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Post by brotherbanzai on Mar 12, 2008 17:22:00 GMT
I'd like to give thanks to the SBG Sword Forum. After reading information on this site (along with Sword Forum International and some others) for the last several months, I have built my own heat treat furnace and finished my first complete blade. It's a small boot knife but it's all mine blade is 1075/80 high carbon steel shaped by stock removal, heated to 1500, quenched in oil and tempered at 500 for an hour. bolsters are brass. scales are lignum vitae (not sure how you spell that).
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Post by themaster293 on Mar 12, 2008 17:59:25 GMT
I like it. You did a really good job. Kinda looks like a small kukri. Have a karma.
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Post by Deleted on Mar 12, 2008 19:45:24 GMT
Great job!
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Post by oos3thoo on Mar 12, 2008 19:46:09 GMT
Awesome! Me likey a lot!
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Post by randomnobody on Mar 12, 2008 19:54:33 GMT
Oh, wow, that's pretty. How long did the process itself take you, total? X hours for Y days translates to Z hours and such. How much did you spend on materials? If you were to sell this knife (or make another to sell) what would you charge? Most importantly, have you cut anything with it yet?
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Post by guthbrandr on Mar 12, 2008 21:55:56 GMT
NICE!
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Post by Deleted on Mar 12, 2008 22:19:17 GMT
very sexy
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Post by Deleted on Mar 12, 2008 22:23:41 GMT
Man, a really interesting piece. I love the design. You planned it yourself or used something as the "base idea"? Not only it looks great, also seems quite good for both stabbing and cutting^^
+1 from me:)
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Post by Brendan Olszowy on Mar 12, 2008 22:41:15 GMT
Yeah that looks very professional, I can't believe its your first. How did you attach the bolsters? They are something that I haven't tried yet. Also how did you mirror polish the blade - did you use any machinery, or spend hours doing it by hand?
+1 from me too.
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Post by brotherbanzai on Mar 12, 2008 23:27:10 GMT
Thanks for all the kind remarks! Thanks Random, I started keeping track of hours but stopped after about 15 so I'm not really sure how long it took. Material cost was negligable, it's a pretty small knife (9 inches overall). I bought a large plate of steel for another project and this was out of some of the leftover (so maybe $5 for this piece). The brass was the most expensive piece, I got a 2'x1"x1/4" piece for around $60 and only used a few inches so far. The wood was salvaged so it was free (I don't like to add to the damand for exotic woods by buying any virgin stuff). Maybe a few dollars in used up materials (sandpaper and whatnot) though I did ruin a few new drill bits when I realized I needed some holes in the tang after I had heat treated it. And it costs me about $5 in electricity to run my heat treat furnace. I would hope I could sell something like this for $250. That's my eventual plan anyway (maybe even more )when I have developed a bit more skill at this. I don't have any really nice stones yet so it's still a bit on the dull side. So no real cutting yet. Bytheway, The idea for the finger cutout came from a knife I saw over 20 years ago (a balisong maybe) so I think the basic design follows my impression of that knife but I never found it again so I'm not certain. Brenno, the bolsters are attached by drilling two 1/16" holes all the way through the two halves of the bolsters and through the tang. I reamed out the outer ends of the holes and then pushed a 1/16" brass rod throuth each one extending out the other side. Then I tig welded the little expised tips of the rod into the reamed out area on the bolsters and ground them flush. Same deal on the rear bolsters. The handle scales have two hidden pins which extend through the tand but not quite through the wood and are then epoxied. Was that description clear? It occurs to me that I have two more just like this one that I haven't finished yet and a picture might be easer to understand than my rambling. Used a combination of machinery and hand sanding and polishing. Thanks again everyone for all the kind comments and interest!
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Post by Deleted on Mar 13, 2008 1:26:48 GMT
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slav
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Katsujin No Ken
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Post by slav on Mar 13, 2008 1:53:54 GMT
Wow! I would have never guessed that this is your first! GREAT job! I love how beefy the blade is at the spine. +1!
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Post by Deleted on Mar 13, 2008 2:00:27 GMT
what thickness is the spine?
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Post by kidcasanova on Mar 13, 2008 6:28:10 GMT
This is an absolutely gorgeous piece. If you don't intend to use it, just make a stand and display that bad boy proudly.
I can't even tell you how good looks in those pictures, and I'm sure it looks even better in person.
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Post by brotherbanzai on Mar 13, 2008 16:55:28 GMT
Thanks! That's what I meant, Benchmade. Don't they make Balisongs? Anyway, I think it was a Benchmade knife I saw years ago. Pretty sure it had a little butterfly insignia. Ha, I just noticed my initials etched into the blade sorta look like a little butterfly. The spine is 3/16" thick. I've been a sculptor for the last 8 years or so so I have a good bit of experience shaping metal and I've made hilt pieces for already made blades in the past. I imagine that gave me a pretty good head start.
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Post by Deleted on Mar 13, 2008 18:25:59 GMT
Great job man! The design is simple but still very nice and agressive, have a karma .
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Post by Deleted on Mar 13, 2008 23:33:51 GMT
brennos got competition
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Post by Matt993f.o.d on Mar 16, 2008 14:36:30 GMT
Are you sure this is a first try??? Amazing work. You should be very proud.
How did you attach the bolster and butt plate?
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Post by Matt993f.o.d on Mar 16, 2008 14:38:34 GMT
Oops, you'd already answered that. Nevermind.
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Post by brotherbanzai on Mar 16, 2008 15:06:29 GMT
Here's a pic of the two I haven't finished yet. Shows the bolsters in two earlier stages. Thanks all. I've done hilts before, this is my fist complete piece from my own design. And I've got several years experiance grinding and welding bronze to draw from.
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