Trad Gang

Made in  the USA indeed but the components are a mishmash of British, Irish, Scottish, German, and American Indian, with a few parts from random Scandinavian countries thrown in.  To prove it, I have three kids; one with dark brown hair and brown eyes, one with blonde hair and green eyes, and one with red hair and blue eyes.  Maybe the parts just don't match up just right.

:D  
Darcy

I stick with my press to set my welds the other one I have is Polish(mostly) My great, great grandparents name coming off the boat was Urbanoviche and I don't even know if I am spelling that correctly.  What I do know is my Polish model gets a lot more cold shuts than the press do to inconsistent pressure in the weld process.  

Darcy - get to working on that billet - I am interested in what it will become.

Will get back to it soon. I just got the handle welded back on.
I was shooting in a 3d (indoor) shoot this weekend, and I have a few other things on the go. Including a late season doe draw that I need to try and get out for. Also a local bowyer built me a string follow bow blank, so I have a date to go and work on that in his shop this week.   :thumbsup:  

Stay tuned.
Darcy   :campfire:

A bit more progress tonight. Drew the bar out and hot cut most of the way thru. I was going to just fold it and weld it again, but I lack the confidence that the weld will turn out that way with no inclusions. So, I will let it cool, grind the surfaces to be welded clean and then flux, reheat, fold and weld. Here's a pic.

  (http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v486/45stomp/P1200117_zpsc7526150.jpg) (http://smg.photobucket.com/user/45stomp/media/P1200117_zpsc7526150.jpg.html)

Darcy    :campfire:

Fascinating process!!! Great work! Can't wait to see more.

If any you guys every challenge Darcy to an arm wrestle.....
I suggest only trying left-handed!!

You crack me up Bruce!
Sorry for the down time in progress guys. My internet was down for several days. I have this billet up to 112 layers now. Will fill in the blanks with pics soon.........unless my net goes down again   :banghead:  
Welcome aboard Ibitengu.   :campfire:  
Darcy

OK, here's the up to date pics.
Folded and heating up for the weld.
 (http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v486/45stomp/P1220120_zpsbbc2a12b.jpg) (http://smg.photobucket.com/user/45stomp/media/P1220120_zpsbbc2a12b.jpg.html)

Drawn out and ready to cut again. 28 layers here.

 (http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v486/45stomp/P1220121_zps6fb7e100.jpg) (http://smg.photobucket.com/user/45stomp/media/P1220121_zps6fb7e100.jpg.html)

Blurry pic of the 28 layer bar hot cut and cooling off before grinding the weld surfaces clean in preparation for the next weld.

 (http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v486/45stomp/P1220122_zps00df4cd6.jpg) (http://smg.photobucket.com/user/45stomp/media/P1220122_zps00df4cd6.jpg.html)

Another blurry pic. this is at 56 layers and still needs drawn out.

 (http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v486/45stomp/P1220123_zpsf62beefb.jpg) (http://smg.photobucket.com/user/45stomp/media/P1220123_zpsf62beefb.jpg.html)

After drawing out and hot cutting and welding again. 112 layers. before grinding clean.

 (http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v486/45stomp/P1260126_zps9221007b.jpg) (http://smg.photobucket.com/user/45stomp/media/P1260126_zps9221007b.jpg.html)

and after. Those are 5 inch feathers for scale.

 (http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v486/45stomp/P1260128_zpsc72ea324.jpg) (http://smg.photobucket.com/user/45stomp/media/P1260128_zpsc72ea324.jpg.html)

That's pretty much where I am at currently, except I have the handle welded back on. Soon to start looking like a blade.   :knothead:    :D  

Darcy

OK, it's starting to look like something now.
Heating up and drawing out.

  (http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v486/45stomp/P1270129_zps09570571.jpg) (http://smg.photobucket.com/user/45stomp/media/P1270129_zps09570571.jpg.html)

  (http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v486/45stomp/P1270130_zps8ecc3239.jpg) (http://smg.photobucket.com/user/45stomp/media/P1270130_zps8ecc3239.jpg.html)

  (http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v486/45stomp/P1270131_zps7616e8a4.jpg) (http://smg.photobucket.com/user/45stomp/media/P1270131_zps7616e8a4.jpg.html)

At this point the handle broke off again, so hammer and tongs from here........drawing out the tang and with some shaping of the blade.

