Jeremy Blohm Posted November 23, 2018 Share Posted November 23, 2018 (edited) That sucks that it cracked. I really like seeing the wrought spines on knives. It is one of my favorite construction methods. Edited November 24, 2018 by Jeremy Blohm Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gary Mulkey Posted November 24, 2018 Author Share Posted November 24, 2018 (edited) It was a cold rainy night here so I closed my Christmas shop early which gave me some time to get a little forging done in my home shop. Here's the new blade for my James Black Carrigan knife. It's out of some 1 1/2" W1 round bar. I'm thinking that I will do a differential H/T on it with a decorative hamon just to add a little extra to the finished knife. Edited November 24, 2018 by Gary Mulkey 1 Gary ABS,CKCA,ABKA,KGA Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Charles dP Posted November 24, 2018 Share Posted November 24, 2018 Gutted about the original Gary. The Schively is coming along nicely though. Looking forward to seeing both these done. "The way we win matters" (Ender Wiggins) Orson Scott Card Nos, qui libertate donati sumus, nes cimus quid constet. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gary Mulkey Posted November 25, 2018 Author Share Posted November 25, 2018 As I'm working evenings now in my public shop, I decided that I wasn't ready to quit after work and got in a little midnight heat treating today. This is my James Black knife blade. This may give you an idea of the way I applied the satanite for the differential H/T & hamon. (steel is W1) I did a brief as possible dip in preheated water and then into Park's 50 for the quench. Let's hope that I get a decent hamon with some good activity. Hamons are such a variable process that I never know just how much ashi that I will get with them or even where the line will be. They're kind of like making damascus; no two blades will ever be the same. 2 Gary ABS,CKCA,ABKA,KGA Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
B. Norris Posted November 25, 2018 Share Posted November 25, 2018 Gary, why into water and then into Parks 50? My understanding is that the Parks 50 is faster than water for the first half second or so and then slows down to the speed of an oil quench afterwards. “All work is empty save when there is love, for work is love made visible.” Kahlil Gibran "It is easier to fight for one's principles than to live up to them." - Alfred Adler Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gary Mulkey Posted November 25, 2018 Author Share Posted November 25, 2018 25 minutes ago, B. Norris said: Gary, why into water and then into Parks 50? My understanding is that the Parks 50 is faster than water for the first half second or so and then slows down to the speed of an oil quench afterwards. I'm trying to get as much ashi as possible on the hamon without damaging the blade from cooling too fast.. Gary ABS,CKCA,ABKA,KGA Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gary Mulkey Posted November 29, 2018 Author Share Posted November 29, 2018 I got my first look at the hamon in this one. This is after a 600 grit sand and etch. I'm going to wait until after I have the silver plating soldered to the blade to refine the etch and expose the hamon better. I'll take this down to a 1500 polish & etch when completed which should expose some nice ashi on the blade. 1 Gary ABS,CKCA,ABKA,KGA Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gary Mulkey Posted December 1, 2018 Author Share Posted December 1, 2018 (edited) Getting ready to do some silver plating on the tang of this one: Edited December 1, 2018 by Gary Mulkey 3 Gary ABS,CKCA,ABKA,KGA Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gary Mulkey Posted December 1, 2018 Author Share Posted December 1, 2018 There's still much to do but it's starting to look like a knife now. I'll try to get started on making the domed handle pins tomorrow. 1 Gary ABS,CKCA,ABKA,KGA Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Alan Longmire Posted December 1, 2018 Share Posted December 1, 2018 I'm enjoying this one (as usual!). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gary Mulkey Posted December 2, 2018 Author Share Posted December 2, 2018 6 hours ago, Alan Longmire said: I'm enjoying this one (as usual!). I learned when duplicating Bowie #1 that Black used hollow tubing for his handle pins and then put a smaller round rod through them to attach the domed pin heads. My thanks to the guys at The Arkansas Historic Museum for that tidbit of knowledge. 1 Gary ABS,CKCA,ABKA,KGA Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gary Mulkey Posted December 8, 2018 Author Share Posted December 8, 2018 Often as I'm keeping my public shop open late, I don't feel like going straight to bed after work as was the case tonight so I managed to get the silver pommel wrap attached to my James Black knife. There's still a lot of hand sanding & polishing left to do but now i have all of the silver attached to the hilt but for the pins & domed pin heads. 