Hunter - Part 3

 Part 1:
Two New Blades Started
 Part 2:
Hunter - Part 2

The first bit of brass is epoxied on and this is what's to follow - carbon fibre and more brass. Not a normal combination but I didn't want to use vulcanised fibre but wanted a good contrast. Hopefully it should work!!

And all glued up - the main part of the handle is Wenge. 

The photo below is rubbish but you can see the block in the pictures above being used as the background.

 I need to get a new blade for my bandsaw so instead of rough cutting the profile with the saw, I went at it with a fresh 80 grit belt this morning. Very aggressive and got a lot smaller very quickly!

I hadn't taken the KITH knife down with me so didn't have it to hand to compare. This one is basically a bigger version of it. 

The main thing that needs changing on the shape is the section where the first few fingers sit.

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Hunter - Part 2

A blade previously started here:

Two New Blades Started

I have been doing more work on the EN9 blade but have been forgetting to record it.

So I had originally planned a wrought iron bolster. That was taking far too long so I decided to change to brass - much easier to work!!

So this morning I was at this point:

The bolster roughly fits but before I do any more filling, I wanted to cut it down to size.

Hacksaw rough cut:

then grinder to shape. Angled to start with to get the top outline quickly before I rubbed the marker pen away!

and then parallel sides.

The top lines will change at the end. It'll become clear later.

The slow job of getting that fit nice and snug now...

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Is this a dagger I see before me?

After the last KITH (Knife In The Hat) that I made a knife for, someone suggested that we did a dagger KITH!
I was extremely keen to take part. I've not made a dagger before - the challenge of making a double edged, symmetrical blade will be interesting!

The only stipulation on the design is that the blade is symmetrical. The rest is open for interpretation.

The deadline is set for September. So far I have done no actual grinding and have no firm design.

Around the same time as the challenge was set, I attended Owen Bush's Hammer-In. While there, I sat through a talk by the amazingly talented Jake Powning. Look at his site and you'll see the sort of work he produces. Breathtaking!

It inspired me to want to attempt some handle carving and the dagger seems like a logical piece to do it on. When I got home, I pulled out George Bain's book on Celtic Art that my parents had bought me many many years ago on a holiday. I saw someone with this book at Owen's so figured it must be ok!

So, I have spent quite a lot of time trying to work out what to do. I want the design of the dagger to be the correct sort of shape and style to be appropriate to have some carving on. Viking design, celtic design. I want it to be at least vaguely authentic. Researching that remit has been tricky, especially as it needs to look good to my eyes.

Here's some of the very varied pictures i have saved for inspiration:

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Bike Chain for Mr Bates

This has just been delivered to it's new owner.

The blade is made from bike chain, forge welded into a solid bar. The bike chain pattern is really cool!

The handle is Macassar Ebony wood and the bolster is carbon fibre and tufnol.

I left the sheath undyed.....

...but thought it was a bit too harsh of a contrast so treated it with Ko Cho Line leather grease which will both keep it in good condition and also darken the leather slightly.

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