  (http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v486/45stomp/P1270133_zps22273ae4.jpg) (http://smg.photobucket.com/user/45stomp/media/P1270133_zps22273ae4.jpg.html)

Basically shaped......textured the flats, and hot stamped the makers mark.

  (http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v486/45stomp/P1270135_zps43f4bdb2.jpg) (http://smg.photobucket.com/user/45stomp/media/P1270135_zps43f4bdb2.jpg.html)

Cooling off. Blade will not miss 9 inches by very much.......1/4" thick with distal taper forged in. After it cooled and I could handle it, I realized I want it a bit wider starting from mid blade towards the tip. So, it'll get a few more smacks before rough grinding.

  (http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v486/45stomp/P1270138_zps9869174f.jpg) (http://smg.photobucket.com/user/45stomp/media/P1270138_zps9869174f.jpg.html)

To be continued.......
Darcy

Very nice! It's great to see a knife come to life.

Kinda looks like a knife.   :thumbsup:   those couple extra smacks are one of the things I've found I like about forging.  Not much you can do with stock removal if you decide you wanted it a bit wider.  Can't wait to see how the pattern turns out.

Thanks guys.
How about this Matt, look a bit more like a knife now?   :D  

 (http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v486/45stomp/P1280140_zpsdd6eaaac.jpg) (http://smg.photobucket.com/user/45stomp/media/P1280140_zpsdd6eaaac.jpg.html)

 (http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v486/45stomp/P1280141_zps63cd40a2.jpg) (http://smg.photobucket.com/user/45stomp/media/P1280141_zps63cd40a2.jpg.html)

Went back to the forge a couple times to tweak things.......had to change the tang angle, widen the blade toward the tip and clean up a couple lumpy spots. Then ground it out and draw filed the spine and ricasso area. I still need to do a few things before heat treat, but it is pretty close. Etched it lightly to show the pattern.
Whatayathink?
Darcy

Gettin better with every post.  The pattern looks awesome.  Can't wait to see the finished product.  I finally got out and forged another one this week.  My first one since before Christmas.  My forge is outside and the weather hasn't been all that great, and I've been out of town a few times for training on a new job, so I haven't had much time to do much.  No telling how long it'll take me to finish it since February is going to be even busier at work than this month.  I've been torturing myself the last few weeks looking at what you guys are doing on here knowing I didn't have time to do any myself.  

Matt

That is one awesome blade Darcy!! This is one of my favorite blade styles.
What do you have in mind for the handle?

Thanks guys,
Ben, I have a piece of stabilized birch burl that should look good. I plan to do some carving/engraving on the fittings.........river theme.
I am with you on the blade style, I love the simple, classic shape of some of the Japanese blades. I am looking at this blade right now and dreaming about a matching wakizashi, but I am not man enough to hand hammer out the 9cubic inches of Damascus steel it would take to make it.   :knothead:   Might have to make one in 1084 instead.   :D

Darcy   :campfire:

I'm loving these threads you're putting up. Great looking knife and my hat's off to you and your serious determination to hand hammer all that steel  :) . Looking forward to the finished knife.
:campfire:

Jeremy

Funny, I was just thinking wakizashi also, or at least a little bit larger tanto. Maybe with a semi traditional wrapped handle and guard.   :cool:  

If you were closer I'd come swing the hammer for a bit for ya.    :D

Oregon to Central BC can't be more than 30 hours or so   :readit:    :D
It's gonna be a day or 2 before I get back to work on this.......I have a late doe tag burning a hole in my pocket, and a freezer that could use some venison.
Darcy   :campfire:

Good luck on your hunt!

Decided to put the deer hunt off one more day. Here's a pic of the handle material for this blade. Birch burl I harvested(from a downed tree) and had professionally stabilized.

 (http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v486/45stomp/P1290146_zps068a54de.jpg) (http://smg.photobucket.com/user/45stomp/media/P1290146_zps068a54de.jpg.html)

Darcy   :campfire:

Ready for heat treat.
I normally stamp the spine with the year I make the knife.......often I use roman numerals, but this time I wanted to use Japanese symbols instead. Much more complicated than I thought it would be, but here is the result. Having, of course, no stamps for this, I had to cut it with my engraving chisel. I hope this is a legible(in Japanese) example of the year Heisei 26.......or 2014. It looks a bit like the calligrapher was into the sake before chiseling this in, so hopefully it doesn't translate as "your donkey wears pink army boots" or something.   :eek:
   (http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v486/45stomp/P1290148_zps5ce23621.jpg) (http://smg.photobucket.com/user/45stomp/media/P1290148_zps5ce23621.jpg.html)

Darcy   :campfire:

Very cool-now I'm wondering about the guard. That Birch is going to look great. I love getting to follow the progress of a build. Thanks again for sharing these with us.

