Alex Middleton Posted January 15, 2018 Share Posted January 15, 2018 I finally got started on my KITH contribution over the weekend. The blade is 4.5", overall length will be roughly 7.5" or so. It's supposed to have a ridge running down the spine on both sides, but after 3 attempts at forging it and 2 different tries at grinding it in I decided to take some artistic license and leave it off. I was planning on posting a full WIP, but in my frustration, I totally forgot to take pictures of this one until after I had already gotten it to this point. The next step is to fill in the holes in the tang and start grinding the bevels. This knife is supposed to be my take on a knife seen in a modern day "magic" related movie. Any guesses as to which one? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Alex Middleton Posted January 21, 2018 Author Share Posted January 21, 2018 As a father to two kids, when someone mentions magic, my mind automatically jumps to the Harry Potter books and movies. Think what you want, but that is the reality around my house. This knife is my attempt at recreating the push dagger that shows up at the end of the 7th movie. I actually managed to get a lot farther on this than I planned to this weekend. The blade is basically finished, with just a touch up polishing needed. I even was able to finish the handle hardware and get them rough fit to the tang. Starting to "turn" the ferrule: Rough assembly: Hopefully next weekend I'll have time to get started on the handle. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DavidF Posted January 21, 2018 Share Posted January 21, 2018 (edited) Love the angles on the blade. The ferrule is the thing that grabbed my attention from a good looking well executed dagger, to an artistic, magic project. Really really nice looking. Can’t wait to see it completed. Edited January 30, 2018 by DavidF Apple spellcheck. Well changed to week ??? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Alex Middleton Posted January 22, 2018 Author Share Posted January 22, 2018 Thanks David. I'm trying to stretch out and try some new things with this one. I don't do much decorative work so I'm really hoping I can pull off the handle design that I have spinning around in my head. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Joshua States Posted January 24, 2018 Share Posted January 24, 2018 (edited) On 1/21/2018 at 5:08 PM, Alex Middleton said: Thanks David. I'm trying to stretch out and try some new things with this one. I don't do much decorative work so I'm really hoping I can pull off the handle design that I have spinning around in my head. Draw a full size scale replica of what you have in your head. Get the drawing to look exactly the way you want. Add in all the details of the design; pins, handle materials, the works. If you need any help with embellishment, cruise around the forums and use Google Site search to locate How-to threads on techniques. Edited January 24, 2018 by Joshua States “So I'm lightin' out for the territory, ahead of the scared and the weak and the mean spirited, because Aunt Sally is fixin’ to adopt me and civilize me, and I can't stand it. I've been there before.” The only bad experience is the one from which you learn nothing. Josh http://www.dosgatosdesignsllc.com/#! https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCdJMFMqnbLYqv965xd64vYg J.States Bladesmith | Facebook https://www.facebook.com/dos.gatos.71 https://www.etsy.com/shop/JStatesBladesmith Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Alex Middleton Posted January 25, 2018 Author Share Posted January 25, 2018 Thanks for the tips Joshua. I actually did a 3d model of the entire thing before I even started, minus the decorative work on the handle. The basic shape is the easy part, the embellishments is where I struggle. I can't freehand draw worth a tinkers damn, and that deficiency transfers over when I try to do decorative carving or leather work. My stuff usually comes out looking like it was done by a 5 year old that got ahold of daddy's pocket knife! I'm trying to use this project to push myself past this mental block that I have when it comes to artistic touches. Practice, practice, practice I guess. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jake cleland Posted January 25, 2018 Share Posted January 25, 2018 drawing is a skill like any other - it takes work to acquire it. But it is the foundational skill of any decorative work - carving, engraving, leather tooling etc - and there is no point in attempting any of these on a knife until you are able to draw what you want first. The good news is that paper is cheap... 1 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...
