will come Timothy Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Tim Tracey 28 Posted February 5, 2016 You get purple heart at your local hardware store? Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Timothy Artymko 39 Posted February 5, 2016 Well... due to very unfortunate events I was pushed back about 10 paces :I After HT my blade, it accidently got flung (no... not at all on purpose) and now I have 2 pieces of hardened 5160 steel..... I am going to pick up another Wonderbar tomorrow and forge it out on Saturday or Sunday, but man... I was silent for at least an hour after that. But, I loved my design, so I will be trying to replicate it as best I can Just... that hurts xD I'm not done with this yet! @Tim, well, when a local hardware store is Lee Valley tools yes Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Timothy Artymko 39 Posted March 10, 2016 Just an update, I haven't forgotten or given up on this! We have a fireban in March (with snow and rain and all coming through :I) so I am waiting for that to be lifted to heat treat and do some small adjustments to my blade before i get all the handle fit together....... But soon! Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Timothy Artymko 39 Posted March 21, 2016 A quick update. I have almost caught up to where I was inbetween working on cars and helping people move and work Funny how life gets in the way, but it was looking really pathetic as a rough forged blade so I spent the time to clean it up, add in my bevels and I have to change my design a bit, but I like it! Tell me what you think! I am still going to sculpt the MS spacer behind the guard and add one more copper spacer farther back. Still debating over handle material, but something dark. What do you think? I have a lot of fit and finish to do before it starts to half decent, but that can wait till after HT xD Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Chad Scott 28 Posted March 21, 2016 I love the blade profile, but something about the guard seems off to me personally. To my eye I think it is protruding too far above the blade, at least in comparison to the bottom.. I also should be in bed so take that with a grain of salt Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Wesley Alberson 138 Posted March 21, 2016 I like the upswept harpoon point! The ricasso seems a bit long, but it still looks cool. after you grind some scale blemishes out, it should look fine. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Timothy Artymko 39 Posted March 21, 2016 Thanks guys! I do think the ricasso is kinda long... so I might go back and file it shorter, but that's a lot of work..... Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Wesley Alberson 138 Posted March 21, 2016 Do you have a bench grinder? I use mine for a bunch of bladesmithing tasks, mainly grinding out all of the mill scale craters. They shouldn't be too expensive. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Timothy Artymko 39 Posted March 21, 2016 Oh, of course! But it is still a task to make everything fit just perfectly That is why i do more filing that grinding in areas like this, it helps when the fit and finish comes around! Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Joshua States 1,441 Posted March 21, 2016 FWIW, I like the long ricasso. I think it fits with the long slender knife stylistically. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