Jeremy

That came out cool man!

Wow! Looking incredible!

Thanks guys. It's in the oven tempering as I type this. Here's a pic of normalizing before hardening.

 (http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v486/45stomp/P1300149_zps603d402f.jpg) (http://smg.photobucket.com/user/45stomp/media/P1300149_zps603d402f.jpg.html)

The quench pic didn't turn out........was quenched in 130* canola oil.....after an 8 min soak at 1500*
Hopefully the weather warms up a smidge so I can grind this blade out and do some cutting tests tomorrow. Then the finish work begins.
Darcy   :campfire:

QuoteOriginally posted by D.Ellis:


The quench pic didn't turn out........

Personally I would just blame the camera man for that!   :knothead:

QuoteOriginally posted by bculberson:
 

QuoteOriginally posted by D.Ellis:


The quench pic didn't turn out........

Personally I would just blame the camera man for that!    :knothead:  [/b]

Don't feel too bad Bruce it's actually kinda cool   :D  
Just so everyone can see what's going on here, those are my gloves on the left......the glowing spine of the blade and cloud of smoke in the glow of my headlamp.
   (http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v486/45stomp/P1300151_zps412bffee.jpg) (http://smg.photobucket.com/user/45stomp/media/P1300151_zps412bffee.jpg.html)

Too darn cold to do any accurate grinding today, so I worked on the artwork for the guard. Here's the idea I'm working on......it may change a bit yet, but this is the basic plan right now. Will be a challenge to pull this off without goofing it up. Been a while since I did very much cutting with a gravers chisel. I'll do a fairly indepth set of pics for this in case anyone else is interested in trying it out. Will not begin cutting chips until the guard is fit to the blade, and the blade needs to be mostly finished first, so it's not going to be for a few days yet.

  (http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v486/45stomp/P2010153_zpsf0abf98a.jpg) (http://smg.photobucket.com/user/45stomp/media/P2010153_zpsf0abf98a.jpg.html)

That pic is huge, the guard will be about 2 5/8" tall. For scale, the largest "bubble", is right at 1/4" wide.

Darcy   :campfire:

Still cold today so I just sucked it up, and finish ground it anyway.......in a couple of sessions with a hand warming break in between.
Time for some test cutting.
Slicing paper.

 (http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v486/45stomp/P2020156_zps0732bf01.jpg) (http://smg.photobucket.com/user/45stomp/media/P2020156_zps0732bf01.jpg.html)

Chopping dry pine.

 (http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v486/45stomp/P2020158_zpsae079c03.jpg) (http://smg.photobucket.com/user/45stomp/media/P2020158_zpsae079c03.jpg.html)

ok so far, now for some rougher treatment.
Chopping moose antler.

 (http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v486/45stomp/P2020159_zpsf6bc28e9.jpg) (http://smg.photobucket.com/user/45stomp/media/P2020159_zpsf6bc28e9.jpg.html)

So far so good. Now to test the tip strength and penetration........I actually threw it at this 3/8 inch OSB......results.

 (http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v486/45stomp/P2020162_zps1c4ccb8b.jpg) (http://smg.photobucket.com/user/45stomp/media/P2020162_zps1c4ccb8b.jpg.html)

It was sticking out the back about 1/2 inch.

Now to get really silly. Stabbed as hard as I dared (with no guard) into this old 80's vintage truck door.

 (http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v486/45stomp/P2020163_zps421b4ba8.jpg) (http://smg.photobucket.com/user/45stomp/media/P2020163_zps421b4ba8.jpg.html)

Here're a couple pics of the tip.......no damage........and the tip is not real thick, that's a standard field point.