Alex Middleton Posted January 25, 2018 Author Share Posted January 25, 2018 Yeah, I've just never had the need to do any kind of decorative work. My daily world revolves around sheet metal bent at 90 deg. angles. I usually get frustrated and give up whenever a project at home needs that extra "something". Like I said, it's a mental thing. I just need to pull my head out of a certain dark place and get over it so that I can force myself to put in the practice required to at least be competent. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jonathan Silas Posted January 25, 2018 Share Posted January 25, 2018 Highly recommended a fellow by the name of Alphonso Dunn he's a pen and ink artist with a GREAT YouTube channel with an emphasis on drawing. I have learned more from his videos than I ever did in Art class. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Alex Middleton Posted January 27, 2018 Author Share Posted January 27, 2018 Thanks for the reference Jonathan. I checked out a couple of his videos, the guy is crazy good. Gave me a lot of good info and things to practice. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Alex Middleton Posted January 28, 2018 Author Share Posted January 28, 2018 So, I spent a couple of hours drawing the same thing over and over. I may be up to 10 year old level now . I also spent some time working on the handle. Managed to get it dry fit before the wife put her foot down and wanted some honey-do's done. I decided that the handle was too small for me to be able to successfully carve on. Instead, I'm engraving the design into the lid of the box that will hold the knife. That's it for now. I really appreciate the help you guys have offered up to this point. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jonathan Silas Posted January 30, 2018 Share Posted January 30, 2018 One thing you might think on when relief carving is that you usually carve out the area around your drawing, this leaves the carving proud of its surrounding. The following is a good example 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JJ Simon Posted January 30, 2018 Share Posted January 30, 2018 Just a tip for forging daggers or or other blades with a diamond cross section. Start with square stock and forge it on its bias. This gives you your bevels and ridge. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jeremy Blohm Posted January 31, 2018 Share Posted January 31, 2018 This is looking really good. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Alex Middleton Posted January 31, 2018 Author Share Posted January 31, 2018 I'm going to reset and try the handle again. The more I look at it, the more it needs some sort of embellishment to make it fit the overall theme of the knife. For some reason I've been in a rush to get this one done, but I just realized that there's still 5 months to go before the "deadline". Should be plenty of time to figure something out that I can pull off and still have it look decent. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Alex Middleton Posted February 3, 2018 Author Share Posted February 3, 2018 So, I decided to do some playing around tonight. It's definitely not great, but way better than what I was expecting. Alex Like I said, I just had to pull my head out and do it. Unfortunately, the massive crack that opened up in the wood means that this one is junk. At least it was good practice. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jonathan Silas Posted February 3, 2018 Share Posted February 3, 2018 I like it! You and your un plumbed depths! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DavidF Posted February 3, 2018 Share Posted February 3, 2018 That is superb! I can’t wait to see this one. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Alex Middleton Posted February 4, 2018 Author Share Posted February 4, 2018 I got the handle remade today. No cracks this time! Rough carving done: Yes, I have a Lazy-boy in my shop. Right now it's sitting right in front of the blower for the wood burner. Cleaned up, sanded, and ready for stain: I absolutely hate staining black walnut, but this knife just wouldn't look right without a black handle. Hopefully everything looks good when it all comes together. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jeremy Blohm Posted February 4, 2018 Share Posted February 4, 2018 Very nice!!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Alex Middleton Posted February 12, 2018 Author Share Posted February 12, 2018 (edited) I glued everything up this weekend, and it was a miserable failure. I didn't have it clamped straight, and it came out crooked, "gappy", and off center. Needless to say that wasn't going to work, so I torched everything back apart and started working on a new handle. I decided to try a different method this time. It's been a while since I've done any wood turning so I thought I'd give it a whirl. My hope was to increase the overall symmetry of the handle. I'm changing it up a little bit. I switched to oak when the walnut piece I was turning blew up on the lathe, also removing the metal turned piece and incorporating it into the wood. I got the carving redone today as well but forgot to take pictures. Edited February 12, 2018 by Alex Middleton Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jonathan Silas Posted February 12, 2018 Share Posted February 12, 2018 You are going to be an absolute MASTER at punch dagger handles by the time this KITH is over!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Alex Middleton Posted February 12, 2018 Author Share Posted February 12, 2018 You're not kidding! This new one is already suspect. The oak I used has a very wide grain structure and didn't turn out as good as originally hoped ito would. I haven't trashed it yet as it might be salvageable. We'll see how it looks as I apply the finish to it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Zeb Camper Posted February 12, 2018 Share Posted February 12, 2018 May I ask what you are carving with? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Alex Middleton Posted February 12, 2018 Author Share Posted February 12, 2018 I'm doing the bulk of the carving with my Dremel. I've done a little bit with my cheap set of hobby store chisels, but I learned real quickly that cheap chisels aren't any good, and good chisels aren't cheap. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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