WIP HUNTERS

[Gary Mulkey]

Per recent requests, here's a WIP on how I make what I call my field grade working knives.  I normally will work on several of these at the same time.  This group  will be 4-6" drop point & clip point hunters with wooden handles.

 

I am making these from some small  left over damascus billets.  Often as I build a large Bowie I will have a piece of the damascus billet left which won't make another large knife but is large enough for a small hunter and that's what these will be made from.

 

Once I have the billet to the approximate width & thickness needed, the first forging step is to point the billet.  For this I will use a four lb. sledge even though I  don't have quite as much control over it as I  do with my normal 2 lb. cross peen  just to save time as exact dimensions aren't critical at this point.  As I work alone it is difficult to get photos of the actual forging but this piece which is in the forge shows how I  have pointed the end.  It's important to remember to strike each corner of the end of the billet on a 45 degree angle back towards yourself in order to create a point and  not  a bird's mouth.  While pointing a blade, I usually will hold the end of the billet even with the far edge of my anvil so the hammer never strikes the anvil face.

 

 

 

Remember that as you forge the blade to shape that you need to leave it extra thick and not to forge to exact dimensions.  This is because the outside of the blade steel will lose carbon while being forged and you need to have enough material left to grind this outside layer off in order to get down to the high carbon content that you started with.

 

 

 

 

 

Here are three of the blades after being normalized.  This is a critical process to making quality blades and should be done three times on each of them. ( I  won't explain the process unless anyone has questions.)

 

 

 

Removing the forging scale with an angle grinder.  (Scale is extremely hard and will ruin your belts quickly if not removed.)

 

 

 

It's now 96 degrees outside so I'm stopping for the day.  I'll try to keep you updated as I progress with these hunters.

Edited August 10, 2018 by Gary Mulkey

[Clifford Brewer]

Gary:  Watching your WIP'S  is an honor,  Thank you..................

[Sam Ecroyd]

Thanks for doing this Gary, looking forward to the next instalment.

[Gary Mulkey]

I got all  of the forging scale removed, the ricasso surface ground and the distal taper straightened today.  I also got the tangs ground.  In the picture you can see the file jig that I use to get the lip established on all four sides of the ricasso.  It has carbide plates so I can use it on the 2x72 grinder without damage and then finish up with single cut safe files.

 

 

[Jeremy Blohm]

Thanks Gary. Do you keep track of what pattern is going with what blade or is a free for all?

[Gary Mulkey]

Just now, Jeremy Blohm said:

Thanks Gary. Do you keep track of what pattern is going with what blade or is a free for all?

I'm not positive as I made all of this Damascus some time ago but I'm thinking that each will have a 336 layer random pattern.  (I may get fooled when I do the first etch though.)

[Gary Mulkey]

I got the five blades rough ground and my maker's mark stamped into the ricasso.  Here's what I  use as anti-scale while  H/T'ing:

 

I H/T my damascus @ 1475:

 

 

 

As quenched in Park's 50:

 

 

Be sure to check each blade with a file for hardness.  If the file  bites at all, it's not hard enough.

 

 

 

The blades are in the tempering oven now.  I temper my hunters @ 400 degrees for two 2 hour sessions.

Edited August 14, 2018 by Gary Mulkey

[Gary Mulkey]

Here's how I start on the wooden handles.  I first cut the pieces to 1"x 1 1/2"x 4 1/2.

 

I then traced the tang of each on the side of the wooden block and aligned one edge with the side of the drill press vise.  This will align the slot correctly within the handle.

 

 

Then with the appropriate drill bit make a hole on each side of the intended slot:

 

 

 

The web between the two holes can be removed with the same drill bit by working the piece sideways.  Just remember to do all of the cutting with the beveled end of the drill bit and not the side.  The fit doesn't have to be perfect as I will fill this with AcraGlas when attaching the handle.

 

 

The blocks can then be profiled both ways with a band saw and finally shaped to size with a 2 x 72 grinder. 

 

 

 

Just remember to saw the top & bottom first (as on the far piece) before doing the two sides.  That will give you a square edge to lay flat on the bandsaw table.

Edited August 15, 2018 by Gary Mulkey

[Joshua States]

On ‎8‎/‎10‎/‎2018 at 4:09 PM, Gary Mulkey said:

It's now 96 degrees outside so I'm stopping for the day. 

If it would get down to 96 degrees around here, I might actually turn the forge on!

Great WIP so far Gary.

[Gary Mulkey]

41 minutes ago, Joshua States said:

If it would get down to 96 degrees around here, I might actually turn the forge on!

Great WIP so far Gary.

I love what I do for a living but sometimes not as much in the summer.

[Ross Vosloo]

Great looking hunters and nice WIP. 

Ja, the heat is getting to be an issue for me too. Summers quickly coming back here to Zim and in the morning at 9am it will get to 30 deg C. Oh well, everything else has to be done in the heat xD