 (http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v486/45stomp/P2020164_zps4ab679c9.jpg) (http://smg.photobucket.com/user/45stomp/media/P2020164_zps4ab679c9.jpg.html)

 (http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v486/45stomp/P2020165_zps6bdf9968.jpg) (http://smg.photobucket.com/user/45stomp/media/P2020165_zps6bdf9968.jpg.html)

After the chopping, it still would slice paper, but not quite as easily. I am pretty happy with the performance of this blade. Now time to purdy her up.

Darcy   :campfire:

If you're ever attacked by a moose with a pine club driving an old truck wearing paper armor...........   :D  

I really like how thoroughly you test your knives.  It's a good feeling to see something you made perform to that high of a standard.  Well done.  Everything from this point on is just for show.

Matt

QuoteOriginally posted by tomsm44:
If you're ever attacked by a moose with a pine club driving an old truck wearing paper armor...........    :D    

Matt

This is CANADA! Gotta be ready for ANYTHING EH!   :D

Thanks Matt. They need to perform........if they look good too that's a welcome bonus. Much like...........well, I'll let you fill in the blanks there!   :bigsmyl:

Darcy   :campfire:

I started to use that example too.  And like you, I decided against it.

might be a while before I can make further progress on this one. I am helping guide a lynx hunt for a week, so this one will have to sit idle until I get that finished.
Darcy   :campfire:

All I can say is, WOW!
Great inspiration to up my training to be worthy of this knife.

are you going to give it a traditional tanto tip with the angled upsweep or leave it as is for more of a trade knife appearance?

knife looks awesome...wish I had some skills like that...all I can do to turn hickory into a bow.  :)

QuoteOriginally posted by Brock:
are you going to give it a traditional tanto tip with the angled upsweep or leave it as is for more of a trade knife appearance?

knife looks awesome...wish I had some skills like that...all I can do to turn hickory into a bow.   :)  

This is actually a fairly traditional blade shape for a tanto, the sharp angled tip was much less common. The term tanto in north America has come to mean that sharp angled tip, but the Japanese version was not usually like that.
Thanks for the question, and the kudo's.


Darcy   :campfire:

QuoteOriginally posted by Ibitengu:
All I can say is, WOW!
Great inspiration to up my training to be worthy of this knife.

Thanks my friend, it should be able to handle a boar's shield I would think.    ;)  
Darcy    :)

QuoteOriginally posted by D.Ellis:
 

QuoteOriginally posted by Brock:
are you going to give it a traditional tanto tip with the angled upsweep or leave it as is for more of a trade knife appearance?

knife looks awesome...wish I had some skills like that...all I can do to turn hickory into a bow.    :)  

This is actually a fairly traditional blade shape for a tanto, the sharp angled tip was much less common. The term tanto in north America has come to mean that sharp angled tip, but the Japanese version was not usually like that.
Thanks for the question, and the kudo's.


Darcy    :campfire:  [/b]

actually one of my favorite asian influenced blade styles is the Shinbu which I guess was considered a tactical design...I picked one up before I went overseas my last time before retiring....considered a tanto similar to your design and not the angular design common today.  Great work.

Thanks for that Brock. I just looked up "shinbu"........cool blade style.
Darcy   :campfire:

Back at it. Sanded and etched......ready for fittings. The hammer marked flats will be darker when I am done. Blade will get one more etch and some blue and polish before final assembly, but it is time to start the guard.
 (http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v486/45stomp/P2170181_zpsec01ce1e.jpg) (http://smg.photobucket.com/user/45stomp/media/P2170181_zpsec01ce1e.jpg.html)

 (http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v486/45stomp/P2170180_zps12dcbf81.jpg) (http://smg.photobucket.com/user/45stomp/media/P2170180_zps12dcbf81.jpg.html)

Darcy   :campfire:

Got the guard done. Only took 2 days   :rolleyes:  I am a bit rusty with the engraving chisels. I was going to take pics of the process, but between struggling to not mess it up and thinking of how I'd make a demo understandable, I decided this was not the time to attempt it. All of this was done with hammer and chisels of various shapes.
Finally getting close to completion on this one.......a few more days should wrap it up.

  (http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v486/45stomp/P2210187_zps450f0255.jpg) (http://smg.photobucket.com/user/45stomp/media/P2210187_zps450f0255.jpg.html)

Darcy   :campfire:

Holy patience and talent!  That is some true "one off" work there on that guard.  How are you holding it that it does not damage the effort already put forth.  Really cool.