1 Gary ABS,CKCA,ABKA,KGA Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gary Mulkey Posted December 10, 2018 Author Share Posted December 10, 2018 (edited) Progressing with the James Black knife: I wasn't satisfied with the silver plating on the top of the tang so I partially disassembled the handle, removed & replaced it (for this I had to remove two of the hollow handle pins as they passed through the silver plating). Once i have replacement handle pins installed I will begin the hand sanding & finishing of the hilt before adding all of the domed pin heads. (lots of tiny silver parts for these old stubby fingers to handle) Edited December 10, 2018 by Gary Mulkey 1 Gary ABS,CKCA,ABKA,KGA Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gary Mulkey Posted December 11, 2018 Author Share Posted December 11, 2018 (edited) I've yet to do a lot of "spit & polish" to this one but here's the fully assembled knife: Edited December 11, 2018 by Gary Mulkey 3 Gary ABS,CKCA,ABKA,KGA Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jeremy Blohm Posted December 11, 2018 Share Posted December 11, 2018 Amazing work as always!!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Alan Longmire Posted December 11, 2018 Share Posted December 11, 2018 This rather similar-looking one is in the collections of the Royal Armouries Museum in Leeds, U.K. They call it simply an American hunting knife, ca. 1840. If you'd like a giggle, here's their catalog description of it: https://collections.royalarmouries.org/object/rac-object-1314.html That terrible photo is mine, they haven't bothered to do a glamour shot since it's too new. Compared to their other stuff, that is. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gary Mulkey Posted December 11, 2018 Author Share Posted December 11, 2018 30 minutes ago, Alan Longmire said: This rather similar-looking one is in the collections of the Royal Armouries Museum in Leeds, U.K. They call it simply an American hunting knife, ca. 1840. If you'd like a giggle, here's their catalog description of it: https://collections.royalarmouries.org/object/rac-object-1314.html That terrible photo is mine, they haven't bothered to do a glamour shot since it's too new. Compared to their other stuff, that is. I can't read the maker's mark on this one but it shows you how the style of Black's knives grew in popularity almost overnight. As far as I know Black only made nine knives. This isn't one of them but it shows how great the influence of them was. Gary ABS,CKCA,ABKA,KGA Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brian Dougherty Posted December 11, 2018 Share Posted December 11, 2018 According to the royal armories link, it is marked Graveley & Wreaks/ New York If I understand correctly, they were not knife makers, but importers, so you are right in that Black's influence was quite far reaching indeed! -Brian Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gary Mulkey Posted December 11, 2018 Author Share Posted December 11, 2018 23 minutes ago, Brian Dougherty said: According to the royal armories link, it is marked Graveley & Wreaks/ New York If I understand correctly, they were not knife makers, but importers, so you are right in that Black's influence was quite far reaching indeed! At that time the cutlers in Sheffield, UK were trying their best to create Bowie knives that looked as American as possible in order to fill the huge demand for them here in the states. By the time that the Civil War came along, 70% of all Bowies in America had been made in Sheffield. Gary ABS,CKCA,ABKA,KGA Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Alan Longmire Posted December 11, 2018 Share Posted December 11, 2018 Yep. My best guess is that bowie was made by an ex-Sheffield cutler in NYC or Philadelphia working off a copy of a James Black. Being a guardless coffin it's probably earlier than the attribution, which was based on the exporter's listing in the city directory. Guardless coffins are the earliest Bowies, ca. 1828-1835. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gary Mulkey Posted December 12, 2018 Author Share Posted December 12, 2018 5 hours ago, Alan Longmire said: Yep. My best guess is that bowie was made by an ex-Sheffield cutler in NYC or Philadelphia working off a copy of a James Black. Being a guardless coffin it's probably earlier than the attribution, which was based on the exporter's listing in the city directory. Guardless coffins are the earliest Bowies, ca. 1828-1835. We will never know for sure but most attribute the coffin shaped handle to Black. If memory serves me, Bowie #1 is thought to have been made in the winter of 1828/29. Jim Batson has a new book out that should explain this but I haven't gotten a copy of it yet. (I'm waiting until I see him again to get it signed.) Gary ABS,CKCA,ABKA,KGA Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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