Little Dipper

[Aiden CC]

I finally got started on my KITH entry, in a more rustic setting than my usual shop. I helped a friend in Jutland set up a small blacksmith shop, so I forged the blade there. Hopefully the name of the thread will make sense as the build comes together!

 

Had to be quite careful not to burn the little tab off in the charcoal! I left the end square to hammer it down the get the right offset for the flipper. There are some subtle tapers as well, but otherwise a simple forging. The blade is sanmai of mild steel and Hitachi White #2. 

[Brian Dougherty]

Oooh, you're going full-on native with the white steel!

[Aiden CC]

On 7/27/2026 at 8:42 AM, Brian Dougherty said:

Oooh, you're going full-on native with the white steel!

I had some lying around and it seemed like the right choice!

 

After some time on the projects, I finally have some progress here:

 

the profile tidied up and some texture put on a piece of 2 mm copper. 
 

I ended up with a bit of extra, but it beats the alternative! Fit up was quite easy compared to other folders, just a bit of bending, hammering, and a single hole. 
 

A batch of carbon steels for heat treating. Since I have shop time, I’m making a lot of blades and this little batch is the end of it. Also a new saya chisel. It’s in to temper now, all it needs is bevel grinding, a trim of the handle, and a few embellishments and it will be good to go. 

[Aiden CC]

A quick update here as this one comes along:

 

My time in the “big shop” has run out, but I got done what I needed to on this. I will do a bit of ornamentation, peen over the pivot and adjust the action a bit and then it will be ready!

[Aiden CC]

Slowly but surely getting there!

 

Hopefully the title makes sense now, some silver ten zogan to dress up the handle and give the knife its name pictorially. 
 

Still left is patination and setting the pivot. I usually do this chemically, but left all of that setup in the States with my family, so I will try out a heat patina to protect the copper and give some more contrast to the silver. 

[Brian Dougherty]

Looking good!

[Spencer Phillipson]

+1 to that 😎

[Aiden CC]

Thanks guys, got this all wrapped up!

 

A natural patina had started to develop from handling, but it was not very even, especially around the inlay. To restart, I went back down to bare metal with some pumice. I like pumice over something like aluminum oxide for polishing pieces like this with a hammer texture. 
 

I started with a brown heat patina, but thought it would look better if I went further with the oxide. This is after 4 or so heating cycles with cleaning between. This looks like black in photos, but is more of a dark brown-purple color. 
 

And here it is with the pivot set and some better lighting for the patina. The sky shade is less midnight and more “nautical twilight”, but I am happy with the effect. 
 

I look forward to seeing how everyone’s entries turn out!

[billyO]

Nice. Makes me wish I had the time to join this year in hopes of snagging this one.