Holy crap-that guard is amazing. I vote that you at some point do a WIP or something on how you do that. It looks fantastic  :thumbsup:

Jeremy

Thanks guys. I will try to put together a bit of a demo thread at some point on how I do the relief carving.
Darcy   :campfire:

This is coming together awesome Darcy! And that guard, beautiful carving, I love Koi!
 :clapper:

If that's you being kinda rusty, be sure to post a picture when you finally do a good job on one.  Goes great with the blade.  Can't wait to see the finished product.

Matt

Wow. Insanely beautiful!

Thanks guys,
Got the handle shaped and sanded and the spacer done today, but forgot to take any pics. I still need to lathe turn a pommel nut and do a bit of last minute touch up stuff so I'll try and snap some pics tomorrow. Final assembly tomorrow afternoon if all goes well.   :thumbsup:
Darcy   :campfire:

Your something else. You are a gifted craftsman.

More please...    :thumbsup:    :thumbsup:

Turning the pommel nut.
 (http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v486/45stomp/P2250188_zps4c454cb4.jpg) (http://smg.photobucket.com/user/45stomp/media/P2250188_zps4c454cb4.jpg.html)

Pile O' Parts. Pretty much ready for assembly.

 (http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v486/45stomp/P2250189_zps1ea42ab6.jpg) (http://smg.photobucket.com/user/45stomp/media/P2250189_zps1ea42ab6.jpg.html)

Will post pics of the finished knife tonight.
Darcy   :campfire:

Awesome.  You guys on here are making me really rethink my taste in knives.  I was never a huge fan of bowies, 'tactical' knives, or Japanese style knives before.  Simple hunters/skinners with pretty wood, bone, or antler for me.  Then I started watching the bowies coming from the shops of Lin, Karl, Doug, Matt, and yourself, and the itch hit me.  Built my first bowie back before Christmas.  Then Ben started posting all of his tactical styled knives and hawks and as hard as I tried not to like the drab g10 and kydex, I now have a hankering to order some coyote brown CeraKote and g10 for a sensible sized tactical hunter.  That leaves the Japanese style............

Matt Toms

Thanks Matt. I am fond of a wide variety of knife styles. I have my favorites for specific uses, but can see the beauty in everything from daggers to kerambits and everything in between. I have not made very many Japanese inspired blades, but it is fun to learn what makes these other styles tick, and try to incorporate that into my own meager attempts. Variety makes for more interesting bladesmithing.   :)  


Here're a couple pics of the knife. I will do some close detail shots when I get the sheath done.

 (http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v486/45stomp/P2260191_zps880fb90c.jpg) (http://smg.photobucket.com/user/45stomp/media/P2260191_zps880fb90c.jpg.html)

 (http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v486/45stomp/P2260192_zps37f80deb.jpg) (http://smg.photobucket.com/user/45stomp/media/P2260192_zps37f80deb.jpg.html)

The domed copper pin on the side of the handle is for indexing. Because the handle is symmetrical, it would be impossible to tell from feel if the edge is up or down. The pin lets you feel which way the blade is oriented in your hand without having to look.
Specs are;
Blade- 9 inches guard to tip, 112 layer random. 15n20 and 1084.
Copper spacer and pin.
Handle is stabilized birch burl.
Overall length is 14 1/4"
Weight is 13oz

I hope I have captured a bit of the Japanese flavor in this blade. Comments and criticism are welcome.

Darcy   :campfire:

Looks great.  It's obvious at first glance that it has Japanese influence.  It's also obvious at first glance that it's not a 100% traditional Japanese blade, but the characteristics that you chose incorporate from the different styles work really well with each other in my opinion.  Makes for a great looking blade.  I hate to be picky, but could you post a picture with the tip more toward the camera?  I'd like to see how the engraving on the gaurd and the blade finish work together now that it's finished.

Well done,
Matt

QuoteOriginally posted by tomsm44:
Looks great.  It's obvious at first glance that it has Japanese influence.  It's also obvious at first glance that it's not a 100% traditional Japanese blade, but the characteristics that you chose incorporate from the different styles work really well with each other in my opinion.  Makes for a great looking blade.  I hate to be picky, but could you post a picture with the tip more toward the camera?  I'd like to see how the engraving on the gaurd and the blade finish work together now that it's finished.

Well done,
Matt

Thanks Matt,
I will post up some pics from that angle and much closer soon........just want to get the sheath done first. Stay tuned.   :campfire:
Darcy

Darcy.....

