Brian's Hoosier Higo Build

[Brian Dougherty]

I got a pretty good start on my KITH entry this weekend.

 

I started by cutting an oversized blank from a piece of copper and using the method I posted in "Forging" a Copper Handle to bend it over into a tight U shape.  This 2mm thick copper was quite a bit stouter than the piece I tested this approach with, but it still worked out ok.  I had to do some back and forth hammering on the sides and on the edge of the mandrel to get rid of the last of the little bulge you can see in this pic:

 

 

I did anneal this piece a couple of times just to be safe.  I finally ended up with this handle blank:

 

Then I cut out the side profile of the handle in the template I posted here Higo Template and ground/filed to get it to this form.  I drilled the pivot hole before grinding the profile just in case my paper template came unglued part way through shaping it.

 

 

 

 

I'm kind of digging the light hammer marks left over from forming the U shape.  I might try to preserve them through this process.  I think I've seen some chemical approaches to removing the oxides left from the annealing steps.  It would be cool to have this with a light patina over the hand "Forged" marks.

[Brian Dougherty]

I made the handle before the balde in this case because I wasn't sure how well I could control the handle dimensions, but I know I can make the blade fit however the handle turned out.  So far things are tracking pretty true to my template, so I just glued the blade profile to a piece of 1/8" thick O1.  The O1 is the same piece of steel I used as a mandrel to shape the handle.

 

I drilled and reamed for the pivot hole before doing the shaping.  I've had my paper template come loose before from the grinding heat and the subsequent dunking in water.  It's a bummer to have to relocate the pivot hole when that happens.

 

 

Then it was just some grinder-smithing and some filing to get to this point.  My plan is to forge down that little lump at the tang end to become the thumb rest.  I'm not too sure how well that is going to work.

 

[Brian Dougherty]

I lit the forge for the first time in quite a while today.  I'm pretty out of practice, and I never have worked on fine detail parts like this.  However, I got the thumb pad into filing range of what it needs to be.  I normalized the O1 while I was at it.

 

[Brian Dougherty]

I started the filing process on the thumb pad and also rough ground the blade.  I used a jeweler's saw to cut in the relief for the tang in the back of the handle, then filed it to final length.

 

 

[LukeS]

That is coming along very nicely!

[Brian Dougherty]

Typical me, I get a great start on something and let it sit until it is almost a crisis to finish.

 

I filed the shape to the thumb rest while listening to my favorite NFL team get absolutely trounced.  Then I managed to get the blade heatreated.  This one will be pretty easy to finish grind and get to a final finish.

 

 

 

I've been practicing a bit with the engraving.  I'm terrible at it, but I got tired of doing little lines and curves so I've started practicing the actual text I want to put on this knife.  This is the first couple of attempts.  There is some improvement from the first (larger) attempt to the second.  Maybe if I do this a dozen more times, I'll be able to finish the knife without making a mess of it     Reminds me of when I was a little kid.  I'd draw some scribbles on a piece of paper and ask my mom if it spelled anything.

 

Edited September 14 by Brian Dougherty

[Dick Sexstone]

Good progress Brian.....it looks like you are turning the graver with your hand..... do you have an engraving ball vise?  a ball vise makes it easier to cut a smooth curve....but you can do it by hand ..... it takes lots of practice.....

 

 

I still can't spell OR read my own script writing with a pen let alone an engraved word  ......lol

[Alan Longmire]

1 hour ago, Dick Sexstone said:

I still can't spell OR read my own script writing with a pen

 

Thanks to various injuries and at least two types of arthritis I have no fine motor control in my right thumb, forefinger, and middle finger, which makes my handwriting completely illegible. But with a graver and both hands I can do okay!    I'd love a ball vise, but I'm too cheap to buy one.  Somewhere in the shop there's a bowling ball that is meant to be cut in half and fitted with a small machinists vise to serve the same purpose, but exactly where it is is currently unknown...  If I ever retire it's on the list to make, anyway. 

[Brian Dougherty]

That is with me using a ball vice Dick  

[Dick Sexstone]

Practice !!!!!!!   it never made me perfect but it always improved me to one degree or another ....

[Aiden CC]

Good progress with the engraving! It’s quite hard and as others have said, a lot comes down to practice. I made a few test pieces of some text I wanted to put on mine, but just couldn’t quite get there. 
 

One alternative that works well for Japanese characters is to use a mei-kiri, the fairly obtuse chisel used to sign Japanese sword and knife blades. No metal is removed, instead a series of impressions are made with the corner of the chisel. I have found this method to be easier, though have not done anything quite this small. 

[Dick Sexstone]

I went looking for some of my practice pieces.....I could not find the first ones......these are much better than the first ones and yet still leave much room for improvement ....I remember having difficultly in remembering  to NOT turn the graver into a curve but to push straight and turn the ball into the straight push of the graver....I started out cutting way too deep ...... by the time of these practice pieces I had learned to cut a much more shallow cut which was easier to control.... then it could be cut deeper and as I gained control I was able to cut a deeper cut smoothly... I still cut a few times to go deeper rather than one deep cut .....I'm a not trained and never took lessons so take my advise with a grain of salt ....have you gone to a graving forum ? that would be better than my advise.....  

the hand piece is for size reference ......

[Brian Dougherty]

On 9/26/2026 at 9:23 AM, Dick Sexstone said:

NOT turn the graver into a curve but to push straight and turn the ball into the straight push of the graver...

 

My brain adapted to this rather quickly, however, I'm struggling a bit with the notion that the center of rotation is never going to be the centerpoint of the curve I am engraving at the time.  My hands aren't working together that fluidly yet.

 

On 9/26/2026 at 9:23 AM, Dick Sexstone said:

I started out cutting way too deep

 

 

I'm having a hard time with this.  I'm also not really sure what the "Right" depth is an a given situation.  I've tried increasing the heel on the graver a bit, and that seems to have helped.

 

All-in-all, it is quite fun and I'm not taking it too seriously.  I really don't expect to ever become good at engraving, which is an unusual attitude for me, but I find it very relaxing since I haven't set high expectations.