That is fantastic! Impressive!

A great project and very well done!

Anxious to see the whole project.

Steve
---------
Potomac Forge
Member, W.F. Moran Museum & Foundation
ABS AP

I've been following this and waiting, and WOW! That is awesome, very nice!  Thanks for taking the time to document and post the process.
Joel

That is one great looking knife!!!!!!

I've enjoyed seeing your work Darcy! This one is so nice in several ways. Thank you for sharing your skills. Excellent!

Very beautiful on many levels.  I especially like the way you incorporated the koi. I really appreciate you taking the time to document and share your work.

Chris

outstanding !what a special knife . great job

Thanks much guys. Here are a few more detail pics.


 (http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v486/45stomp/P3020205_zps8d092eed.jpg) (http://smg.photobucket.com/user/45stomp/media/P3020205_zps8d092eed.jpg.html)

 (http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v486/45stomp/P3020208_zps501a073c.jpg) (http://smg.photobucket.com/user/45stomp/media/P3020208_zps501a073c.jpg.html)

 (http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v486/45stomp/P3020209_zps9c276a80.jpg) (http://smg.photobucket.com/user/45stomp/media/P3020209_zps9c276a80.jpg.html)

 (http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v486/45stomp/P3020212_zpse364d329.jpg) (http://smg.photobucket.com/user/45stomp/media/P3020212_zpse364d329.jpg.html)

 (http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v486/45stomp/P3020211_zpsdaef81cf.jpg) (http://smg.photobucket.com/user/45stomp/media/P3020211_zpsdaef81cf.jpg.html)

 (http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v486/45stomp/P3020210_zps9af2b224.jpg) (http://smg.photobucket.com/user/45stomp/media/P3020210_zps9af2b224.jpg.html)

Darcy

Very nice Darcy, one to be proud of for sure.    :thumbsup:    :thumbsup:

Took more than a couple afternoons to whip that one up eh?

Well done!

Thanks guys.
bculberson, Yup, a bit more......just need to figure out how to whip one of these out per week and my get rich quick scheme will be well under way. They say the best way to end up with a million dollars by knife making is simply to start with 2 million    :p      :D    
Darcy

You got way more patience then me!  That is a work of art.

Very Nice.

Darcy,

A very, very cool project!

You must be very proud and artistically fulfilled.  This project is outstanding!

The sheath is very nice..... however, A burled scabbard would have completely finished it!  (that is ambitious, at least for my skill set)

Respect

Steve
------------
Potomac Forge
Member, W.F. Moran Museum & Foundation
ABS AP

wow, very nice sir.

QuoteOriginally posted by Steve Nuckels:
Darcy,

A very, very cool project!

You must be very proud and artistically fulfilled.  This project is outstanding!

The sheath is very nice..... however, A burled scabbard would have completely finished it!  (that is ambitious, at least for my skill set)

Respect

Steve
------------
Potomac Forge
Member, W.F. Moran Museum & Foundation
ABS AP

Steve,
I agree with you completely, but I wasn't sure I could pull that off and still have it functional. This is not a show piece, as the guy who owns it is packing and using it, and I am comfortable with leather sheaths for use. Sometime I'll learn how to make nice wooden scabbards, but I wasn't ready yet.
Thanks for the kind words guys.
Darcy   :campfire:

That is one beautiful knife right there.

QuoteOriginally posted by D.Ellis:

  (http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v486/45stomp/P2260191_zps880fb90c.jpg) (http://smg.photobucket.com/user/45stomp/media/P2260191_zps880fb90c.jpg.html)

Beautiful work on the entire piece! and thanks very much for the build along it was very interesting to follow.  maybe the next time you do a thread like this could you include a few more picks of your metal carving and tools you use?  It's something I know very little about and would love to learn more.
Again thanks very much and great work!
Joel

Hey Darcy , wonderful thread with great continuation of the process , Really enjoyed it.
Cheers from the Wack !!!!

Thanks guys.   :)  
Darcy

I like everything about it! Such a wonderfully executed piece. All of the detail and finish compliment each other and not a single detail looks out of place. Excellent!

Just read all 7 pages and WOW! Darcy a great work indeed, be proud of that one!

really fine, Darcy.... I like that a lot....your carving is very very nice!